Martin Brundle on Canadian Grand Prix results…

Former Formula 1 driver, Sky Sport F1 commentator Martin Brundle summed up the Canadian Grand Prix…

The Gilles Villeneuve circuit on Montreal’s Isle of Notre Dame is part of the casino’s bypass, tightly bounded by walls, a lake, and the start of the vast Saint Lawrence Sea Route. From a helicopter, it looks like a small strip of road surrounded by vast expanses of water. This route simply cannot be extended anywhere, which is good in my opinion.

For many reasons, this track is synonymous with the safety car. He went to the track fourteen times in the last 22 races in Montreal, and in the legendary four hours and four minutes race Jenson Button won in 2011, the safety car accompanied the riders for 32 of the 70 laps. Twice, in 1999 and 2014, this race ended behind the safety car.

“So this track is not suitable for Formula 1”, some may say, but I think everything is fine with the track. The best way to minimize the number of incidents is to race in a straight line with large safety zones on the sides or just stay at home. I choose Montreal.

It is therefore not surprising that the safety car also played a key role this time. Max Verstappen was in top form all weekend and deserved to win.

The reigning world champion has shown his skills and now leads comfortably in the individual standings, but Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari put serious pressure on him in the last 15 laps.

Carlos is like Lando Norris and George Russell in that he is willing to win races, but wins elude him for various reasons. I have always supported Carlos, sometimes it seemed to me that I was the only one, but I think he is very good – especially during the races.

He must combine his talent, determination, aggression and experience, achieve accuracy and stability – then the first victory will come, and all the next.

It was interesting to watch the battle between Verstappen and Sainz. Due to the racers having spent qualifying on rain and intermediate tyres, the starting field looked different from normal, and along with a serious fine from Charles Leclerc, the race promised to be event-rich.

Fernando Alonso was the star of qualifying, he was consistently fast and to the delight of the crowd he deservedly took a front row seat on the grid. He is almost 41 years old, but it is impossible to keep him.

Max jokingly said at the press conference that he watched Fernando as a child, and although the Spaniard is already “old” now, he is looking forward to the opportunity to start alongside him for the first time. Fernando, who started side by side with Max’s father Jos four times, replied without a smile that he would attack Max in the first corner.

Max got off to a perfect start, Fernando was second and then rode third at a reasonable pace. He failed to enter the pit lane when the virtual safety car mode was first announced, and the second time he approached the pit lane when the mode was removed. As a result, Fernando made a pit stop on lap 28, when the race was at full speed.

A power unit problem forced him into seventh behind team-mate Esteban Ocon, then defended too hard against an attack from Valtteri Bottas – only to receive a five-second penalty after the finish. As a result, he took only 9th place.

The Mercedes team has confused everyone, including themselves. On Friday, Lewis said the car was not fit for racing, and it really looked like it. Team boss Toto Wolff said similar things to me in an interview, and just a week earlier called the car a “box full of junk”.

George Russell made a daring attempt at slicks in the qualifying final. I admire his confidence, but two or three sections of the track for another ten minutes didn’t allow it.

In the race, both Mercedes cars drove almost at the pace of the leaders. If Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez had had a good qualifying and race, and if we hadn’t had two virtual and one real safety car, the Mercedes drivers would most likely have finished fifth and sixth.

Charles Leclair, who ended up on the last row of the grid due to a power plant change, had his downforce reduced for better straight-line speed. It seems this only hurt – poor traction from the drive wheels in corners wiped out the speed advantage. He spent a lot of time in traffic, but the safety car helped him to fifth place, although he eventually lost another 15 points to Verstappen.

Bottas earned points for the seventh time in nine grands prix, and his teammate Guanyu Zhou finished ninth after his best result in Formula 1, and eighth after Alonso’s penalty.

Lance Stroll scored a point for tenth place after starting from 17th position.

Mick Schumacher was on top form until the car broke down. Kevin Magnussen, who started fifth, was unlucky enough to damage his front wing after making contact with Hamilton at turn three. Maybe he shouldn’t have fought so hard at the start of the race.

Some 338,000 people visited the track over the weekend, again reflecting the popularity of Formula 1 in America and Canada.