Starting from the pole, Max Verstappen scored his sixth Formula 1 win in eight races in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The reigning champion’s win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve gave Red Bull their 100th victory in F-1 competition. Verstappen is now tied with Ayrton Senna with 41 grand prix wins.
“Of course, I’m very happy right now,” said Verstappen. “It was not a very straightforward race, because the tires were not really getting in their window. It was very cold today compared to Friday and we were sliding around quite a bit, but we made it work. To win again [and] win the 100th Grand Prix for the team is incredible.”
Leading from the green light, Verstappen never relinquished his position while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton battled back and forth throughout the race.
As strategy unfolded, Alonso was able to leapfrog the seven-time champion to take the runner-up position.
“It’s been a great weekend. To have this consistency and to be up on the podium once again here is fantastic,” Hamilton said. “It’s quite an honor to be up on the podium with two other world champions.
“We didn’t quite have the pace today to challenge for more. We knew this wouldn’t be our strongest circuit though as we struggle in the low-speed corners in particular. We’ve still got a lot of work to do to add more performance and efficiency. We are slowly chipping away at those ahead though. I do believe we will get there at some stage and we are going in the right direction.”
Hamilton’s teammate George Russell fought early for a podium place until an early crash derailed his chances.
Russell’s crash caused varying strategies, allowing for drivers like Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez to stay out under the safety car.
Leclerc and Sainz rounded the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively for Ferrari. Perez ended up sixth for Red Bull, with Albon giving Williams Racing a much needed seventh place.
Finishing in the points was Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas.