F1 2025 Canadian Grand Prix Review (Undercutters Ep25 transcript)

Hello, everyone. This is the 25th edition of the Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Canadian Grand Prix of 2025. Would it live up to the glories of the past, or be a little bit more boring, like Suzuka was?

As always, you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1, or read the transcripts and admire the lovely graphs at morrisf1.blogspot.com. But that’s enough waffling from me.

Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying 00m32s

Canadian qualifying was another very tightly contested session. One key takeaway is that three of the drivers out in Q1, Sainz (who was blocked), Stroll, and Lawson, had teammates who made it to Q3. Alonso was very fast throughout and ended up 6th on the grid, right behind Hamilton and ahead of Norris. Another interesting result was Gasly being slowest on track while Colapinto qualified 11th and started 10th due to Hadjar’s penalty for impeding Sainz.

At the sharp end it seemed a Verstappen-Piastri duel but then Russell claimed it at the last moment for a great pole result. Norris, meanwhile, made various mistakes, bailing on his first attempt and then only managing 7th on his last. Qualifying errors are eating away at Norris’ title hopes.

Also, Tsunoda had decent pace in qualifying and was 11th fastest but started last thanks to a 10 place grid penalty for overtaking under red flags in practice. This was perhaps harsh as he passed the slow-moving and damaged car of Piastri, but there we are.

Canadian Grand Prix Review 1m47s

The cars lined up on the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix, mostly on the medium tyre. Leclerc and Norris had hard tyres and were the exception in the top 10, with everyone from 14th place Ocon down on the hard tyre as well. Lawson and Gasly opted for new power units and hence started from the pit lane.

There’s only a short run from the grid to the first corner, but Piastri ended up losing out to Antonelli in the first few corners and this determined, to a large extent, the final result. The Italian youngster drove well throughout, catching up to Verstappen at various points and then defending skilfully to keep the clearly faster Piastri behind him. Given the Aussie is no slouch when it comes to overtaking this was impressive stuff, and Antonelli fully deserved his first ever podium.

There were question marks about the Mercedes heading into this race, including whether the engine would fail, as it has recently, or if the higher temperatures compared to qualifying would cause it to cook its tyres. But the Mercedes ran very well all race, the only time when it seemed Russell might be in trouble from Verstappen was when unlucky timing with backmarkers rapidly narrowed the gap in the latter stages. Otherwise, Russell had too much pace for the Red Bull. Not only that, it was Verstappen whose tyres were going off towards the end of stints, making him look perhaps at risk from Antonelli.

First and third for Mercedes not only makes it a first podium for Antonelli but the first race of the year with no McLaren on the podium. Could’ve been one, they both looked faster than Antonelli and were right on his tail.

We finally got to see the McLarens racing in anger, with Norris aided by traffic to quickly get within DRS of Piastri. He looked faster, and was on fresher tyres, but the Aussie defended well then got within DRS of Antonelli to equalise that advantage. The pair were fighting hard but leaving space and not doing anything obnoxious, and it was a great battle between the two of them. But, in the end, Norris went for a gap that wasn’t there, and it cost him a DNF, and brought out a late safety car. It was a clear error of judgement, and Norris owned up to it over the radio. Foolish and unnecessary, he was faster than Piastri today but his lack of wisdom cost him a bundle of points.

Why did it happen? Just before the incident the two McLarens were side-by-side in the second DRS zone, and Norris braked noticeably earlier for the kink ahead of the Wall of Champions. He got a better exit onto the second DRS zone, and was gaining rapidly. But then Norris made a critical misjudgement, going to the left for a gap too small for an F1 car instead of going to the right.

The top drivers all had a two stop but there was a possibility of a one stop. Leclerc seemed to want this but the team overrode his desire. In the past, I think Monza last year, he’s been able to make one fewer stop to win the race. Perhaps the team should’ve gambled. Ferrari also had misfortune with Hamilton, who suffered early damage that cost him a lot of pace and effectively put him in his own little No Man’s Land. They never really challenged those ahead of them and ended up 5th and 6th at the flag. If Leclerc had been allowed the 1 stop then perhaps he might’ve ended up on the podium, but Ferrari strategy thwarted this hope. On that note, Hamilton was pitted into traffic which cost him a bundle of time too. Didn’t affect things too much given his situation but still less than ideal.

It’s not easy being green, when your car’s really slow, but maybe those days are over. Alonso looked fast all through qualifying and he had a strong race to finish in 7th. After all the bad luck he suffered this season it’s nice to see him score for the second race in a row. Hulkenberg also had another points finish, bringing the Sauber home in 8th. More good stuff from two of the best midfield drivers.

Ocon was just inside the points in 9th, Bearman just outside in 11th, making this a decent result for Haas, who seem one of the more unpredictable teams this season.

Albon has scored a lot this year but this time around he was hamstrung by his power unit. It had problems early on and by lap 48 it gave up entirely. He was able to park it sensibly off-track. Sainz just squeaked into the points in 10th, but given he was out in Q1 he’ll probably take that. Far from vintage Williams, though.

Racing Bulls had a shocker, with Lawson boxing to retire and Hadjar finishing second from last on the road in 16th. They’re one of the best teams in the midfield but in Canada looked nowhere in the race. Speaking of shockers, while Alonso was best of the rest, Stroll was last on the road at his home Grand Prix. Luckily, he has a huge asset sharing his surname and 50% of his genome with the team’s owner.

After the race, Red Bull protested that Russell had been guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct for excessively braking while leading under the safety car then complaining Verstappen had overtaken him (which, briefly, the Dutchman did). Happily, this nonsense of a protest was rejected. There’s always some degree of diving footballers with the drivers over the radio, but this was especially silly. At the same time, Verstappen complained over the radio that Russell had braked excessively. Neither deserved a penalty but it was not an edifying spectacle.

Did Russell brake hard to try and get Verstappen to pass him so he could whine over the radio about being passed? We’ve seen hard braking under the safety car before, such as Hamilton against Vettel in Baku. Vettel responded by wheel-banging Hamilton and the only penalty there was for Vettel, although Hamilton was never passed and never radioed criticising the German driver. Given Russell had the win in the bag, it would be a needless and petty thing to do. It does appear, though, that he checked his mirrors before doing it. It’s also worth noting that while Red Bull lodged a formal protest, Mercedes did not despite Verstappen passing under the safety car, though he immediately gave the place back.

Incidentally, Norris got a 5s penalty for the collision with Piastri. Because he was classified this just got added to his race time and has no implications for the next race.

McLaren Stumble, Mercedes Triumphant 8m16s

McLarens’ two biggest strengths this year have been that they’re quick everywhere and that their tyre wear is less than their rivals. But in Canada Piastri was behind both a Mercedes and a Red Bull in qualifying, and Norris was way down in 7th. If anything, the tyre advantage lay with Mercedes in the race, which seemed kind of bizarre given they typically chew their tyres up and dislike hotter temperatures, and the race was significantly warmer than qualifying.

Was the one stop on for those at the front? Maybe, both Norris and Leclerc started on the hard tyres and had the opportunity to try it. Despite a differing strategy to Piastri the two McLarens converged on track at the end, to such an extent they collided and Norris got no points. Leclerc, meanwhile, was consigned to 5th with his two stop. I think a one stop was worth thinking about it, especially given both McLaren and Ferrari had deliberately split their strategies by starting one driver on the hard tyre and the other on the medium. Passing on-track was fairly difficult without a substantial pace advantage, so going for a strategic difference could’ve worked nicely. However, tyres were running out, as we saw particularly with Verstappen towards the end of his earlier stints, which allowed Antonelli to get very close. If you screw up a one stop then you can end up with nothing (although, this happened to Norris anyway). For McLaren, I think playing it safe made sense. They had the pace to challenge for the podium that way. For Ferrari, I think they should’ve taken a gamble because they had a lot less to lose. Leclerc might’ve finished behind Hamilton but would’ve been ahead of Alonso so it still would’ve been a Ferrari 5-6. Unless the tyres lost it entirely it was worth a shot.

It’s also worth noting there were differing suspension arrangements with the McLaren. Both drivers had a new version available, Norris went for it and Piastri did not. Norris seemed faster in the race, which may bode well for the rest of the season for him if he can make better judgements in racing and cut out qualifying errors. If he cannot, Piastri will likely walk away and claim the title.

Tsunoda ended up 12th and out of the points. He started almost last, due to a slightly unfortunate penalty. Had he started where he qualified, in 11th, it’s near certain he would’ve grabbed himself a decent number of points. On the bright side, while still a long way off Verstappen, he was in the running and it was the penalty more than the performance that cost Tsunoda.

The Canadian Grand Prix in 2025 had a dramatic end, the first time the McLarens had a proper fight, the first non-McLaren podium of the year, and Antonelli’s first podium. 

Canadian Grand Prix Predictions Assessment 11m09s

My predictions were ok last time but things were a bit redder in Canada. Quite a lot redder, in fact.

Piastri was in the running for pole but finished behind both Russell and Verstappen so that prediction was red.

I also got the top three hopelessly wrong, foolishly thinking the McLarens would be there. I had Verstappen 3rd rather than 2nd so that was narrowly red. For midfield points, Hadjar had a surprisingly weak 16th, but Sainz did sneak into the points in 10th.

Annoyingly, my Sauber prediction for both to escape Q1 failed by seven-thousandths of a second. If Bortoleto had skipped breakfast he probably would’ve made it. Oh well. So, after a good result in Spain this time around was a return to dire predictions.

F1 2025 Standings after the Canadian Grand Prix 12m00s

Right now Piastri is on 198 points, Norris 176 points, Verstappen has 155, and Russell is on 136 points.

The result in Canada has extended Piastri’s lead to 22 points. Norris could’ve and should’ve finished ahead of him and cut it from 10 to 7 points. The upside is the British driver had good pace, the downside is the failing was entirely down to his own judgement. It’s nice he’s admitted that but it’d be nicer still not to make such a mistake.

Verstappen is 43 points off Piastri. I think that it’s still unlikely he can do anything to retain his title but the season is long and if McLaren has a few more Canada-style results it might not be impossible. Russell, despite winning, is 62 points off Piastri. He’s out of this, barring a huge change in fortunes in the second half of the season.

Among the teams Mercedes have retaken 2nd with 199 points ahead of Ferrari’s 183 and Red Bull’s 162. With only one driver at the sharp end, I think Red Bull are destined to end up 4th. The Mercedes/Ferrari battle could be good, though. While Canada was amazing for the Silver Arrows, the Prancing Horse had three much stronger races in a row before that, so I think we’ll see this stay tight all season long.

McLaren have 374 points while Williams are on 55 and remain 5th.

The midfield is very competitive, with Haas and Racing Bulls tied on 28 points each. Aston Martin are on 22 points, helped by Alonso’s recent good form and the end of his curse, and Sauber are on 20, meaning those four teams are covered by just 8 points. Alpine remain on 11. It’s worth noting Colapinto outqualified Gasly and finished two places ahead of him in Canada, so the Argentine driver seems to be finding his feet.

F1 News 14m11s

F1 news.

In the run-up to Canada, but too late for the previous podcast, the 2026 calendar was released. As in 2025, there are 24 races and a couple of changes but nothing too unexpected. Canada has been moved from the European leg to follow Miami, which seems to make sense in terms of cutting down air travel although some wonder about the weather conditions in late May (it’s about 3 weeks earlier than this year). Spain has two races, starting with Barcelona in June and ending with Madrid in September. For the most part the dates are a little more spread out, except at the end where we have the Circuit of the Americas, Mexico, and Brazil as a triple header, then a fortnight to another triple header of Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

Imola will not be on the calendar next year. While both Belgium and the Netherlands remain for 2026, Spa is becoming a rotating circuit whereas Zandvoort is departing entirely in the near future. Speaking of Spa, the Belgian Grand Prix is scheduled for the same day as the World Cup Final, the 19th of June. And the Canadian Grand Prix’s new slot means it will clash with the Indy 500.

And that is that for the Canadian Grand Prix review. Thank you for listening. Don’t forget to leave a positive rating, I know jumping through digital hoops is annoying but it does help the podcast a lot. The next race, a fortnight after Canada, is in Austria.





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