British commentator Ted Kravitz praised Red Bull's Max Verstappen for 'driving like a champion' through tough weather at the 2024 Canadian GP. Verstappen put on a superior show and snatched the win from George Russell and Lando Norris during the race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
Despite the rain-soaked situation, Max Verstappen kept his nerve and against all odds, took the Chequered Flag ahead of Norris. However, it wasn't a walk in the park for the three-time champion like his late 2022 or 2023 displays. Verstappen used all his race craft to keep the car in control while nursing his tires to claim his sixth win of the season.
Fittingly, Ted Kravitz observed in his Race Notebook regarding Max Verstappen's Montreal win,
"Isn't it more fun when Max has to fight for it? He drove like the triple, soon-to-be quadruple champion that he is, showed us how good he's in the wet and changing conditions, how good he is generally. And how good he is despite not having the fastest car."
The fastest car in Canada belonged to Mercedes' George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who took the pole on Saturday and grabbed the fastest lap of the race on Sunday, respectively. Despite this, the 26-year-old Verstappen managed to churn out a lap time identical to Russell's and claimed the victory from P2.
Besides Russell, Lando Norris' McLaren also showed glimpses of speed during the race. However, they were not enough to topple the defending champion.
Max Verstappen shared a piece of winner's wisdom with George Russell
After the 2024 Canadian GP, George Russell was visibly unhappy with his performance. Despite having the fastest car and the pole, Russell could not claim the victory. On top of that, he failed to safeguard his P2 from Norris.
Notably, race winner Max Verstappen had the chance to share some advice with Russel. The Red Bull driver revealed (via Sky Sports):
"I told George already before, he was a bit upset with himself, and I said, ‘Mate, these things can happen. We are all pushing to the limit, sometimes it works out, and sometimes you make one mistake too much, and it can catch you out.’ But that’s racing."
Max Verstappen leads the 2024 F1 Drivers' Championship as he inches towards his fourth title. After his Canadian GP victory, Verstappen is 56 points ahead of Charles Leclerc (138) in P2. Lando Norris (131) is in P3.