Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen relish "absolutely awesome" battle for P2 at Canadian Grand Prix

Hamilton finished P2 for Ferrari at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with Verstappen P3 for Red Bull after a race-long contest that left both champions smiling on one of the happiest Formula 1 podiums in recent memory.

Asked about the battlewith his arch rival, Hamilton said: “It was awesome. Absolutely awesome to fight with one of the greats. It was massively challenging. I think our cars are relatively close, I would say. You see him in qualifying; we were relatively close.

"I think whilst we’re probably a little bit quicker through the corners, everything you gain in the corner, they gain on the straight. And very challenging behind him.

Obviously, I lost a bit of time; he was quicker at the beginning of the race, and then once he got into the medium, I was able to hunt him down. And I love that hunt. That's what my whole life has been about since I was a kid; since I had a really old go-kart, I was just always hunting.

“So, it was amazing to be back in that position and hunting down a champion up ahead. And unbelievably difficult, and you have to be so strategic when you have less power as well than others around," said the seven-time F1 World Champion.

Hamilton continued: “Even if we have the overtake, even in the overtake they still have more power in the straights. So, finding a way, I was just having to do these calculations, trying to figure out how to maximise the amount of power on my battery bar each straight and make sure that I have enough at that particular point.

“And, yeah, thank God I managed to pull it off. And it’s a great feeling when you overtake as well. So, these cars are awesome to be able to follow," declared Hamilton. 

Verstappen also praised the duel after spending much of the race either fighting or stalking Hamilton around the Montreal circuit. Asked about Hamilton describing the fight as awesome, Verstappen said, "Yeah, it was very good." I enjoyed it a lot.

"I think also when you are within a second at this track, we are very energy poor around here, and of course when you are within a second, you’re allowed to spend a bit more energy, so then on the straights, of course, you gain a bit of speed, and around here that is very efficient, actually.

“The last few laps I tried to get back, but it was good. I mean, we’re pushing flat out and, yeah, was just very nice for me. Also, I think it’s my first race where I basically had a normal race, nothing crazy happened, so that’s also nice," added the Dutchman.

For Hamilton and Verstappen, beaten by Antonelli but energised by their own scrap, Canada delivered a reminder of why their rivalry remains one of Formula 1’s defining contests.