Canadian Grand Prix: Race Recap

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Esteban Ocon ninth – scoring two points, and Oliver Bearman 11th, at the Canadian Grand Prix held Sunday at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.    

Ocon took the start from 14th place on Pirelli P Zero White hard tires and maintained position through the opening phase of the race, before swiftly passing teammate Bearman and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman ran a lengthy first stint, making another move on Williams’ Alex Albon, before finally pitting on lap 58 for Yellow medium tires, emerging from the pit lane in 10th position. Ocon moved up to ninth in the closing stages when McLaren’s Lando Norris crashed out to add two more points to his and MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s championship tally on the occasion of the team’s 200th grand prix.

Bearman started from 13th position on mediums and preserved the place on the opening lap, before coming into the pits on lap 18 for hard tires. Bearman ran in the thick of the midfield fight throughout, passing both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, before coming in on lap 67 for Red soft tires under the safety car. The race finished behind the safety car, denying Bearman the opportunity to utilize the fresh compound – the British racer greeting the checkered flag in 11th place.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team holds sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship, on 28 points.

George Russell of Mercedes claimed the victory in Montreal, ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, with Kimi Antonelli joining his Mercedes teammate on the podium in third.  

Ollie Bearman:

“Honestly, we had more pace in the car today than it looked, but with the strategy we got stuck in traffic with other people starting on the hard tire. In a DRS train it’s really hard to overtake, so we had a lot more pace and once I got into free air, we had that, but I spent the race stuck. There could’ve been a bit more today, but I’m happy the team scored points in their 200th race.”

Esteban Ocon:

“I’m pleased with all the work the team has done this weekend; we maximized our potential because it wasn’t clear-cut that our strategy was going to be better before the race, but it paid off to take the risk today. We managed to deliver a solid race, achieve good laps in clear air which was important, so we overcut quite a lot of cars, and then we brought the car home. It’s a good reward for the team to get something out of our 200th race, and to seize the opportunity as they don’t come every day.”  

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Overall, it was a good result for the team today to score P9 with Esteban coming from P14. We decided to split strategy between Ollie and Esteban, and what Ollie faced today – starting on mediums and getting stuck behind hard starters – was one scenario that could happen, so that was the case and it didn’t work for him. Esteban’s strategy, which was actually slower on paper, was great. I think both drivers drove very well today; Ollie was frustrated behind traffic but he clearly had the speed, and Esteban’s tire management was perfect and he didn’t make any mistakes. We showed that we have strong race pace, but next race we need to put it all together from FP1 and qualify well.”