Lewis Hamilton relished the thrill of hunting down Max Verstappen as he claimed his best result for Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The 41-year-old dropped behind his old foe on lap nine but they duelled again for the podium places in the closing laps following the retirement of race leader George Russell.
Hamilton came out on top, ultimately making his move around the outside of turn one to claim second for the first time as a Ferrari driver.
“Awesome to fight with one of the greats,” the seven-time world champion said after clinching just his second Ferrari podium.
“Very challenging behind him but I loved that hunt, my whole life has been about that since I was a kid in a really old go-kart.
“I was always hunting, it was amazing to be back in that position and hunting him down ahead.
“I had so much fun out there all weekend, every single lap. Felt like we started on the right foot and came with the right attitude.”
Hamilton has taken a different approach, choosing not to use the simulator in advance of the race and instead focusing on the data to find the best race setup for him.
He believes that it has paid off and praised his team for the work to deliver him a car that he can compete with.
“To come here to a track that I do love was awesome. This is my first second place with the team, it is something I have been working so hard for,” Hamilton added.
“I can’t explain how deep I have had to dig to get to this point and moving mountains in the background to enable this kind of performance. Really grateful to the team for supporting me.
“It is a really lovely feeling to see them (the team) so happy because they truly deserve it for the work they have put in.
“I chose a different setup this weekend, working through the data with my engineer who is awesome, I love working with him.
“Fred (team principal Fred Vasseur) has been super supportive.”
McLaren endured a nightmare afternoon, starting on the intermediate tyres while all around them chose soft slick tyres and having to get rid of them early on before Lando Norris had to retire with a reliability issue.
That aided Hamilton and Verstappen’s podium finishes – the Dutchman’s first of the season.
Verstappen was grateful to McLaren for “making a mess of the strategy” before again reiterating his call for the proposed engine changes for next season to be voted through, amid his bitter unhappiness over this season’s rules.
A switch to enable more power to come from the internal combustion engine from 2027 has been agreed in principle but there are suggestions some manufacturers are doubtful about it.
It was a thrilling race in Montreal, but Verstappen does not think that it is related to the rules.
“Us drivers, give us any kind of car and we will give you a good show. That has nothing to do with the car, it just needs to be more pure,” Verstappen said.
“Driving other cars this season has reminded me how great the racing can be and how pure motorsport can be.
“I hope what they are trying to do for next year goes through because that is the minimum to make it a bit more back to normal.”
