Kimi Antonelli prolonged his lead within the drivers’ championship after Mercedes team-mate George Russell retired from the Canadian Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton completed second and Max Verstappen’s Pink Bull made up the highest three.
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Russell was profitable earlier within the weekend when he transformed dash pole to a win on Saturday.
BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson solutions your newest questions after the Montreal race weekend.
How ironic that Hamilton ought to end behind Antonelli – however what’s going on with Ferrari? Has their simulator been holding Hamilton again? – Tom
Lewis Hamilton was in good aggressive form in Canada, and was faster than team-mate Charles Leclerc all weekend.
After the earlier race in Miami, he had talked about that he felt the Ferrari simulator was sending him up the incorrect path on set-up, so he meant to not use it earlier than Canada, and in Montreal he confirmed that had been the case.
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He mentioned: “I felt like we began on the appropriate foot, got here with the appropriate angle, and the automotive actually typically felt nice.”
This can be a sticky scenario as a result of Hamilton doesn’t need to be seen to be criticising the simulator. On the identical time, he thinks he has locked on to a cause for why he has been struggling for a lot of the time at Ferrari and needs to make it public.
“The simulator,” he mentioned after the race, “I am positive I’d drive it sooner or later. What may very well be good is, for instance, going again and doing correlation to this weekend so we are able to discover out the place it is lacking.
“The take a look at driver will solely know what they know as a result of it is solely Charles and I get to drive the automotive.
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“So, the optimistic of having the ability to drive the true automotive, return and say, ‘That is truly what it seems like. These are the issues that we’re lacking [from the simulator experience].’ So we are able to enhance it. I am all the time there to assist the staff transfer ahead and develop it.
“Now, whether or not I take advantage of it to organize for an additional race? In all probability not. There are simply too many dangers. For those who have a look at the 2 finest races I’ve had, I did not use a simulator. And that is truthfully the way it was.
“Just about all of the championships [I won] earlier than, aside from most likely 2008, I did not use the sim. So it is not a necessity. It is a instrument that may be highly effective. However for me, I am old skool. I am most likely higher with out it.”
There may be one unanswered query right here. When Hamilton says the “two finest races” he has had this yr, he’s referring to China and Canada.
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However these are additionally two tracks the place he has all the time been extraordinarily robust. You would say they’re his finest circuits, together with Silverstone and Hungary.
So, whereas there is no such thing as a cause to doubt Hamilton’s issues or commentary concerning the simulator, there most likely must be some extra corroborating proof over a bigger variety of races earlier than firmly concluding this can be a definitive resolution to and clarification for his earlier points.
Do you truthfully suppose Max will give up F1 on the finish of the season if the engine adjustments aren’t coming? – Paddy
There isn’t a questioning the truth that Max Verstappen is being real when he says he would not suppose he can face one other yr driving the vehicles as they’re.
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In Montreal, he made it fairly clear that he doesn’t fancy sticking round if the engine guidelines do not change. “It is simply mentally not doable for me to remain like this,” he mentioned. “It is actually not.”
After the race, he admitted he had “loved lots” his battle with Hamilton. However he additionally expanded on why he would not like the brand new vehicles or, extra exactly, the brand new engines, with their want for fixed vitality administration.
Verstappen mentioned that racing within the Nurburgring 24 Hours had reminded him “how pure motorsport could be”.
In F1, this yr, he mentioned: “For me, whereas driving, it is all a bit complicated. It isn’t what System 1 must be about. It is manner too complicated.
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“A lot of the guidelines, the followers do not even know what we’re coping with whereas driving, what’s allowed whenever you’re behind or whenever you’re the automotive forward, what we have now to do on a formation lap or what we have now to do in an out-lap, or how a lot battery that we’re allowed to cost.
“It is simply such a disgrace that we have now to cope with all these items. F1 simply must be extra pure and I actually hope that what they attempt to do [for] subsequent yr will undergo as a result of I believe that’s mandatory, the minimal mandatory, to make it a bit extra pure and a bit extra again to regular, or a minimum of a bit extra pure racing.
“As drivers, give us any form of automotive, we’ll all the time race and provides good leisure or present. Would not matter that folks say, ‘Oh, however look now, the present is nice, the vehicles had been preventing.’ Nevertheless it has nothing to do with the automotive. It simply must be extra pure.”
Verstappen is essentially the most outspoken, however all of the drivers mainly really feel the identical manner.
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Antonelli mentioned after the race that “nonetheless generally it triggers you a bit bit how the system works”.
And Hamilton mentioned: “It nonetheless continues to be a bizarre feeling”, including: “You go on the facility, you open up the [straight-line mode], after which the facility dies midway down the straight and the RPM begins dropping.
“It would not really feel what motorsport must be. The engine must be ringing its neck proper to the tip of the straight and simply pulling and pulling.”
Verstappen is referring to the present try by F1 bosses to vary the cut up between inner combustion and electrical energy to 60:40 subsequent yr moderately than the nominal 50:50 (in actuality about 54:46) for the time being.
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That is more likely to be executed by growing the fuel-flow restrict, and would cut back the necessity for vitality administration, particularly in qualifying, and make the driving extra “on the restrict” once more.
The regulators even have an opportunity to deal with a few of the peculiarities of the brand new guidelines that are making the vehicles and engines extraordinarily tough to deal with on warm-up laps due to the requirement to not go over a specific vitality restrict.
I will not go into that right here as a result of it is extremely complicated – however whenever you hear about what the drivers are having to do, the response is to scratch your head and marvel how on earth F1 ended up on this mess.
Though the FIA mentioned greater than two weeks in the past that there was an “settlement in precept” on the 60:40 transfer, there has to date not been sufficient help from engine producers for the adjustments to undergo.
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Nevertheless, bosses try to lean on the businesses opposed – Ferrari, Audi, Honda and Cadillac. And there may be hope that an settlement, with appropriate compromises addressing the issues of, significantly, Ferrari and Audi, could be reached this week.
It is value mentioning that the principles have had some superficial positives, primarily to do with racing.
The brand new vehicles are lighter, smaller, and extra nimble. And ‘overtake mode’ – which supplies a automotive behind an additional 0.5MJ {of electrical} vitality per lap if inside a second of the automotive in entrance – has led to the multi-lap battles by which vehicles go and repass numerous instances which have grow to be a characteristic of this yr’s racing.
The hope is to have the ability to retain this whereas addressing the issues about the best way the brand new engines have negatively affected the purity of driving.
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Given their flying begin to the season, do you suppose it is too early to say the title is Mercedes’ to lose, or have they merely tailored to the brand new rules higher than everybody else? – Chris
Mercedes have taken pole place for and received each grand prix to date this season. The one time they’ve been overwhelmed was in Miami, the place McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole place for and received the dash.
Their common benefit in qualifying over the subsequent quickest automotive – the McLaren – is 0.369 seconds.
After 5 races, Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead over the primary driver not in a Mercedes is 56 factors – greater than two clear wins.
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So, sure, they’re robust favourites for the championship and, sure, it is their title to lose, if you wish to put it that manner.
The query, as issues stands, is simply how dominant this season will find yourself being, moderately than whether or not Mercedes will finish it profitable the drivers’ and constructors’ championship.
Nevertheless, that is to not say they are going to have issues all their very own manner any further.
In Miami, McLaren proved that Mercedes are beatable – Norris ought to have received the grand prix, too, however McLaren did not pit him on the proper time and preserve monitor place on the entrance.
And Monaco, the subsequent race, is anticipated to swimsuit Ferrari. They’ve all the time been robust there, the automotive’s traits this yr appear to suit the sluggish and twisty Monaco monitor properly, and Charles Leclerc, particularly, is wonderful round there. Lewis Hamilton shouldn’t be precisely shabby both.
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Whether or not any staff can enhance their automotive sufficient to mount a constant problem to Mercedes on a race-by-race foundation, nonetheless, is one other query.
In fact, different groups have upgrades coming – however so do Mercedes.
If they arrive out of the Spanish Grand Prix, the week after Monaco, with one other convincing win, then it actually will appear to be they’re in complete management of the season.
As final yr, confirmed, although, you by no means know. These vehicles and rules are very new. It’s miles from unimaginable somebody will catch up – and McLaren can be thought of the staff almost definitely to take action.
The query might be how lengthy that may take, and whether or not Mercedes’ benefit within the championships is by then realistically recoverable.
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With all of the speak about altering the cut up between inner combustion and electrical vitality for subsequent yr, do they only want so as to add an even bigger gas tank or completely redesign the engine? – Peter
If the change to a 60:40 cut up – or thereabouts – between inner combustion and electrical energy goes forward, it would require a revised engine design for all corporations.
This is without doubt one of the points on the centre of the talk talked about within the earlier reply.
Audi’s objections to the principles are to do with value. Ferrari’s centre on the principles round further growth permitted to producers who’re assessed to be behind the perfect engine by particular quantities.
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Ferrari is hoping to be granted this further growth, however are arguing that Mercedes do not want it as a result of they’re forward. If the principles change, everybody can redevelop their engines.
Politics have ended up concerned in a matter which, ideally, everybody would tackle considering solely of the pursuits of the game.
However that is all the time the case in F1 – it is a competitors, so groups have a accountability to take care of their very own aggressive pursuits.
Some groups had been involved that they would wish to construct a brand new chassis for subsequent yr to include the larger gas tanks that may be wanted for a handful of races to get to the tip of the grand prix within the occasion the principles had been modified.
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This was an issue as a result of variety of groups are planning to hold over their chassis into subsequent yr to save cash and keep inside the price cap.
However Racing Bulls staff principal Alan Permane revealed on the weekend that there was an settlement to shorten the races with the best gas consumption by a lap or two if mandatory, to make sure groups can preserve their present gas tank measurement.
