After eight race weekends, the competition at the front of the grid is closer than it has been for years in Formula 1.
Red Bull have failed to win two of the last three Grand Prix, which considering they won 22 out of 23 races in 2023, is an encouraging trend for the rest of the paddock.
Damon Hill was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast and made his latest prediction for how the Canadian Grand Prix will end.
Max Verstappen strolled to victory last year, finishing ahead of Fernando Alonso by nearly 10 seconds with Lewis Hamilton joining them on the podium.
It’s extremely unlikely that Verstappen will be able to enjoy that level of dominance this time around and he’s already admitted that he has some concerns going into this weekend.
Hill has now suggested that he thinks McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will finish ahead of Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Andrea Stella’s team are going from strength to strength this season and Hill has very high hopes for their young Australian driver.
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Damon Hill predicts Oscar Piastri to win the Canadian Grand Prix
McLaren headed into the 2024 season on a high after nailing their development curve the previous year.
They came from the back of the grid to regularly challenge for podiums and Piastri even secured a Sprint Race victory in Qatar.
However, this year didn’t start quite as well and McLaren appeared to be in a tussle with Mercedes for who would be the best of the rest behind Ferrari and Red Bull.
Once again, McLaren were bringing upgrades that no one on the grid could match as they showed in Miami.
Lando Norris went on to record his first F1 victory – with a bit of help from the safety car – but their performances in Imola and Monaco proved it wasn’t a fluke.
Although Norris was the McLaren on the podium at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, he would have been joined by Piastri had he not picked up a grid penalty.
The Australian then out-qualified his teammate in Monte Carlo but couldn’t find a way past Charles Leclerc during the race.
Damon Hill now thinks Piastri is ready to go one better and win the Canadian Grand Prix from his teammate.
However, he wonders how McLaren would deal with managing two drivers both challenging for victory.
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Damon Hill makes his Canadian Grand Prix podium prediction
Asked who’s going to finish in the top three, Hill said: “It’s getting more difficult that’s a good thing, it’s getting much more difficult!
“I think Max [Verstappen] will be back, even with his curb-hopping issues.
“Weather, obviously, discount that factor, it will be more difficult to win this for him. McLaren, let’s say Oscar [Piastri] is buoyed and has a little bit of an extra motivation having seen his teammate win one and he knew that he was on the front row at Imola and it’s a similar kind of track from demands of the car.
“Let’s say Oscar can do it.”
Hill then added: “What about an all-McLaren front row in Canada? It can happen, it’s not impossible!
Host Tom Clarkson replied: “So, your podium is Oscar, from Lando, from Max, that’s how I’ve interpreted that.”
Hill said: “Yeah, that’s going to be a headache for McLaren isn’t it, working out a strategy for those two if they’re both leading, but it’s a new problem.”
McLaren have a great chance at the Canadian Grand Prix
History suggests that if two teams are going to do well in Montreal, it will be McLaren and Ferrari.
Lando Norris has explained that McLaren do have one weakness they need to address in Canada.
However, every team is facing issues heading into this weekend and Hill believes that McLaren will still have the strongest package.
It’s hard to ignore the current form Norris and especially Piastri have shown over the last few weeks.
They’ll be hoping Damon Hill’s prediction for the Canadian Grand Prix comes true and they stand on the top two steps of the podium.
The post ‘It can happen’: Damon Hill shares which two drivers he thinks will beat Max Verstappen at the Canadian GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.