One of Hamilton's favourite circuits is the perfect place for a bounce-back

Hamilton has stood on the top step of the Canadian Grand Prix podium seven times since 2007. He shares that record with Michael Schumacher, who also claimed seven victories at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Although the track is among Hamilton’s favourites, it is not the one where he has won the most Grands Prix, having triumphed at Silverstone on nine occasions.

Hamilton took the Formula 1 world by storm in his debut season. Across the opening five rounds, he finished on the podium every time, although a victory had still eluded him. That changed in Montreal. Starting from pole position, Hamilton held the lead after Fernando Alonso ran wide, and neither multiple Safety Cars nor Robert Kubica’s heavy crash disrupted the rookie Briton. He eventually crossed the line comfortably ahead of Nick Heidfeld and also took the lead in the drivers’ standings.

After claiming pole position, Hamilton was under pressure from Fernando Alonso for much of the race on Sunday, but the Briton did not buckle under pressure from his former teammate. Alonso was eventually also overtaken by Jenson Button and finished third. Thanks to his second consecutive victory that season, Hamilton once again took the lead in the drivers’ standings.

After a DNF the previous year, Hamilton qualified second behind Sebastian Vettel in 2012. On a two-stop strategy, the Briton had to overtake both the German and Alonso in the Ferrari to claim the full 25 points. In the end, the podium was completed by Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez, after both frontrunners were also forced to pit. This marked Hamilton's first victory of the season.

After his first Mercedes race in Montreal ended in a DNF in 2014, Hamilton was victorious there once again a year later. Starting from pole position, he crossed the finish line 2.2 seconds ahead of teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg. Valtteri Bottas, in his Williams, completed the podium. With this victory, Hamilton extended his lead in the standings to 17 points.

Vettel made a superb start in the Ferrari, but Hamilton fought back to claim his second victory of the season. Rosberg endured a difficult race, suffering a puncture and a half-spin while battling Max Verstappen into the final chicane, which left him only fifth at the finish. As a result, Hamilton cut the gap in the standings to just nine points.

Hamilton's start to the 2017 season was not as ideal as Ferrari proved to be real contenders to challenge Mercedes' reign with Vettel behind the wheel. In Canada, however, there was little doubt about Hamilton taking all 25 points. The Briton won by nearly around 20 seconds ahead of Bottas, and was just 12 points behind his German rival afterwards.

Hamilton won his final Canadian Grand Prix after another battle with Vettel. In the closing stages, the Mercedes driver closed in on the Ferrari, which ran wide in Turns 8 and 9. After cutting the chicane, Vettel rejoined the track and nearly collided with Hamilton. The stewards handed the four-time world champion a five-second penalty, effectively securing Hamilton the win before the chequered flag. The decision left Vettel furious.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no Canadian Grand Prix in 2020 and 2021. Entering the ground-effect era, a challenging period for the Briton, Hamilton still managed to finish on the podium twice with Mercedes in Montreal in 2022 and 2023.

Speaking after Miami, Hamilton said he will alter his approach and will move back to what worked ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, where he scored his first GP podium with Ferrari. He stated to GPblog, among others: "I'm not going to go on the simulator between now and the next race. I'll still go and hold meetings at the factory and stuff, but I'm just going to back away from it for a little bit and see. Because when we went to China, I had the best weekend without the sim."