After Miami, the Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship finally looked alive.
McLaren and VELO had closed the gap aggressively, the new VELO McLaren Spicy Papaya pouches had arrived just in time for Montreal, and there was a genuine sense that Ferrari and ZYN were suddenly under real pressure for the first time all season.
Canada changed the mood again.
Not because Ferrari dominated, they didn't, but because McLaren’s weekend collapsed almost immediately, while Ferrari and ZYN quietly rebuilt control through consistency.
The result is a championship that still looks competitive, but now feels very different heading into Monaco.
Canada Started Perfectly for McLaren
For a brief moment, McLaren and VELO looked unstoppable.
Both McLarens gambled on intermediate tyres before the start in cold and uncertain conditions. It looked risky, but when the lights went out, Lando Norris launched brilliantly from third on the grid and swept past both Mercedes drivers into the lead.
For about two laps, the strategy looked inspired.
Then reality arrived.
The track dried too quickly, the intermediates overheated almost immediately, and both Norris and Oscar Piastri were forced into very early pit stops for slick tyres. Piastri knew the decision was wrong before the race had even started, reportedly telling the team the intermediates were “a mistake” during the formation laps.
From there, the weekend unravelled fast.
Norris Goes from Leading to Retiring
Norris actually recovered impressively at first.
Despite the early stop dropping him deep into traffic, he carved back through the field and briefly looked capable of salvaging points. But repeated off-track moments caused further problems, including grass becoming lodged in the car and forcing another stop.
Then came the final blow.
A suspected gearbox issue forced Norris to retire completely, turning what had briefly looked like a potential championship-defining weekend into a total disaster for both McLaren and VELO.
After Miami, Norris had pulled level with Hamilton on 51 points. Canada was supposed to be the race where he properly attacked Leclerc’s lead.
Instead, he leaves Montreal having scored nothing.
Piastri’s Nightmare Weekend
Oscar Piastri’s Canadian Grand Prix was somehow even messier.
After the failed tyre gamble dropped him down the order, he became involved in an incident with Alex Albon while attempting an overtake. Piastri locked up, hit the Williams, and eliminated Albon from the race entirely.
The stewards handed Piastri a 10-second penalty, effectively ending any realistic chance of recovery.
He eventually crossed the line outside the points in 11th place, completing a miserable afternoon for McLaren.
That means VELO leave Canada with zero points despite arriving with all the momentum in the championship.
The Spicy Papaya era has not had the launch weekend they probably imagined.
Ferrari and ZYN Do Exactly What They Needed
While McLaren imploded, Ferrari and ZYN did something much simpler: they stayed calm and collected points.
Lewis Hamilton delivered arguably his strongest Ferrari drive so far. After losing out to Verstappen earlier in the race, Hamilton steadily rebuilt his pace during the second half and eventually produced one of the best overtakes of the season, sweeping around the outside of the Red Bull into Turn 1 to take second place.
More importantly for the championship, Hamilton never looked flustered. While other teams made mistakes, Ferrari simply kept themselves in the race long enough for opportunities to come to them.
Charles Leclerc’s race was less spectacular but still important. He spent much of the afternoon frustrated with the car and even told his engineer not to speak to him unless it was urgent. There was also a huge moment exiting the final chicane where he very nearly lost the Ferrari completely.
But unlike Miami, Leclerc avoided disaster.
Fourth place may not sound dramatic, but in championship terms it mattered enormously.
Updated Driver Standings After Canada
After Montreal, the Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship standings now look like this:
- Charles Leclerc – 75 points
- Lewis Hamilton – 72 points
- Lando Norris – 58 points
- Oscar Piastri – 45 points
- Valtteri Bottas – 0 points
Canada completely reshaped the battle.
Leclerc’s lead over Hamilton is now just two points, creating an all-ZYN fight at the top of the standings. Norris, meanwhile, drops 17 points behind Leclerc after failing to score.
One bad weekend has undone almost all the pressure McLaren built in Miami.
Updated Team Standings After Canada
The team standings now stand at:
- Ferrari / ZYN – 147 points
- McLaren / VELO – 106 points
- Cadillac / 77 – 0 points
That is a massive swing.
Miami had reduced Ferrari’s advantage to just 16 points. One race later, the gap has exploded back out to 41.
That does not necessarily mean the championship is over, but it does mean McLaren and VELO have lost the momentum they fought so hard to create.
Cadillac and 77 Still Searching for Answers
Canada was another difficult weekend for Cadillac and 77.
Valtteri Bottas finished 16th and never really looked capable of challenging for points, while Sergio Perez retired with a suspension failure during the race.
At this stage, Cadillac’s season is becoming less about catching Ferrari or McLaren and more about simply getting onto the scoreboard. Five races into the championship, they remain pointless while the top two teams continue pulling away.
Monaco may suit them slightly better if chaos appears, but right now they still look disconnected from the rest of the fight.
Antonelli Continues Dominating Formula 1
Outside the nicotine pouch standings, Kimi Antonelli’s rise continues to become the biggest story of the real Formula 1 season.
Canada gave him a fourth consecutive victory and extended his championship lead to 43 points after George Russell retired with a power unit issue.
The Mercedes drivers spent the opening half of the race fighting aggressively wheel-to-wheel, repeatedly swapping positions and forcing the team to eventually tell both drivers to calm things down. Antonelli ultimately survived the chaos, while Russell’s retirement handed him complete control of the race.
At only five rounds into the season, Antonelli already looks increasingly difficult to stop.
Monaco Preview: Pressure Changes Sides Again
The championship now heads to Monaco, where pressure has shifted once more.
For Ferrari and ZYN, Monaco suddenly looks like an opportunity to tighten their grip on both championships. Leclerc and Hamilton now occupy the top two spots in the driver standings, and Ferrari’s consistency is becoming their biggest weapon.
For McLaren and VELO, Monaco becomes a recovery weekend.
The raw pace still exists. Norris leading the opening laps in Canada proved that. But strategy mistakes, penalties and reliability problems have turned momentum into frustration almost instantly.
Monaco offers little margin for error. That could either help McLaren refocus, or punish them even more severely if the mistakes continue.
The championship is still alive.
But after Canada, Ferrari and ZYN are back in control.
