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Formula 1
Canadian GP
F1 Canadian GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
Minute-by-minute updates for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal
F1 returns to the famous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this weekend for the first time since 2019, following two years of COVID-19 enforced cancellations.
Max Verstappen emerged victorious at last weekend's Azerbaijan GP as the Dutchman headed a Red Bull 1-2, as mechanical frailties struck Ferrari and title contender Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen, who starts the Canadian GP from pole position, has a 21-point championship lead over team-mate Sergio Perez, while Leclerc is third having slipped 34 points adrift.
Leclerc will aim to fight back from the last row on the grid in Canada, having taken an engine penalty following his retirement in Baku last time out.
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Pit stop
Latifi and Tsunoda also pitted under the Virtual Safety Car, which was effectively a free stop for the Japanese driver as he comes back out in 15th ahead of Vettel, Gasly, Latifi and Magnussen.
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"Hamilton lost places?" Alonso asks. He's told that he emerged from the pits behind Ocon, and Alonso replies: "We know what we have to do."
Leclerc watch: He's still 13th, tucked up behind Norris, but he didn't pit under the virtual safety car having started on the hards.
Hamilton has a crack at Ocon for fifth, drawing alongside - but Ocon holds the inside for the chicane. No matter, Hamilton says, and draws alongside to get fifth into Turn 1.
Stopwatch
Verstappen does a 1m17.370s, a tenth faster than Sainz on lap 13.
Leclerc gets ahead of Norris, using DRS to charge into the final chicane up the inside and into 12th place.
Sainz's pace has dropped a little bit, having been in Verstappen's ballpark in the 1m17s, but is in the 1m18.3s. The Red Bull is now on Alonso's tail.
Albon is making his Williams as wide as possible to keep Bottas behind him in the fight for 10th, which in turn is holding up Leclerc.
And indeed, Verstappen grabs a tow off Alonso and clears the Alpine with DRS. Pretty simple pass there for the Dutchman.
Albon hugs the inside line to force Bottas, with DRS, to try to go around the outside, but he hasn't got enough straight to get ahead of the Williams before the final chicane.
Stopwatch
Sainz has picked up the pace again, but Verstappen's done a 1m17.356s - 0.35s quicker than the Ferrari. Gap between the two stands at five seconds.
On lap 18 Bottas get the move done around the outside on Albon before reaching the final chicane, and Albon's compromised line gives a freebie pass to Leclerc before they reach Turn 1.
Pit stop
Next lap around Albon duly pits, trading his mediums for hards, and comes out in 17th place.
Sainz is told that wear is better than expected, and he's keeping a relatively decent advantage over Verstappen out front - still over 4s the gap.
Safety car
Schumacher has stopped at the same place as Perez! The Haas driver was fighting Zhou for position but then went off track and slowed. That's triggered another Virtual Safety Car!
Pit stop
Russell immediately comes in, as does Ocon - nice and cheap pitstops for them.
Mechanical problem
Strange timing for Schumacher, as soon as Zhou pulled alongside, it appeared his Haas car let go and he had no choice but to stop in the Turn 8 run-off area.
Pit stop
And Sainz comes in, coming out behind Alonso as he caught the pit exit just as the VSC was ending. Hamilton's right behind the Ferrari, but Sainz is slowly edging away.
Green flag
Leclerc is still on the move! After a handful of drivers pitted ahead of him, he gets by Bottas at the final chicane and moves up to seventh place.
Sainz gets some temperature in his tyres and immediately gets after Alonso, getting a good run out of the hairpin and making a clearance with DRS into the chicane at the end of lap 22.
Pit stop
During that second Virtual Safety Car period McLaren had a nightmare at the pitstops. Ricciardo had a slow stop, which dropped him to 12th, and double-stacking Norris only compounded the delay as his tyres weren't ready.
Hamilton's next to get past Alonso, who's yet to stop, moving past with DRS to grab third place.
After his very slow stop Norris has come out in 17th, only ahead of Latifi out of the runners left in this race.
Zhou, who also stopped earlier, can't match the top speed of the yet-to-stop Stroll which is frustrating the Alfa Romeo driver stuck in 10th place.
Stopwatch
The gaps among the top six have strung out a bit - although Sainz is trying to do something about that and logs a 1m17.210s to close in to within 9s of Verstappen.
Leclerc is another driver stuck behind a rival. The Ferrari can't get the zip with DRS against the slippery through the air Ocon in his Alpine. Leclerc's tyres must be losing traction as he's yet to stop.
Pit stop
Alonso finally calls it a day on his medium tyres and comes in to stop. He rejoins in P7, behind the Ocon/Leclerc scrap.
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"I don't have the grip on exit, it is so bad," Leclerc says over team radio, rather confirming our earlier point.
Sainz is chipping away at Verstappen's lead now, taking about 0.2s a lap out of the Red Bull. Hamilton remains third, a good 10s clear of Russell, with Ocon a further 15s back.
Ocon is definitely able to dart out of the corners quicker than Leclerc, as the Ferrari driver runs out of straight to get alongside the Alpine.
Stroll, still yet to pit in ninth, now leads at DRS train of Zhou, Tsunoda and Ricciardo.
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"I feel like I'm already losing tyre grip," Verstappen says. Just the 36 laps to go until the end.
Due to the track characteristic of slow corners and long straights, overtaking is all about having early traction and top speed. Which is why some overtakes are a breeze, and others impossible. Zhou is facing the latter behind Stroll.
Pit stop
Gasly pits for a second time in this race and comes out in 17th place.
Leclerc is a little miffed over the radio, unable to pass Ocon ahead of him. Alonso's wisely staying out of that fight, instead holding back to try to preserve some tyre life.
Russell, meanwhile, is slowly catching Hamilton having got fresher boots on his Mercedes. Hamilton has, however, picked up the pace a little bit.
TV directors having the easiest job in the world - basically a binary choice between Ocon and Leclerc, or the Stroll train.
Sainz has brought the lead down to 5.9s as of the start of lap 42, having taken a second out of Verstappen in the last two laps. Russell's within about 8s of Hamilton now.
This race has turned into a bit of stalemate with the various DRS trains and balance tyre degradation. It'll come alive again soon, we promise.
Pit stop
Leclerc finally makes a stop, giving Ocon free breathing room, and grabs the medium tyre. But it's a slow stop for Leclerc, which puts him right onto the back of the Lance Locomotive.
By: autosport.com
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