Sunday Team Quotes

McLaren Formula 1 Team

Oscar Piastri (4th): "It was a tricky race. It wasn't my best start and then we were a little on the backfoot from there. In the second half of the race, the pace was good, it was just tough to overtake. We come away with 12 points which is what we could have maximised today."

Lando Norris (18th): "Our number one rule is to not make contact with your team-mate, and unfortunately that is what happened today. I apologise to Oscar and the team. I thought I had a small opportunity, but with hindsight, I should never have gone for that move. I've paid the price and I'm glad nothing adverse happened to Oscar. I will put it behind me and learn from today's mistake to come back stronger as a team in Austria."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "A challenging weekend for the team both in terms of performance and in terms of the outcome. From a performance point of view, we managed to improve the competitiveness of the MCL39 thanks to the good work of the team and the drivers. In the race we were able to stay in contention for a podium finish, but we didn't have the advantage that we have experienced in previous races this season. We now have a few things to review to make sure we get back in contention to win races at the upcoming events. In terms of outcome, for the first time this season we scored points with only one car. Lando, after a strong recovery in the race, was in fact involved in an accident while challenging Oscar, which put him out of the race. This resulted in contact between the two cars due to a misjudgement by Lando. The team appreciated that Lando immediately took responsibility for a situation which has cost him important points in the Championship. We will now regroup, take our time to review a few things and make sure we come back stronger, and continue what has been an extremely positive season so far."

Scuderia Ferrari HP

Charles Leclerc (5th): "P5 was the best we could do today. We could maybe have tried to do something different with the strategy, but at the end of the day, it wouldn't have changed much for the outcome of the race. Most of all, our starting position was what put us at a disadvantage. It's quite a specific track, so I don't think that too much of what we saw in terms of performance will carry on to the coming races. We will regroup and come back stronger."

Lewis Hamilton (6th): "P6 is a good result considering the cards we were dealt today. The car felt good in the opening laps and I was optimistic about what we could do, but unfortunately we picked up significant damage early on which cost us a lot of downforce. From that point, it was tough to manage the balance and pace, and some brake issues in the middle stint made things even harder. We're not where we need to be, but we're fully focused on the steps we need to take to compete at the front. That's our priority heading into Austria."

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: "I believe the main issue this weekend is that we made too many mistakes and had too many issues right from FP1, when we lost one car, then came a mistake in qualifying and in the race Lewis lost a good amount of points of downforce early on after unfortunately hitting a small animal that ran onto the track which damaged the front part of the floor. If I could replay the weekend I would choose not to have missed FP2 with one car as it meant we were unable to long stint the tyres and that was our main issue today. And that's how you end up P5 and P6. We have to take some positives from the weekend, starting with our pace in quali. Yesterday Charles had the fastest first sector before having to abort the lap and our race pace is not far off the quickest, but when you don't put everything together you find yourself in traffic. I am sure we will get a break soon, we just need a clean weekend. If we put everything together we can do it."

Oracle Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen (2nd): "There are lots of positives from the weekend: as a Team we did the best performance possible, got it right and our car was in a decent window. Today we definitely maximised everything that we had available. We drove quite a defensive race today and it was quite tough out there. The tyre degradation was quite high and in the first two stints we were going through the tyres quite quickly. We were quite aggressive with our strategy to stay ahead and during the last pit stop I thought it might be difficult to make it to the end. The last stint helped us a bit with the lighter fuel load and we were a bit more kind on the tyres which was positive. If you look at the whole race this was the maximum result possible. We didn't really have the pace to fight upfront and had a bit too much degradation to be in the fight for the win, so I'm happy to be P2. The gap wasn't big to George but didn't think I had the pace to fight for the win. There are lots of positives from the weekend: as a Team we did the best performance possible, got it right and our car was in a decent window. Looking to the next race we have a bit of work to do with our tyre management and the degradation but lots of positives to take forward."

Yuki Tsunoda (12th): "We made some improvements and upgrades to the car this weekend so we are going in a positive direction. The pace felt okay today so we were able to make up some positions after starting in P18. On the medium tyre I was in more traffic and just couldn't maximise in the dirty air, the safety car also was not at the best time for our race. It was at least a clean race after a messy day yesterday, and we made some improvements and upgrades to the car this weekend so we are going in a positive direction. This was the best we could achieve today, but I want more. I'm looking forward to debriefing with the Team, resetting, and then going to Austria next as it is a track I really like. My focus is on building up the confidence and trust in the car and hopefully can get good results in Austria in front of a home crowd."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "I thought as a Team we did a good job today and got everything out of it that we could. It was a good race by Max today, he was competitive from start to finish, so it's been a solid day in the Drivers' Championship and those are good points for Max. We were competitive in the last stint and there were probably points in the race we could have maybe pushed a bit harder, but certainly that final stint was pretty competitive. We will focus on the race and take the positives out of it. McLaren obviously had a difficult race in the end today and you have to be there to capitalise on it in the end, you can only focus on yourselves. McLaren have two guys racing hard and they have actually done quite well that it's taken 10 races for something like that to happen. That is racing and on days like that you have to try and take advantage. Mercedes have done a good job here this weekend and it just shows how things can shift around. Well done to them and well done to George, we will fight back at the next one. I thought as a Team we did a good job today and got everything out of it that we could. Yuki drove a good race on a one stop today and he was unlucky not to get points in the end."

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

George Russell (1st): "I am really pleased to take the team's first victory of the season. I felt in control throughout and was able to manage the race to bring home the win. With the slightly higher temperatures, we thought we may struggle a little more than we saw on Friday. We did a good job of managing the tyres though and had the pace to hold off the chasing pack. A big well done and thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth and a massive congratulations to Kimi on taking his first of what I am sure will be many podiums. We look to have made a step forward with our car in recent races. We have typically gone well in Montreal though and we knew this race would likely suit us a little more than others. We can't get ahead of ourselves as there is still plenty of work for us to do to get into the fight for victories more regularly. I am looking forward to trying to do that next time out in Austria."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli (3rd): "That was a very intense and stressful race! I am really happy to take my first podium in F1 though. The start was the key to achieving that. I managed to get track position on Piastri and that enabled us to show our pace. At moments I was able to catch Verstappen and put him under pressure. In the final stint, I think I pushed a little too hard in the early stages and that made it difficult near the end. I was able to defend from the McLarens though and bring the car home in P3. I want to say thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. They have been working so hard to improve the car and I am glad to be able to get a result like this and have both our cars on the podium. It is a special moment for me personally and I am looking forward to building on it in the coming races."

Toto Wolff, Team Principal: "That was a superb race by the team and both drivers today. George was absolutely faultless at the front. He controlled the race throughout and didn't put a foot wrong. It was another assured performance of which we have seen many so far this season. He was quick on both compounds and didn't come under threat after the first corner. Kimi meanwhile drove his own great race. He made a strong start and that set him up for the rest of the race. He nearly managed to get second and then battled and defended well in the closing stages to hold off the McLarens. He fully deserved to get on the podium and his first top three finish which I am sure there will be many more of. We've taken a positive forward step this weekend. The track temperature today was nearly 50°C but we managed to look after the tyres well and combine that with good pace. We know that there is more for us to do for this to be a consistent level of performance each and every race. That is what we are focused on doing though and we look forward to the upcoming races to continue that momentum."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: "Our first race win and double podium of the year are a fantastic reward at the end of a strong weekend. George put in a faultless drive and controlled the race from the front - it was a truly accomplished performance. For Kimi, scoring his first podium is another major milestone in his first half-season as an F1 driver, and he did it under some serious pressure from the championship leader, too. After Friday's long runs, we hoped that we could keep ourselves in the mix across the race distance, and so it proved today. We were competitive in terms of our tyre usage on both the Medium and Hard compounds, and able to build useful gaps to Red Bull and McLaren when it mattered. After a difficult triple header, this was a great way to bounce back and reward the hard work that both factories have put into improving the car. We know that some of the circuit characteristics suited us this weekend, but it nonetheless feels like we've made some good learnings. There are still weaknesses we need to improve on but we are working hard to do that and to continue fighting at the sharp end of the field."

Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

Fernando Alonso (7th): "It was a good race for us today. I felt happy with the car and as expected managing the tyres was difficult. We went into the race and knew eighth position would be more our realistic pace and I couldn't keep the faster cars behind. It seems our race pace is not as competitive as Qualifying and it's something which we need to look into going forward. Let's see if anything comes from the investigations later and we'll look ahead to Austria and our home race in Silverstone."

Lance Stroll (17th): "It's been a long rough day and I'm not so pleased with this weekend overall. It was always going to be difficult starting the race from P17, but I also didn't feel like the car had the pace today to make up any positions. We go again in Austria in two weeks time. We will work hard to find areas of improvement in all areas until then."

Andy Cowell, CEO & Team Principal: "A good step forward for us here in Montreal as we mark our 100th race as a team. Fernando finished P7, his highest of the season, scoring some well-deserved points for the team. We stuck to our Plan A strategy and executed it well. It was good to have Lance back in the car this weekend. Today was challenging for him after an unlucky Qualifying. We need to learn from this weekend to help improve the feel of the car for him. We are determined to keep pushing in all areas as we head to Austria in two weeks' time."

BWT Alpine F1 Team

Franco Colapinto (13th): "A tough afternoon for us and certainly not what we expected or wanted. We put ourselves in a good position starting from tenth on the grid and I had a good start to the race to overtake some cars on the first lap. Of course, from there, points are the target and we were a bit unfortunate on strategy and reaching traffic, which impacted our race. I do think the car had good pace today and we need to understand what we can do better next time. It's a very tough track, one we expected to be challenging for us, so we can certainly take positives from some parts of the weekend. I am happy with the progress I made through the weekend despite the end result and for sure I want to continue that into Austria."

Pierre Gasly (15th): "We have lots to review after today's race. It was always going to be difficult starting from the Pit Lane after tactical changes to the car under parc ferme conditions. We tried something a little different on strategy and, in the end, it was a frustrating afternoon being stuck behind cars and struggling on the straights to make any overtakes. We need to aim to start higher up on the grid as for sure we can be much more competitive with better track position. I think our pace was decent when we had clean air but, unfortunately, we were just stuck too long in traffic. We will regroup and aim to have a better weekend in Austria next time out."

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team

Esteban Ocon (9th): "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."

Oliver Bearman (11th): "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."

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."

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team

Isack Hadjar (16th): "Since the start of the weekend we've been struggling a bit with the car, so we'll review everything together with the team and we'll get back pushing always more in Austria in two weeks time. It was a difficult Sunday here in Montréal. I had high graining on the medium tyres at the start of the race and unfortunately, I think we pitted a little bit too late, which made us lose a few places. After that, I just got stuck in a DRS train for the rest of the race, and towards the end, we didn't really have much pace and therefore got past from other cars. Since the start of the weekend we've been struggling a bit with the car, so we'll review everything together with the team and we'll get back pushing always more in Austria in two weeks time."

Liam Lawson (DNF, Cooling): "A cooling issue towards the end of today's race meant we unfortunately had to retire, which is a shame given the pace of the car this weekend was good. It was always going to be a difficult race starting from the pit lane, but we took the decision to install a new PU after a tough Quali yesterday. A cooling issue towards the end of today's race meant we unfortunately had to retire, which is a shame given the pace of the car this weekend was good. We'll keep working on the speed and I'll keep working on myself to reset ahead of Austria."

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal: "We certainly take some positives from this weekend and the fight is on, so we'll keep pushing all together in Faenza and Milton Keynes to come back stronger. Hopefully, we'll be able to do it straight away at our next home race in Austria in a couple of weeks. We arrived in Montréal with good expectations after three very strong weekends in Europe. However, we knew how tough this circuit is and how intense the battle in the midfield would be. Yesterday's Qualifying was another strong performance for Isack who qualified P9 before he got penalized. The mistake was on our side as we failed to give him the right information about Carlos coming behind. Everything started to become a bit more difficult today with Isack starting in P12 and Liam from the pit lane, as we took the opportunity to introduce a new PU on his car after a difficult result in Qualifying. The hard fact is that we didn't have enough pace today to fight in the top ten. Isack suffered high graining on his tyres during the first stint on the mediums and sadly we had to retire Liam's car due to an issue in the cooling system. It's a tight battle in the midfield and even only one-tenth can make the difference, and today it was enough to drop back instead of attacking forward. Looking back at the last few months, every single improvement we've made as a team has been made after tough weekends like this one in Canada. We certainly take some positives from this weekend and the fight is on, so we'll keep pushing all together in Faenza and Milton Keynes to come back stronger. Hopefully, we'll be able to do it straight away at our next home race in Austria in a couple of weeks."

Williams Racing

Carlos Sainz (10th): "Good to at least score one point today, but I'm pretty frustrated as I spent the race managing an issue, so I couldn't even compete properly. We did a good job to bring the car home and save a point but, as a team, we need to avoid these situations. We didn't show our maximum potential this weekend for one reason or the other and with such a tight field, it obviously affects the final outcome. We'll regroup and go back at it again in Europe in a couple of weeks."

Alexander Albon (DNF, Power unit): "It's been a frustrating one today. We retired with the PU issue, but the race was already over for us. I struggled on the first lap, and then we tried to make a one stop work, but with the graining today it was really hard to manage the tyres. Sometimes you can drive around it but not today. Race strategy is also something we are usually strong at, but we struggled today and that's not to blame the team, but it just wasn't quite there, so we'll have a look at it and come back stronger next time."

James Vowles, Team Principal: "A really strong race from Carlos. He showed great race pace under difficult circumstances, managing a number of aspects of the car, and he did a brilliant job to come home and bring another valuable point to the team. After Alex got pushed back at the start, his race was a lot more difficult. Ultimately it was a DNF, which we need to understand, but he had potential to fight back through the field again and pick up points. What it demonstrates is we need perfect weekends executed against this very tight midfield in order to score points and we haven't been executing as well as we could do. However, still an important point today for our Championship battle."

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg (8th): "I'm really happy with today's result - another strong race and more points on the board, which is always satisfying. I was able to stay out of trouble and take advantage of some battling ahead between Franco [Colapinto] and Alex [Albon] into Turn 8, which allowed me to gain a couple of positions exiting Turn 9. From there, it was about tyre management and maintaining consistent pace, making sure we executed the race cleanly. We've now shown competitive pace at two very different circuits which also means the recent update has been a clear step forward. Especially under race condition our car was more consistent, better balanced, and overall much more predictable to drive. That kind of stability really allows you to push when it counts."

Gabriel Bortoleto (14th): "It was a tough weekend overall for me, but I am pleased to see the team score again. We were very close to Q2 in qualifying, but not making the cut yesterday compromised our Sunday: starting from P15 with faster cars like the Williams, Red Bull, and RB behind made it difficult. I had to push a lot on the tyres to keep ahead, and that in turn affected how the race progressed for me. We tried a strategy with a long first stint on the hard tyre, hoping for a Safety Car that came far too late, and once you're 20 seconds back after a pit stop, there's only so much you can recover, even on fresh tyres. I feel there was more potential - we could've gained another couple of positions on pace alone - but we need to understand what more we can do to start scoring points. Nico is doing a great job again, probably extracting all this car has to give, but knowing how close we are on a Saturday shows that our performance is close. We're usually within half a tenth of each other in qualifying but, in this midfield, that can make a huge difference, as we've seen in the last couple of weekends. I think I'm extracting the pace, but I also need to learn how to maximise outcomes over the course of the race, and this will come with experience, weekend after weekend. I'm not going to complain—it's about reviewing everything, learning, and coming back stronger. We've made progress since Barcelona, even if this track didn't suit us as much, and I'm confident we're going in the right direction."

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: "It's a fantastic atmosphere within the team tonight after a really strong performance here in Canada. Both drivers got off the line well, and Nico in particular showed great awareness and racecraft on lap one - holding back just enough to avoid the early chaos and seizing the opportunity to gain two places. From there, he delivered a composed and intelligent drive. Starting on the medium compound, our switch to the hard tyre proved to be spot on. It ultimately paid off as Nico brought it home in P8 under the Safety Car, delivering back-to-back points for the team, which is a big achievement and a milestone we hadn't reached since Canada 2023. Gabriel had a tougher run, from further back but still put in a solid stint on the hards - battling through graining, traffic, and some intense racing to finish a respectable P14. The team has delivered another strong performance today. Strategically, our calls were right on the mark, the pit crew executed clean and efficient stops, and most importantly, we've once again shown that we have a race car capable of fighting in the midfield. Credit also goes to the wider team back in Hinwil - their hard work is starting to translate into results on track. Together with Mattia, it's been great to build momentum, and we're all looking forward to carrying that energy into the European races."