Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Canadian GP looking to rediscover his best performance in the 2026 Formula 1 season. After a weekend below expectations in Miami, the seven-time champion sees the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as the ideal setting to react with Ferrari.
The British driver’s record in Montreal helps explain the optimism. Hamilton has won the Canadian GP seven times since 2007, a number that ties him with Michael Schumacher as the race’s greatest winner.
It was precisely in Canada that Hamilton achieved his first victory in Formula 1. In 2007, still in his debut season, the then McLaren driver started from pole position and controlled the race even after multiple Safety Car interventions and Robert Kubica’s severe crash. The win also put him in the championship lead for the first time.
Three years later, Hamilton won again in Montreal after an intense battle with Fernando Alonso. The Briton resisted pressure from the Spaniard during the race and secured victory ahead of his former teammate, once again taking the lead in the championship standings that season.
In 2012, Hamilton claimed another remarkable victory at the Canadian circuit. Betting on a two-stop strategy, he overtook Sebastian Vettel and Alonso to win for the first time that season, in a race that also saw Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez on the podium.
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Driving for Mercedes, Hamilton won for the first time in Montreal in 2015, finishing ahead of Nico Rosberg and extending his lead in the championship. The following year, he returned to the top after regaining the position lost to Vettel at the start, while Rosberg faced problems during the race.
Meanwhile, the most controversial victory in Canada happened in 2019. In the final stretch of the race, Vettel went off at turns 8 and 9, rejoined the track aggressively, and nearly hit Hamilton. The stewards handed a five-second penalty to the German, a decision that secured the win for the Mercedes driver and caused strong irritation in the then Ferrari driver.
Now defending Ferrari, Hamilton believes he can find the path to good results again in Montreal. After Miami, the Briton revealed he intends to change his preparation before the next round: “I won’t use the simulator between now (Miami) and the next race (Canada). I will still attend meetings at the factory, but I will step back a bit from that,” he said. Hamilton also recalled his good performance in China: “When we went to China, I had my best weekend without the simulator,” concluded the seven-time Formula 1 champion.
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