Was McLaren’s bizarre Canadian GP strategy gamble ever likely to work? | 2026 Canadian Grand Prix interactive data

On the face of it, McLaren’s decision to start the Canadian Grand Prix on intermediate tyres was an unfathomable blunder on a par with their missed pit stops in Qatar just seven rounds earlier.

1 2 2 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 24.121 0.703 1 1 3 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 24.146 0.728 2 49 4 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 24.177 0.759 1 30 5 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 24.249 0.831 1 14 6 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 24.413 0.995 3 29 7 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 24.709 1.291 1 20 8 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams 24.751 1.333 1 2 9 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 24.766 1.348 2 18 10 31 Esteban Ocon Haas 24.833 1.415 1 16 11 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 24.847 1.429 2 9 12 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 24.902 1.484 1 31 13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 24.952 1.534 1 2 14 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 24.984 1.566 3 29 15 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 25.153 1.735 2 15 16 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 25.153 1.735 1 31 17 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 25.199 1.781 1 31 18 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams 25.636 2.218 2 30 19 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 25.64 2.222 1 30 20 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 25.644 2.226 1 30 21 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 25.737 2.319 1 2 22 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 25.936 2.518 1 31 23 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 28.178 4.76 1 2 24 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 28.257 4.839 1 3 25 1 Lando Norris McLaren 28.859 5.441 2 15 26 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 30.114 6.696 1 31 27 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 31.024 7.606 2 20 28 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 31.102 7.684 4 49 29 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 34.713 11.295 2 52 30 31 Esteban Ocon Haas 35.351 11.933 2 30 31 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 36.103 12.685 3 51 32 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 36.627 13.209 2 12 33 87 Oliver Bearman Haas 44.957 21.539 1 30

Advert | Become a ApexF1 supporter and go ad-free

2026 Canadian Grand Prix

Browse all 2026 Canadian Grand Prix articles