Lewis Hamilton says he ‘loved’ hunting down Max Verstappen before making a late pass on the Dutchman to claim his best result for Ferrari by finishing second in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Having been passed by Verstappen for third place during the opening stint and then falling seven seconds behind the Red Bull, Hamilton was able to produce highly impressive pace on the medium tyre to chase down the driver he famously duelled with for the 2021 world championship.
Hamilton got within a second of Verstappen with 13 laps remaining but had to contend with the four-time world champion’s elite defensive skills before finally completing a pass seven laps later, and then holding off the Red Bull in the closing stages.
“It was awesome, absolutely awesome to fight with one of the greats,” said the seven-time world champion.
“It was massively challenging. I think our cars are relatively close. In qualifying, we were relatively close, and I think whilst we’re probably a little bit quicker through the corners, everything you gain in the corner, they gain on the straight.
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Highlights of the race from the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix.
“Obviously, I lost a bit of time, he was quicker at the beginning of the race and then once he got into the medium, I was able to hunt him down.
“And I love that hunt. That’s my whole life has been about that since a kid, since I had a really old go-kart, I was just always hunting.
“So, it was amazing to be back in that position and hunting down a champion up ahead.”
After failing to score a grand prix podium during his debut campaign with Ferrari, Hamilton was third in China in March, and went one better with his result in Montreal.
F1 drivers are still getting used to the all-new cars for 2026, which offer different overtaking aids to the previous generation of cars, including overtake mode.
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Watch Lando Norris snatch the lead in a CHAOTIC Canadian GP race start
Hamilton added: “(You) have to be so strategic when you have less power as well than others around.
“Even if we have the overtake, even in overtake they still have more power in the straights. So, finding a way, I was just having to do these calculations, trying to figure out how to maximise the amount of power on my battery bar each straight and make sure that I have enough at that particular point.
“And, yeah, thank god I managed to pull it off. And it’s a great feeling when you overtake as well. So, these cars are awesome to be able to follow.”
Verstappen enjoyed Hamilton battle ‘a lot’
Despite losing out to Hamilton, Verstappen claimed his first podium of the season as the pair finished behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, whose team-mate George Russell was forced to retire from the lead following a power unit failure.
On his battle with Hamilton, Verstappen said: “It was very good. I enjoyed it a lot.
“I think also when you are within a second at this track, we are very energy poor around here, and of course when you are within a second, you’re allowed to spend a bit more energy, so then on the straights of course you gain a bit of speed and around here that is very efficient actually.
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Red Bulls Max Verstappen finishes P3 at the Canadian GP but criticises the power units, calling the racing ‘very anti-racing’ and not what Formula 1 should be about.
“The last few laps I tried to get back, but it was good. We were pushing flat out and it was just very nice for me.”
Verstappen has cut a frustrated figure for much of the 2026 season so far amid his dissatisfaction with the new regulations, but he admitted a positive result had left him more contented.
He added: “Also, I think it’s my first race where I basically had a normal race, nothing crazy happened, so that’s also nice.”
Next up is the start of F1’s European summer swing, with the Monaco Grand Prix the first of six races in eight weeks. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 from June 5-7. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
