The Canadian Grand Prix has a bit of a habit of delivering firsts; first wins, first big moments, first introductions to the infamous Wall of Champions.
For the Haas F1 Team, Montreal marked another kind of first - the team’s 200th Grand Prix since making their debut back in 2016. For Ollie, it was his first time tackling the high-speed straights and tight chicanes of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in an F1 race. So, how did it all come together?
Practice
Friday was all about getting to grips with the track. While FP1 was relatively quiet, there were flashes of promise in FP2 as Ollie pushed his way into the top ten mid-session and completed a solid 29 laps on medium compound tyres.
Saturday’s FP3 saw Ollie break into the top ten once again but with just minutes to go, he clipped the rear end of the car on the Wall of Champions - the very same wall that claimed Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve in a chaotic race back in 1999. Thankfully, Ollie sustained no major damage.
Qualifying
With five minutes left in the first qualifying session, Ollie headed out to improve on his lap time and the red flag was waved - caused by a Williams shedding its engine cover on the track. Luckily, Ollie had already done enough to make it through to Q2.
In the second session, Ollie showed early pace and climbed into the top ten before ultimately qualifying P14 - a solid result in a tight midfield battle.
The Race
With a penalty dropping Yuki Tsunoda down the grid, Ollie was promoted to P13, starting the race on medium compound tyres. By Lap 18, Ollie made it past the Williams of Carlos Sainz and was sitting in P12, with the points-paying positions in sight.
Ollie pitted for the Hard tyres, rejoining the pack at the back. By Lap 26, he was up to P18, where he remained until Lap 40 when he went on the charge, passing the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and climbing to P16 by Lap 45, sitting within 0.2 seconds of P15, which he quickly achieved.
Just two laps later, Ollie was P14, where he stayed for around 10 laps, closing the gap once again on Sainz into P13 and clinching P12 by Lap 61, just before a late Safety Car came out, bunching up the field and neutralising the race. Ultimately, Ollie’s charge for points was cut short by the Safety Car, crossing the line P11.
Looking Ahead
From the Wall of Champions to the edge of points, Ollie has an impressive midfield scrap in Montreal behind him as he heads to Austria, 27-29 June, before taking on his home race at Silverstone.
All in
Inspire
Focus