VERSTAPPIE NEWS BULLETIN - 5th EDITION
MONTRÉAL 2026:
qualified sixth! started on softs: grid didn't agree on tyre strategy, every tyre but hards and full wets represented. got a difficult launch on the tyres because there's three formation laps.
held position at the start, improved to p5 when piastri pitted lap one and p4 when norris did the same a lap later.
cars on inters swapped to mediums, majority of the field is now on softs w/mclaren alpine bottas and lawson on mediums. everyone's one-stopping, including us.
sets fastest lap on lap three and five.
overtook hamilton for p3, hamilton reporting energy issue on the radio right after. he stays close behind, chasing.
gap to antonelli, ahead, is 3.5, by lap twelve it's 4.5: merc pace does merc pace things. antonelli and russell are in a battle of their own at the front, alternating lead, while we try to catch.
yellow flag for laps thirteen-fourteen. hamilton gaining time on us during; max reports on radio. after yellow lifts we're steadily dropping a tenth or so every lap in what seems to be the same issue plaguing our energy deployment that struck during the sprint too.
at lap twenty-three, antonelli 7 ahead. merc position swapping gets increasingly edgy across laps twenty-four-ish to thirty. a crash seems likely but instead on lap thirty something in russell's car gives out and he's forced to retire.
vsc called while russell's car is dragged off; nearly everyone dives into the pit lane. we take a 2.7s stop, coming out in p2 with medium tyres that we'll ultimately take to the end. vsc ends on lap thirty-three.
hamilton overtakes eventually &starts putting in fastest laps, behind us again in p3 on lap fourty-two
second vsc called on lap fourty-six and the pit entry closed while a marshall sprints across track to clear a broken piece of car, and then the vsc ends on that same lap.
gap to antonelli, ahead, is 5, and hamilton, behind, 2.2, on lap fourty-nine.
third vsc called on lap fifty-three for more debris recovery, lifted one lap later.
hamilton one second behind and closing. lap fifty-six nipping at our heels, both cars dancing on the limit of grip. nearly into the wall of champions: saved. next corner, lewis lunges: fended off. gap is less than a second, max holding hamilton JUST out of range.
insane sicko 3344 magic across laps fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine... hamilton, struggling with power again, drops to 1.1 behind on lap sixty in order to charge battery but remains within threatening range. seven laps to go.
second yellow flag that lasts half a blink.
hamilton overtakes for p2, passing neatly on the straight. and okay guys i'll toneswap suddenly and say the conclusion of this battle was such a ruined orgasm bc the overtake happened after max's car took a cue from hamilton's and stopped deploying power. the onboard looks like his motor isn't even on. really frustrating artificial end to a genuinely great w2w fight.
gap to hamilton 0.5 with four laps left in the race; max hurls himself at it. nearly overtakes again on lap sixty-seven, just too far back in the corner to make it stick, and then the car locks up on the straight and goes wide into t10, giving hamilton a few tenths of breathing room. right until the last second max is clawing for it, but at the checkered flag—
finished p3! first podium of the year!!!! 💫⭐️✨️🏆🌷
teammate: qualified p7, finished p5. sprint result: qualified p7, finished p7 - teammate: qualified p8, finished p21.