Canadian GP – Ferrari: King Lewis in his kingdom

A quick trip to the Monaco E-Prix for residents of the Principality, a first participation in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for Max Verstappen… There are a thousand and one ways for pilots to Formula 1 to enjoy a weekend break, a few days before getting back to work in Montreal. And Lewis Hamilton In all of this? Known for his work ethic, did the forty-something spend his last "free" days putting in overtime on the simulator, checking every parameter, testing every possible and imaginable setting on his Classic Ferrari for sale on this virtual version of the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit? Not at all. The privilege of age and track record allows Sir Lewis to choose his ideal preparation, without anyone imposing one on him. modus operandi. So, going against the grain of what F1 is in 2026, number 44 decided to skip the simulator stage before going to Canada.

"I think there was really only one time in twenty years where the setup I found on the sim was exactly the one I used in qualifying and with which I took pole position – that was in Singapore in 2012."Hamilton justified this on Thursday. “All the other times, it was never quite right. So for this Grand Prix, I decided to drop it and focus more on the data. I’m not saying I’ll never use it again, we’ll continue to use it, especially for power deployment. We’ll see how the weekend goes. But for example, in China, I didn’t use the sim either, and it was my best weekend.” Prophetic: in China, Lewis Hamilton had climbed onto his first podium with Classic Ferrari for sale (3^e); in Montreal, he did even better (2^e).

Hamilton set the tone

The veteran showed plenty of energy right from his first laps, and that's no surprise: he and the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit have a long-standing relationship. It was there, nineteen years ago, that he secured his first Formula 1 victory. It's also where he has seven wins, six pole positions, and where his worst starting position is 7th.^e place, during his last season with Mercedes Benz in 2024. Needless to say, Lewis was expected to shine brightly on Canadian soil, and he didn't disappoint: behind the untouchable Mercedes and the McLarenHe qualified 5th^e for the Sprint before finishing 6th^e following a small mistake that cost him two places at the end of the race. It was really good! he smiled afterwards. I was in the battle at the front. Unfortunately, we don't have the top speed of McLaren or Mercedes. Our straight-line speed isn't good enough; theirs is incredible. I was pushing the limits trying to stay with them, but ultimately it was too difficult.

His teammate Charles Leclerc had even overtaken him at the end of the race (5^e), the Monegasque driver wasn't having a great day – a fact that was confirmed when it came time to tackle qualifying. If there's one area where he has few equals on the grid, it's single-lap performance. But the driver with 27 pole positions also has a weakness: the Montreal circuit. Leclerc had only qualified for Q3 twice in six attempts in Canada before the 2026 edition. And his 8^e His time, four tenths off Russell's pole position, was far from satisfactory. "Honestly, this is one of the worst weekends of my career, if not the worst." Leclerc confessed. “Since Free Practice 1, I haven’t had a single lap where I could really feel the car. I felt like I was going to end up in the wall at every corner; the tires were completely out of their window today. The brakes weren’t working properly yesterday either.”

Meanwhile, his teammate Lewis Hamilton seemed to be regaining his form with the SF-26 after two more challenging weekends in Japan and Miami. This performance difference is difficult for Leclerc to explain, given his usual efficiency in qualifying. The Monegasque driver himself admits his bewilderment. "It's strange, but that's the situation I'm in and I have to work on it. Right now, I have a very bad feeling with the car, so we're going to review everything. I can certainly do better, but right now, it wasn't working at all." Conversely, Lewis Hamilton is comfortable in Montreal during qualifying – his six pole positions attest to that. After another 5^e chrono, as in Sprint qualifying, the champion therefore displayed a delighted expression. “Honestly, my engineering team is now exactly where I need them, and we finally managed this weekend to get the car into a state where I truly feel like myself. I really hope it continues.” he appreciated it. Especially since his 5^e chrono had the appearance of a deceptive eye: without a small error at turn no. 7 during his last flying lap, an even more convincing result seemed within his reach.

There was barely time to indulge in daydreams and "what ifs" before the race began, under uncertain weather conditions. Quickly, the McLarens and their strategic error in tire choice – intermediates while the leaders were all on slicks – were eliminated from the fight for the podium, and Hamilton took on the task of leading the resistance against the Mercedes. It was a brave but short-lived effort, until the Brackley-based cars opened up an insurmountable gap. Having fallen back behind Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton delivered a superb second stint to chase down his former rival and take second place.^e Place: his best result in red"I had a lot of fun all weekend," he was savoring it. With each lap, I felt like we'd made a good start, with the right attitude, and the car felt really good overall. This is my first 2^e "It's a place with the team. It's something I've worked so hard for – I can't even begin to explain how deep I've had to dig to get to this point, and the work, moving mountains behind the scenes to make this performance possible. But I'm truly grateful to the team for continuing to carry and support me weekend after weekend. And it's a really nice feeling to see them so happy, because they truly deserve it with all the work they put in."

Leclerc without a solution

Opposite him, Charles Leclerc was struggling to appreciate his 4^e place, achieved at the end of a race that was far less brilliant than that of his teammate. "I'm happy to have finished the race. Overall, it's a miracle to have finished 4th."^e after a weekend as bad as that one… he was trying to be positive. I never had a good feeling with the car. Lewis was exceptional all weekend, but I struggled a lot. Was it really the worst weekend of his F1 career, as announced the night before? "I stand by those words because, unfortunately, I never found a solution with the tires." he assured. I take full responsibility, because it's not about the car. Lewis and I drive the same one.

"Charles is experienced enough to analyze this himself", immediately defused the situation, his boss Frédéric Vasseur. He arrived with some doubts about the weekend, because things hadn't always gone perfectly in Montreal. He was aware of that. I think the extreme conditions amplify this phenomenon: when you're feeling good, you can push yourself, but when you're on the defensive, you lose everything. He got caught in that spiral a bit, searching for confidence all weekend. In ten days, we're in Monaco. (June 7. (Editor's note), and he will have forgotten about Canada. In Monaco, Charles Leclerc will return to his homeland, where he excels in qualifying. He'll need to quickly put the Canadian chapter behind him, while for Lewis Hamilton, the challenge is to continue writing this remarkable story. His first podium finish in China wasn't followed by strong performances in Japan or Miami. This is a fantastic opportunity to finally kickstart his story in red. And all this without setting foot in the simulator again before Monaco, of course!