Lewis Hamilton finished second at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, his best result since joining Ferrari.
The race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve ended with Hamilton holding off Max Verstappen in a late-race battle that swung several times in the final laps.
The result moved Hamilton to fourth in the drivers’ standings with 72 points.
A race that swung both ways
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli won the race and extended his championship lead to 43 points, his fourth straight victory.
Early on, Antonelli and teammate George Russell traded the lead before Russell’s power unit failed on Lap 30. That retirement, combined with McLaren’s disastrous strategy call, left Hamilton and Verstappen to fight over the runner-up spot.
Verstappen passed Hamilton into Turn 1 on Lap 9, with Hamilton reporting a lack of power over team radio. The Red Bull driver built a gap, but the pit stop phase changed things.
Verstappen passes Hamilton for P3! 😮💨⚔️
Hamilton: "I have no power…" 📻#F1 #CanadianGP | LAP 9/68 pic.twitter.com/ZKCua4I1ch
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 24, 2026
Hamilton, on medium tyres that suited the Ferrari better, gradually closed the gap to Verstappen.
With six laps remaining, Hamilton deployed stored battery power and passed Verstappen into Turn 1. Verstappen stayed within the overtake boost window until the end, but could not find a way through. Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari.
Hamilton overtakes Verstappen on the outside! 😮💨
This is how the move for the second spot on the podium unfolded… 👇#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/m0Md9UvUbc
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 24, 2026
Hamilton describes the thrill of hunting down Verstappen
After the race, Hamilton made no attempt to downplay how much he enjoyed the fight.
“It was awesome. Absolutely awesome to fight with one of the greats. It was massively challenging,” he told Sky Sports F1.
He explained how the two cars matched up across different parts of the circuit.
“I think our cars are relatively close. You see him 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. And very challenging behind him.”
The tyre difference gave Hamilton his opening. “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,” he said.
#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 | Lewis Hamilton on his battle with Max Verstappen:
“It was awesome. Absolutely awesome to fight with one of the greats. It was massively challenging.”
“I think our cars are relatively close, I would say. You see him in qualifying, we were relatively close. And I… pic.twitter.com/w0rHNpDKVK
— deni (@fiagirly) May 25, 2026
He then connected that instinct to his earliest days in the sport. “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.”
Hamilton also credited his Ferrari crew during the post-race interview with Heikki Kovalainen.
“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 weekend, it’s an amazing feeling,” he said.
Rivals, respect and a cooldown room chat to remember
The exchange between Hamilton and Verstappen continued inside the cooldown room, where Antonelli joined them later. Hamilton smiled at Verstappen and said, “I couldn’t shake you!”
Verstappen replied that he kept recovering time on the straights after losing it through the chicanes. “The middle chicanes, every time you’d pull three tenths, but then I just got it back on the straight,” he said.
Hamilton’s response was simple: “It was mad.”
Fans on social media reacted warmly to the moment between the two long-time rivals.
In his post-race chat with Kovalainen, Verstappen reflected positively on the race despite Red Bull’s difficult 2026 season, shaped by the team’s struggles with the new regulations.
“Cool battle with Lewis at the end. In a weekend when it’s not that easy to get things right, to be on the podium is extremely positive,” he said. He also noted it was the first race this year where nothing went wrong for him.
Hamilton sits fourth in the standings with 72 points, three behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Verstappen is seventh with 43 points. The Monaco Grand Prix is next, the first of six races across eight weeks in F1’s European summer stretch.
Fans would be eager to know whether Hamilton and Ferrari can carry their momentum into that run, and whether the two former title rivals will meet on track again.
