Max Verstappen wins lonely race in Canada and equals legendary Ayrton Senna | formula 1

An unfortunate Canadian bird was the only one to come close to Max Verstappen’s car after twelve laps. It didn’t get any more exciting for the Limburger at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, on his way to a business victory that only gained eternal value purely in numbers.

He has little use for it himself, the Limburger lives from action on the track, accelerating, overtaking and performing under pressure. Figures, you shouldn’t ask him too much about that. They exist for the fans, the journalists and the history books. As if his dizzying life goes way too fast to fully grasp the grandeur of all his records. But of course in Canada it was all about his stats for three days, knowing what was to come. A strong start, driven away from cracks Fernando Alonso (second at almost ten seconds) and Lewis Hamilton (third), who were mainly busy with each other, 70 laps checked, before and after the safety car.

Verstappen hits a bird

In this way he laid the foundations for his historic 41st victory in Formula 1. In doing so, the only 25-year-old Dutchman equaled the legendary Ayrton Senna, the virtuoso Brazilian who also achieved 41 victories in the late 1980s and early 1990s. . One of the sport’s greatest heroes, considered by many to be the greatest ever. World’s best in 1988, 1990 and 1991. “A great performance, but of course you can’t really compare it”, said Verstappen, also on his way to title number three. Different times, after all. ,,And there are now many more races than before, so I don’t really look at those numbers myself. But of course, as a little guy I couldn’t imagine that I would ever be on those lists.”

Senna died in an accident in 1994 at the age of 34 during the GP at Imola, just starting his eleventh F1 season. Verstappen is now nine years younger than the Brazilian ever was and is also only in his ninth season. Still fairly early in his career, only four Formula 1 drivers are above him in terms of victories: Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51). But the question is how much longer? Three of those four will no longer win and the record holder has not added any success to his rich resume since the end of 2021. ,,Max still has a very long career ahead of him, so my record will eventually also be lost”, Hamilton already said in Canada. “And in the end, records exist for that too, to take them away.”

Verstappen crosses the line as the winner

Hamilton knows his reign is over. Formula 1 is experiencing the Max era in 2023 and it is difficult to thrive in the shadows. The Dutchman is simply too constant for that. The two-time world champion extended his streak of World Championship points to 27 races in Canada. The last time he failed to finish? At the beginning of last season, at his retirement in Melbourne.

It was during Sebastian Vettel’s four great years that the Red Bull Race last experienced such a successful period. Vettel and Verstappen, they are the machines behind most Red Bull victories. Vettel won 38 on behalf of the formation, Verstappen scored his 41st in Montréal. With 9 victories by Mark Webber, 7 victories by Daniel Ricciardo and the 5 recent victories by Sergio Pérez, the team of Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and the financing family Mateschitz could therefore fly the flag in Canada.

Verstappen scored the 100th victory in North America for the Austro-British team, which has only been active since 2005. Only four manufacturers have done better since 1950: Williams (114 wins), Mercedes (125), McLaren (183) and Ferrari (242). However, while the profit percentage of those teams that perform particularly well in history is only declining, Red Bull’s has been growing steadily for three seasons. Especially thanks to Verstappen, who once again showed in Canada that he also has no child with Sergio Pérez (sixth after a failed qualification). The Mexican thirty-something mainly dreams of success, Verstappen has a subscription to it. Race after race after race.

“It wasn’t that easy, because the tires didn’t warm up easily,” said a smiling Verstappen afterwards. “But we succeeded. The 100th victory for the team, that’s unbelievable. expect us to talk about these numbers.” Did he expect a more exciting battle in Montreal? “No, this was what I expected. The gap was maybe a little smaller because it was so difficult to keep grip in the tyres. We won and that’s the most important thing. ”