Max Verstappen lord and master during qualifying for Canadian GP, ​​teammate Sergio Pérez crashes | formula 1

Also be fast over one lap. It was what Max Verstappen has constantly insisted on in recent weeks. While the reigning world champion continued to put on an outstanding performance in the races and firmly took the lead in this year’s championship, he pointed to the shortcomings of his Red Bull. He was unable to win a qualification and that bothered him.

He finally made short work of that drought during the Canadian Grand Prix. On a soaked Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where it had been raining all day, he won by hand, without having to take on his main competitors in this championship.

The most important event in the preliminary stage of qualifying was the crash of Sergio Perez. Verstappen’s Mexican teammate drove his Red Bull into the wall at a good speed during the second qualifying round and had to abandon the battle for pole position. The miscalculation of the current number 2 in the championship saw him start in thirteenth place at the Canadian Grand Prix tomorrow.

Watch Sergio Perez crash:

That is still for Charles Leclerc, the number 3 of the World Cup. But that was already known in advance. The Monegask has a new engine for the fourth time this season, which means that he has to start all the way at the back. He therefore only interfered with the first qualifying round and did not come out on the track in the second round.

And so Verstappen is not joined by his competitors at the front of the grid in the battle for the world title. He is joined by Fernando Alonso on the front row. The experienced Spaniard clocked the second time in his Alpine, more than 0.6 seconds behind the Dutchman and kept Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz behind. But more important to Verstappen than the performance of his competitors was the way he presented himself. He also won over one round for the first time this season. What he has been looking for so diligently for weeks, he finally got it.