The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on le Notre-Dame in Montreal is a race track with the most varied memories of many drivers. good and terrible. The straits are long there and are lined with thick walls close to the slope. Brave pilots flirt with danger and in some places let their tires touch the concrete. If it goes well, they are heroes. If things go wrong, they look like novice drivers.

Lewis Hamilton was also once a rookie in Formula 1. It’s been nearly 15 years since Sunday he traveled this treacherous track as a pilot, which he had never actually driven before. In June 2007, Hamilton was a 22-year-old talent at McLaren with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso three years his senior. But then, on his sixth race weekend, the trainee passed his master’s exam in Montreal. After securing his first pole position on Saturday, he won his first Formula 1 race the next day. In a memorable Grand Prix, veteran Alonso won more than newcomer Hamilton. Enough material for memories.

“I’m young again,” rejoices Hamilton in Montreal

And Hamilton also took off on Sunday, when he jumped lightly from his Mercedes in Canada in third place and chatted: “I didn’t expect it today. It’s my second podium this year. It feels really special, Really especially here. I love being in Montreal!”

OK, but back?

“He’s good. I’m young again!” Hamilton said.

open wide view

Longitudinal sections through history, i.e. comparison of similar situations at different points in time, have always fascinated historians. In Hamilton’s case, Sunday was not only the exciting 15-year parallel, but also the seven-day equivalent. If you put the two pictures side by side in which Hamilton got out of his racing car, first in Baku, now in Montreal, you felt like you were witnessing a miraculous healing.

In Azerbaijan, after a roller coaster ride in his bouncy Silver Arrow, Hamilton needed what felt like an eternity to exit the cockpit, and was supported on his way to the pits. In Canada, he walked upbeat and in good spirits for what was his second Champagne celebration of the year, and didn’t take an X-ray to see that his spine had to move less than a week ago. Mercedes didn’t have that in Montreal bouncy The known event is under better control than in Baku. The Silver Arrows also had reason to be in excitement, as George Russell’s fourth-place finish confirmed the notion that the team had moved closer to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, who had been sidelined by the start of the season.

Mercedes now wants to win individual races rather than overall standings

“We have to be happy. We fired it on the track. It’s fine,” insisted Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, but added: “We have to be careful. A swallow doesn’t make heat.” Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsport consultant not known to be either an ornithologist or a friend of the formula, packed a similar observation into a simple warning: “Mercedes has caught on in a big way.” To prevent any unreasonable anticipation among Mercedes supporters, Wolff made it clear that “the train had left the station a long time ago” in the fight for the title. But the goal is still to win the race: “And I think we can do that.”

open wide view

Now, a look at the state of the World Cup is indeed disillusioning to the neutral observer. After his sixth win, leader Max Verstappen is already down 46 points. The fact that second is his teammate Sergio Perez, who scored three more points than Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, doesn’t make the competition overflow with enthusiasm.

In reality, however, the Scuderia, which had given itself points in the last three races with technical faults and obvious strategic mistakes, was again the fastest vehicle in the field on Sunday. Leclerc, who was penalized in the last row of the grid due to various exchange parts on his engine, advanced at least fifth place. And his teammate Carlos Sainz, who, thanks to a safety car stage, suddenly had leader Verstappen again in front of him shortly before the end, repeatedly made his way through the whirlpools of air on the new tire close to the Dutchman. fought .

However, the fierce battle was fought behind closed doors, not on the track, but at a meeting of team mentors. Although they are no longer fighting for the relevant trophies this year, Mercedes boss Wolff and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner came up against questions about how to proceed bouncy to each other. And that’s why. Red Bull is clearly concerned that the Silver Arrow, which has suffered the most from frequent stopping of cars, could soon compete for victory again if the World Automobile Association Fia improves the aerodynamics of cars that Red Bull and Ferrari do. Best control ever.

Pilot’s spokesman Russell fears serious incident ‘just a matter of time’

At the meeting on Saturday, Wolff is said to have gotten very loud when he argued in favor of the health of the drivers, who had previously launched an investigation by the FIA ​​with official opposition. “It’s only a matter of time before we see a serious incident. Many of us can hardly keep our cars in a straight line,” said Russell, a spokesman for the community of all 20 pilots.

However, Horner did not want to hear any health concerns at the meeting. Instead, he is said to have once again snake-tongued advice to his colleagues at Mercedes to lift their cars to prevent them from constantly touching the cars, which of course would continue to slow down the Silver Arrows. Wolff got angry. “There are allies who try to manipulate what is said to maintain a competitive advantage and play the political game,” he later said. He was “pathetic” and “timid”.

In fact, the FIA ​​reacted unusually quickly to drivers’ advances and ordered measurements of vehicle vibrations for the previous race weekend. What will be the outcome of this investigation and potential counterattacks on the fight for the title is an exciting question at a time when Verstappen is firmly ahead in the overall standings.