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Despite a strong performance for the majority of the Canadian GP Sprint race, Lewis Hamilton’s hard work was unravelled by a small hit at Montreal’s infamous Wall of Champions.
The seven-time world champion has been in fine form since arriving at the Canadian Grand Prix paddock, out-qualifying Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for the second time this season in the shorter format races.
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He got off to a flying start once the lights dropped to mark the start of the Sprint, quickly dispatching McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to take P4. He quickly set his sights on Lando Norris’ MCL40 ahead of him.
Unfortunately, Hamilton’s Sprint would take a turn for the worse after coming together with the outside wall on the exit of turn 14, the notorious site of the ‘Wall of Champions’.
Jacques Villeneuve thought a Lewis Hamilton crash was ‘bound to happen’ during Canadian GP Sprint
Due to his Ferrari SF-26 suffering some minor rear suspension damage following the hit, Hamilton’s pace seemingly dropped off a cliff. By the time the chequered flag fell, the 41-year-old had been usurped by Piastri and Leclerc, leaving the Briton in P6.
During F1’s post-Sprint show, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve highlighted how Hamilton’s racecraft during the 23-lap race indicated to him that a crash was “bound to happen”.
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Funnily enough, the Canadian is one of the reasons why the outside wall was dubbed the ‘Wall of Champions’ in the first place.
During the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Villeneuve were all forced to retire from the race after coming into contact with it. It has since remained a piece of F1 folklore, given its reputation for spitting out the finest drivers to take to the tarmac.
Villeneuve began by sympathising with Hamilton, saying, “That’s such an easy wall to hit because it’s a quick chicane with a quick direction change. A lot of drivers have been caught out. I started it, so I’m very proud of that, twice as well.”
However, the 55-year-old pointed out how Hamilton’s decision to keep pushing to catch the drivers ahead of him resulted in such an incident.
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“But you could see that Lewis was destroying his rear tyres; it was bound to happen,” he added. “He came out of that corner sideways quite a few times, it was just a case of when it would happen.”
It was the first time in Hamilton’s nearly two-decade-long career that he came in contact with the wall. Of course, it wasn’t quite as serious as those who came before him, given the fact that he was able to continue on to the end of the race.
Unfortunately, Hamilton’s afternoon went from bad to worse after race stewards noted that he would be investigated after the race for reportedly leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage.
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