Lewis Hamilton was thrilled with his second place at the Canadian Grand Prix in what he called “the greatest job in the world” after a great fight with his old adversary Max Verstappen. The British driver expressed how excited he was to be back in a wheel-to-wheel contest, enthused with his and his Ferrari team’s performance.
“I love this job it’s the greatest job in the world, I never take that for granted,” he said. “To have a good battle with Max finally, I’m really, really grateful. I am so, so happy. It’s good day of racing, overall, a solid weekend. I felt the whole team have done an amazing job.”
Hamilton started in fifth place but had showed good pace making it to third in the early stages. However, Verstappen took the place on lap nine as Hamilton struggled with energy deployment.
The seven-time champion stuck at it and in the final stages came back at the Dutchman and after a gripping scrap with his old rival took second place with six laps remaining with a decisive move round the outside of the first corner. It is his best finish for Ferrari and his highest since he last took second at the Las Vegas GP in 2024.
His first season with the Scuderia was enormously difficult with car well off the pace as he had to adapt to a new team but he felt now they were working together well.
“There were so many elements that have to come together to get the car in the right place and I think I finally have that,” he said. “With the engineers I have got, the whole setup including the team. I really hope I can continue with this performance, I am much, much happier in the car.”
The race was won by Kimi Antonelli, who was in a close battle with his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, almost from the off. The pair had exchanged the lead three times before Russell was forced to retire on lap 30 with a battery problem that left his car without power.
“Just everything turned off all of a sudden. The engine stopped, no electronics, no proper braking,” Russell said. “I’m a bit lost for words, can’t really say much more.”
Russell now trails Antonelli by 43 points in the world championship standings but the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, was confident the British driver would come back.
“It’s a 43-point gap but there are 17 more races to go, so many points to score this is going to go all the way to the end,” he said. “He has to just chip away and George will rebound, there is no doubt about it.”
