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Max Verstappen continued his supremacy in the 2023 F1 Canadian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton grabbed the other podium finishes in a race which was anything but straightforward.
The trio stood on the podium together for the second time this year after sharing it in Australia. Moreover, there was an interesting aspect that caught Lewis Hamilton’s eye in the cooldown room.
The Mercedes driver was very impressed watching Max Versatappen’s Red Bull’s rear end of the car.
"Your rear end is insane,” Hamilton said, in reply to which Alonso asked: "Mine?" Lewis then acknowledged the Spaniard’s rear wing as well. "His. Yours is pretty awesome too."
The cool-down room conversation was a wonderful sight to watch, given Lewis, Alonso, and Verstappen's history. Verstappen also noticed Alonso brushing the wall during the race in Montreal.
Despite the fact that the seven-time world champion has struggled to win an F1 race since the 2021 season, he’ll be happy with the P3 finish in Canada. With Mercedes starting to turn things around and close the gap on their rivals, things are looking positive for the Brackley-based team.
It remains interesting to see if they can catch the mighty Red Bull towards the end of the season.
Lewis Hamilton happy to share the podium with Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso at Canadian GP
It might not have been the ideal weekend for Mercedes, but they would head to Austria in a confident mood. After securing a double-podium in Spain, the Silver Arrows struggled in Montreal, mainly due to their poor straight-line speed.
However, a P3 finish wasn't entirely a poor outcome for Lewis Hamilton and the team at the Canadian GP. During the parc ferme interview, Hamilton said:
"Firstly, it's quite an honour to be up there with two world champions. I was really excited to be third and be in that mix. Unfortunately, we didn't have the pace today. We knew this weekend, it wouldn't be our strongest circuit because we struggle in the slower corners, particularly."
The seven-time champion further added:
"That was where I was losing to Fernando and Max - just on traction out of pretty much every corner. We just need to add more rear downforce in the car and a little bit more efficiency."
Mercedes would be disappointed by George Russell's retirement in Montreal. However, Lewis Hamilton took a step further in closing down the gap to Sergio Perez and staying in touch with Fernando Alonso's points tally. Where will the 7-time champion finish in this season's Drivers' Championship?
