The 2026 F1 season finally gave the fans something that was missed the most from the sport – a classic duel between two of its greatest drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Canadian GP. According to Hamilton, he enjoyed competing with Verstappen when he overtook him on track at the end of the race to claim P2. The competition reminded many people of the famous championship duel the two had back in 2021, although this time everything finished amicably. This is the best result Hamilton ever achieved for Ferrari after moving there. Verstappen managed to claim his first 2026 podium finish.
Hamilton said after the race, “It was awesome, absolutely awesome to fight with one of the greats.. Once I 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 I was a kid.”
The duel became remarkable in that the two drivers did not make a mistake and drove flat out for multiple laps. Hamilton had previously been having problems with his straight-line speed, whereas Verstappen was faster on the straights. But Ferrari’s speed going into the corners gradually narrowed the gap. With six laps to go, Hamilton managed to pull off the pass and defend it to the finish.
Race changed several times before Hamilton’s late move
The Canadian Grand Prix was not an easy one before the Hamilton vs. Verstappen battle began. The winner of the race, Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes, managed to get ahead of his teammate and leader of the race, George Russell. The latter dropped out due to an issue with the power unit at Lap 30. The situation of the other two drivers also drastically changed after the retirement of Russell. Verstappen was able to overtake Hamilton to take the leading position in the race by Lap 9 due to the issues with Ferrari’s car, which could not provide enough power to its driver anymore. Verstappen managed to extend his lead to more than seven seconds in the initial stint.
McLaren was no longer able to compete against Mercedes in the Canadian Grand Prix due to a failed tyre strategy. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri started their race using intermediates, causing them to lose some positions and giving Hamilton and Verstappen another chance.
Hamilton explains how he chased down Verstappen
Hamilton went on to explain that the pursuit in itself had been the most enjoyable aspect of the race. According to the Ferrari racer, the whole process required great patience, calculation, and proper management of the car’s energy according to the revised 2026 regulations. This means that racers must be highly dependent on their energy management and overtaking mechanisms in races, especially in tracks such as Montreal which are sensitive to energy levels. Hamilton pointed out that the Ferrari was stronger than the Red Bull in the corners but Red Bull made up for the lost time in the straight parts of the track.
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This placed Hamilton in fourth position in the overall driver standings with 72 points. This particular race also signaled his best performance since joining Ferrari. Hamilton praised the entire Ferrari team for having pulled through one tough period in search of the setup window. On his part, Verstappen acknowledged that although he lost out to Hamilton in the latter stages of the race, he thoroughly enjoyed the fight. According to the Dutch racer, having a race between cars running within one second meant more energy could be channeled on the straights, making the battle all the more intense. He went on to add that it was his first normal race this season.
Hamilton and Verstappen share respect after the race
Their ongoing feud has made headlines multiple times since their disputed title battle in 2021. This time, though, the atmosphere in the cooldown room was markedly more relaxed as the two drivers conversed. Hamilton told Verstappen he could not get rid of him after the pass on track. Verstappen claimed he was consistently making up lost time through overtaking on the straight sections of the circuit after falling back in the chicanes. All Hamilton could say about it was “mad” – he was just amazed at how fast they had been passing each other towards the end of the race.
In his post-race chat with Kovalainen, Verstappen reflected positively on the race, “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.”
This particular interaction became one of the highlights of the race weekend. Fans liked watching the rivals relishing their competition instead of fighting over it after the checkered flag. Verstappen himself called the podium experience “very positive” for Red Bull despite another challenging season under the new rules. Overall, the Montreal GP provided Formula 1 with much more than an exciting race result: it brought a reminder that Hamilton and Verstappen are the biggest on-track stars in the sport.
