Damon Hill and Martin Brundle agree about Lewis Hamilton overtake on Max Verstappen at Canadian GP

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Lewis Hamilton was praised by Damon Hill and Martin Brundle after a late overtake on Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Hamilton won a race-long battle with Verstappen for second place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, earning his best Grand Prix result as a Ferrari driver.

The pair started on the third row, but McLaren’s intermediate tyre gamble quickly backfired, promoting them to third and fourth behind the Mercedes drivers.

Damon Hill salutes ‘magic’ Lewis Hamilton after Max Verstappen move

Verstappen passed Hamilton early on but the Ferrari driver stayed close until he went deep at the turn eight/nine chicane and cut across the grass.

That saw the 41-year-old fall a few seconds behind, but he started to close the gap quickly in the second stint. It took time for Hamilton to make a move, but he eventually dispatched the Red Bull on the outside of turn one with seven laps remaining.

Verstappen stayed close thereafter with the aid of overtake mode, but Hamilton held on against his former title rival to complete an impressive weekend.

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Writing on X, 1996 F1 world champion Hill called Hamilton’s overtake ‘magic’ and likened him to Nigel Mansell, the last British driver to win for Ferrari.

“That was a magic pass on Max by Hamilton,” said Hill. “He’s been on fire all weekend. Reminds me of Mansell.”

Martin Brundle says Max Verstappen was ‘close to the limits’ vs Lewis Hamilton

Brundle agreed that Hamilton’s manoeuvre was ‘mega’ after Verstappen’s robust defence on the back straight. There were no complaints over the radio because he got the pass done at the next opportunity.

Hamilton lost two places to Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc at the end of the Sprint race, but ensured he maximised his points haul in the Grand Prix.

“Mega,” Brundle said on Sky Sports. “Max leaves racing room. Lewis just takes the racing line and gets plenty of grip.

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“Verstappen was getting just a bit close to the limits, I must say, down the back straight in terms of squeezing Lewis Hamilton as he was trying to overtake.”

Hamilton repeatedly complained about a lack of power in his battle with Verstappen, but the Ferrari’s advantage in the corners made the difference in the end.