Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen turned the closing laps of the Canadian Grand Prix into a duel that settled Hamilton’s best result yet as a Ferrari driver. The 41-year-old took second place after overtaking Verstappen around the outside of Turn 1 in the final stint, then held on to complete his second podium finish of the 2026 season.
Hamilton’s performance was his 204th career podium appearance and his first result this year that came close to the sort of finish Ferrari had been chasing. He lost out to Verstappen earlier in the race, but came back on a charging final stint and found a way through in the late battle that gave the race its defining moment.
“Firstly, I have to say a huge thank you to my team here,” Hamilton said. “These guys have welcomed me with open arms, and it’s been pretty tough over the past year and a bit, so to finally find our sweet spot and have a good weekends, it’s an amazing feeling to be back up here.” He added that it had been “amazing” to return to the podium after finding Ferrari’s sweet spot and having a strong weekend, and said: “Especially with these guys [Mercedes] being so quick, and I actually got to have a race with Max, which was great.”
Verstappen came away with his first podium of the season and said he was satisfied with the fight. “I am happy with that. Cool battle with Lewis [Hamilton] at the end,” he said. “In a weekend when it's not that easy to get things right, to be on the podium is extremely positive.” He added that the target was to keep improving faster than their opposition, saying, “We need to keep improving better than our opposition. That's our target. We will see what we can do over the coming races.”
The pair kept talking after the race in the Formula 1 cooldown room, where the details of the scrap were still fresh. Verstappen said the middle chicanes had helped him pull clear before the straight took it back, while Hamilton wondered aloud whether he had caught Bortoleto at the end and whether his car was “extra draggy” or if it was simply the power. However it is judged, the race in Canada had the feel of a turning point for Hamilton, who sounded relieved as much as satisfied after a difficult year and a bit and a long stretch without that kind of front-running fight.
