Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has won the Canadian Grand Prix and is aiming for his third title in a row.
Max Verstappen in the Red Bull cockpit continues to drive in Formula 1 on his very own planet. At the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, the world champion won for the sixth time in the eighth race of the season – it was the 41st victory of his career, drawing level with the legendary Ayrton Senna.
Red Bull recorded the 100th victory since Sebastian Vettel clinched the first in 2009. A mark that only Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams have cracked so far. “That was not bad”Verstappen jokingly radioed to his box.
Competition cannot deliver
If Verstappen drove his very own race from the start on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which was dry on Sunday (June 18th, 2023), the competition was once again only able to deliver to a limited extent. Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin and record world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes finished second and third, both with a clear deficit.
Nico Hülkenberg, who surprised with second place in qualifying but was then penalized three places down because he disobeyed a flag signal, was unable to follow suit. His Haas didn’t really want to, in the end Hülkenberg ended up 15th far outside the points.
Tensions at Ferrari
Ferrari ended a Grand Prix that was largely frustrating for the team in a reasonably forgiving manner with fourth place for Charles Leclerc and fifth for Carlos Sainz. The fact that the mood among the Reds is anything but good was made clear by Leclerc’s unusually sharp criticism after the failed qualifying. He always has solutions in mind, assured Monegasse: “But the team did the opposite of that today. There are so many wrong decisions.”
Right from the start, the race offered little that was entertaining. Alonso, who moved up to second place after the grid penalty against Hulkenberg, slept through the start and had no chance of stopping Hamilton, who was passing him. With a lot of effort, Alonso managed to fend off the attack from Hamilton’s teammate George Russell, behind the first four drivers a gap quickly opened up to the chasing field.
Russell builds accident
A better result for Mercedes was prevented by the departure of George Russell, who drove a little too violently into the corner early on and, among other things, shredded the right rear wheel of his Mercedes when he encountered the barriers.
The Safety Car, first used 50 years ago in Canada, came out and the teams called in their drivers to have their tires changed. Russell was in the pits for a long time, but then drove out again. “The car” he stated “is a bit crooked.” In the 56th lap he finally got out.
Mixed weather
The weekend in Montreal was chaotic, the weather and a power outage on Friday demanded patience and perseverance from the teams and drivers. The first practice session was stopped after 4:18 minutes and not continued because a number of surveillance cameras around the track had failed. The third practice session and qualifying on Saturday took place in the pouring rain.