Charles Leclerc won the Monaco GP with Max Verstappen nowhere to be seen near the podium. As a result, the Dutchman’s championship lead came down to 31 points before the Canadian GP. However, after a miserable Ferrari performance and a Max Verstappen masterclass in Montreal, the gap is up to 56 points as F1 heads into a triple header. While Damon Hill believes Max Verstappen can retain this lead, he warns the defending champion of the competition.
Hill discussed the possibility of Verstappen increasing his lead in the championships on the F1 Nation podcast’s latest episode. “If all things are equal, in other words, his [Max Verstappen’s] car is as good as everyone else’s, he’s going to win as many races as they are, and because he’s brilliant”, Hill said.
But, the former F1 champion also warned Verstappen of the increasing competition as he added, “But strange things happen in our sport. I think he’s got more people attacking him, which seems to be the case.”
While it was only Ferrari and McLaren who were challenging Red Bull for wins, Mercedes joined the party in Montreal. Verstappen confessed in the post-race interviews that George Russell and Mercedes were indeed the fastest cars on track.
Hill kept this factor in mind to suggest that the Silver Arrows would be a force to reckon with if their solution also worked at the Spanish GP.
The 1996 champion didn’t count McLaren and Ferrari out of a Spanish GP win either. He explained how all the other top teams being in the mix would be a problem for Verstappen, as they might rob the three-time champion of a lot of points, reducing the lead in the championship. All eyes are now on Mercedes to see if they can maintain their Canadian GP progress in Barcelona.
Mercedes’ newfound pace after the Canadian GP upgrades
Mercedes has been trying since the start of the 2022 regulations to get near Red Bull’s performance but has been unsuccessful for one reason or another. The Canadian GP brought new hopes for the Silver Arrows. The team brought a new front wing and some other small tweaks to the car that seemed to completely transform the way the W15 handled.
Before that, the Brackley-based team struggled with the development direction and correlation of data. The car was also sensitive and was believed to have a very small working window.
However, the upgrades seemed to have solved the issue and put Mercedes right in contention with Red Bull. Toto Wolff and Co. have hinted at taking a similar direction on development, which will be more about optimizing the performance of the car.
Mercedes’ recent surge in Formula 1 performance has garnered attention due to a redesigned front wing, yet the team’s improvement goes beyond this single upgrade.
– Mercedes began the season with a challenging W15 car for drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
– Early… pic.twitter.com/DfPr3S5O0H
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) June 17, 2024
George Russell could’ve won the Canadian GP had he not made the mistakes. On top of that, the battle with Lewis Hamilton for the final podium place made matters worse for the 26-year-old.
There already seems to be tension at Mercedes with Hamilton complaining about the tire temperatures during the Canadian GP qualifying. A win for George Russell in the coming triple header could further spice things up at the Brackley outfit.
