No driver has won the Canadian Grand Prix more times than Lewis Hamilton

The Brit has however not won a race since Saudi Arabia back in December 2021 Lewis Hamilton was left perplexed ahead of the Canada Grand Prix after a security guard asked him for his credentials as the seven-time champions rode his scooter around the grounds. 

The seven-time world champion is among the most globally recognised faces in sport, after a storied career in motor racing that has seen him win world titles with McLaren and Mercedes.

With the latter he has won six world titles, but that 11-year long partnership between Hamilton and Mercedes will come to an end at the end of the year after the Brit signed a sensational deal to join Ferrari for 2025

Throughout his career, Hamilton has greatly enjoyed his time in Montreal – in fact no driver has won there more times, with Michael Schumacher tied on seven – however that didn’t stop security asking him for some identification.

A video clip shows the 39-year-old riding a scooter towards the security guard, who gestures at his chest and holds his lanyard suggesting Hamilton show his own in order to pass

Hamilton, however, in a Mercedes-branded t-shirt double takes as he passes the guard, perhaps surprised that he was asked for his credentials

The guard doesn’t put up too much resistance, though, and just watches as the superstar driver just scoots on looking bemused over his shoulder.

A member of what appears to be the Mercedes star’s entourage gestures towards the security guard to assuage any fears and Hamilton is allowed to pass on.

While it is one of his favourite hunting grounds, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal has not seen one of its favourite racers come out on top for five years now – a run Hamilton will want to break.

He has in fact not won a race since Saudi Arabia in December 2021, with Red Bull assuming Mercedes’ position as the top of the pile in recent years.

It comes after the FIA unveiled the incoming technical regulations from 2026 on Thursday ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix to much fanfare.

They promise machinery 30kg lighter than the current lumbering behemoths, saying the slimmer design will make them ‘nimbler’ and produce closer racing.

But Hamilton, who has called for lighter cars for years, said: ‘It’s only 30kg. It’s going in the right direction, but it is still heavy.

‘I have only just seen what you have this morning so I don’t have any big thoughts just yet.

‘The drivers who have driven in a simulator said it’s pretty slow. We’ll have to see.

‘In terms of sustainability it is going in the right direction, though.’

Three tenths up in FP3 in Montreal, Lewis Hamilton could do nothing to challenge George Russell for pole position in qualifying when his great feeling with his W15 “vanished”.

Hamilton’s Canadian Grand Prix weekend began on a positive note when the Briton, armed with Mercedes’ upgraded front wing, declared he was “really hopeful” after a strong start on Friday.

Lewis Hamilton unable to join pole battle in Canada

“I do feel like we’re closer to the front this weekend,” he added.

He topped that Friday feeling with a P1 time in Saturday’s final practice where he was 0.374s faster than the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

But alas that’s where the good feelings ended.

Although the Mercedes driver made it through to the pole position shoot-out on Saturday afternoon with the second quickest time in Q2, where he was right behind his team-mate Russell on the timesheet, a lack of grip in the final segment meant he finished down in seventh place.

Hamilton was 0.280s down on the pole position time, a time that was set by Russell.

He says his good feeling with his W15 just vanished.

“The car had been feeling great all weekend,” he told Sky Sports.

“I mean first of all, congratulations to George who did a great job. It’s really great for the team. Everyone at the factory worked so hard to bring upgrades so this is a huge boost for everyone at the factory.

“The car was feeling great all weekend and as soon as I got to qualifying that kind of vanished for me.”

“The grip just disappeared for me,” he added. “FP3, I had plenty of pace and then we get to qualifying and the tyres don’t work.”

Asked if any changes had been made to the car, he shook his head and replied, “Nothing changed on the car.”

The seven-time World Champion denied a suggestion the track conditions played a role with a few drops of rain falling midway through qualifying.

“The conditions were great,” he told the media. “The conditions were perfect, just for some reason the tyres weren’t working the whole session. I just didn’t have grip.

“I had easily half a second advantage in FP3 and that was gone.”

Lewis Hamilton cut a downbeat figure after dropping out of the podium places in the closing stages of a dramatic wet-to-dry Canadian Grand Prix, bringing to a close what he described as “a pretty poor weekend from myself”.

Hamilton led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and team mate George Russell in Saturday’s final practice session as the upgraded Mercedes showed improved pace, but he could not keep up with the pair when qualifying arrived amid tyre-related struggles.

While Russell beat Verstappen to pole with identical times, Hamilton had to settle for seventh on the grid and spent the early stages of the race glued to Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, initially out of podium contention.

Hamilton managed to make progress as the race developed, showing particularly strong pace after he and Russell pitted for fresh tyres under the final Safety Car, prompting an exciting intra-team battle to the chequered flag.

But it was Russell who won that tussle on the penultimate lap, leaving seven-time world champion to cross the line in fourth position and ponder what might have been if his weekend had gone more smoothly.

“It wasn’t a positive race for me,” he said after stepping out of the car. “It felt like one of my worst drives that I’ve had. Bits of good speed at some points, but ultimately a pretty poor weekend from myself.

“Obviously qualified [seventh], put myself back there, then I was stuck behind Fernando for a long, long time, as you would expect. After that, I lost a lot of ground, then lost another bunch of ground, went off and…

“Anyway, the positive is that the car is progressing, it’s moving forwards. I think if I’d qualified the way I should have, I would have been competing for the win, so that’s why it’s quite frustrating.”

Hamilton, a six-time pole-sitter and seven-time race-winner at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, then opened up on why he felt his weekend unravelled during the all-important qualifying session.

“Well, the tyres were working throughout the weekend, then we got to qualifying and every time I went out of the garage, my tyres were for some reason below on temperature,” he explained.

“Every set was two or three degrees lower than it should have been, and you can’t catch it up and I couldn’t switch the tyres on after that. That’s something we have to really look at, because something went on with the blankets, I guess.”

Hamilton sits eighth in the drivers’ standings, one spot and 14 points adrift of Russell, while Mercedes remain fourth in the constructors’ order, behind McLaren, Ferrari and leaders Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton advanced from seventh on the grid to finish fourth in the Canadian Grand Prix; the seven-time world champion was disappointed by his performance across the weekend, believing Mercedes were capable of winning in Montreal

Lewis Hamilton described the Canadian Grand Prix as “one of the worst races” he has driven in his career as Mercedes failed to capitalise on their strong pace in Montreal.

The seven-time world champion advanced from seventh on the grid to finish fourth in a thrilling race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday but was far from satisfied with his driving.

Hamilton had been in contention to top qualifying on Saturday before a hugely disappointing final run saw him drop down the timesheet as his team-mate George Russell took pole.

The 39-year-old, who is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari at the end of the season, cut a disconsolate figure after qualifying, and said his mood was little better after the race.

“It was over the weekend just a really poor performance from myself. Yesterday, some other things came into it, but mostly myself.

“Then today, just one of the worst races that I’ve driven. Just lots of mistakes. But of course, if I’d have qualified better I would have been in a much better position.

A second Safety Car kept Hamilton in contention for a podium and he took advantage of a mistake from Russell to move into the top three in the closing stages, only for his team-mate to retake the position.

“I think this weekend the car was capable of winning,” he added. “So that’s why it’s not such a great feeling. But we’ll take the points and keep moving, keep trying.”

Despite the team’s disappointment at having failed to maximise their performance, there were positives to be taken from Mercedes delivering by far their most competitive display of the season to date.

Upgrades brought to the W15 over recent races appear to have combined to close the gap to the leading trio of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, while it remains to be seen how bigger part conditions played in Mercedes’ Canada success.

“On the positive note, a big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory for progressing this car, because it is becoming a car we can fight with,” Hamilton said.

“That’s a real positive going into this next part of the season. I know we’ll have hopefully some more upgrades coming along the way, so it’s going to be a close battle.

“If I get my head on right, I’ll get better results at some stage.”