Verstappen credits a calm and focused Red Bull team for helping him maneuver to victory.
MONTREAL, Canada. It took a wet track and two safety car periods for Max Verstappen to win his third consecutive Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Sunday afternoon, with a 3.8-second victory over McLaren’s Lando Norris with the Mercedes of George Russell finishing in third.
Max Verstappen: It was a pretty crazy race. Many things were happening, and we had to keep up with our calls. As a team, we did really well today. We remained calm and pitted at the right time. The safety car worked out nicely for us, but even after that, we managed the gaps quite well.
Verstappen stayed behind Norris and Russell in the early part of the race, when most drivers were on intermediates because of the rain. Verstappen stayed in second place when, on lap 25, the Williams of Logan Sargeant went into the barriers, prompting a safety car that would last four laps. During that period, Russell and Verstappen went into the pits while Norris stayed out for only one lap before pitting himself, which gave Verstappen the lead.
But Norris retook the lead on lap 46 as Russell and Verstappen changed tires again. But as before, Verstappen took the lead for good two laps later and held it for good.
Only six laps later, Alex Albon’s Williams collided with Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and drove Albon into the grass. Just at that moment, as the safety car was out for the second time, Sergio Perez’s Red Bull went straight into the impact barriers at turn six, and that created another retirement that included not only Sargant and Albon but also the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who stopped late in the race.
With 12 laps to go, the safety car finally came into the pits, and Verstappen could hold on to his lead and take another maximum number of points to continue his lead in the world championship.
Coming in late for tires did things well for the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who ended up in fourth, while the McLaren of Oscar Piastri finished fifth. Aston Martin teammates Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, racing on his home circuit, were sixth and seventh, with RB’s Daniel Ricciardo in eighth. Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon scored double points as both took ninth and tenth.
Verstappen also included that some races like this one can make this sport more enjoyable. As far as the possible suspension issues that he had during the race, it did not bother him. “Not particularly an issue, we know what it is, so we just need to work on it, but nevertheless, we won, and that’s the most important thing. We still have a lot of room to improve,” he said.
With the win, Verstappen improved his lead over Leclerc in the drivers’ championship to 56 points, while Red Bull’s lead over Ferrari in the Constructors chase is now 49 points going into the Aramco Spanish Grand Prix on June 23.
