Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the Canadian Grand Prix. Photo: @redbullracing/Twitter.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen have continued to dominate the rest of the Formula 1 field, winning their sixth straight Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The podium was rounded out by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in second place and Lewis Hamilton in third.
Verstappen led for most of the race, however was tested by Sainz who he battled with for the final 15 laps of the Grand Prix.
Verstappen began the Canadian Grand Prix in pole position after going at a blistering pace during qualifying, which took place in wet conditions. When it came to race day, rain did not inhibit the drivers with it being clear sunny skies.
From the start of the Grand Prix, Verstappen looked the fastest driver, with no one able to offer a challenge through the early parts of the race. With Red Bull employing a two pit stop strategy for the race, the Dutchmen’s pace served him well, with Verstappen never dropping lower than third following his two changes of tyres.
Verstappen took his final pit stop on lap 43, where he came out in third place but was soon back into first by lap 50 following Sainz and Hamilton pitting as well. When Verstappen returned to first place it was under a safety car, following Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunado crashing as he exited the pits.
When racing resumed at the start of lap 55, Verstappen was able to hold off Sainz who challenged hard through the final laps of the race. Sainz had DRS on his side to help him try and get ahead of Verstappen, but the World Championship leader showed his class, able to just keep a large enough gap to prevent any overtaking opportunities.
With the win, Verstappen extends his lead atop the Driver Championship Standings to 46 points.
The race also held extra significance for Verstappen with it being his 150th F1 start and finish victory in Montreal.
Fellow Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez did not have a memorable weekend, starting the race in 13th after crashing out during qualifying, with the wet track surface forcing him to slide into the barrier.
His misfortunate continued into the race, with him forced to retire on lap eight after having a gearbox issue.
Red Bull still holds a commanding lead in the Constructors Championship on 304 points, compared to Ferrari who is 76 points behind them on 228.
McLaren missing the pace
It was another disappointing race weekend for Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren, with them unable to score any points for the third time this season.
Ricciardo appeared to be in better form, able to qualify in the top 10 for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix, to start the race in ninth place. Meanwhile teammate Lando Norris struggled, beginning the Grand Prix in 14th.
The race was uneventful for both McLaren drivers, with neither able to progress higher up the grid from where they started.
Ricciardo stuck around the bottom of the top 10 for the first 20 laps, before pitting. The pit stop proved to be detrimental to Ricciardo’s race, with the pit team being slow to change his front right tyre, resulting in him exiting in 12th place.
McLaren opted to double stack the pits when Ricciardo pitted, with Norris following right behind, however his pit stop was even worse. McLaren had another blunder, putting the right front tyre on the left side of the car, before having to quickly switch it to the correct side.
This resulted in Norris leaving the pits in 18th place which was the equivalent to last, with two cars having retired by this point.
Ricciardo spent the remainder of the race jostling for positions, able to get as high as 10th but was ultimately overtaken with seven laps to go by Lance Stroll to finish in 11th place, missing out on any points. Norris slightly moved up the grid, finishing in 15th place.
McLaren remains in fourth place in the Constructors Championship, just four points ahead of Alpine, on 65 points.
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Ferrari continues to fight
Ferrari will leave the Canadian Grand Prix relatively happy with the result, considering the work they had to do to get two top five finishes.
Carlos Sainz began in second place, following a strong qualifying session, while Charles Leclerc was forced to start in 19th after receiving a grid penalty for taking a new power unit at the start of the race weekend.
Sainz’s race saw him remain at the top challenging Verstappen for first place, however he looked a step behind the Dutchmen until late in the Grand Prix.
Ferrari and Sainz opted not to pit, when Verstappen did a second time on lap 43, hoping for a safety car. Their wish was granted when Tsunoda crashed while exiting the pits on lap 50, meaning they got a free stop, coming out in second place just behind Verstappen.
With Sainz tyres being seven laps younger and with DRS on his side the Spaniard challenged Verstappen through the final 15 laps of the race, however was unable to get the job done, finishing in second, to score his fifth podium of the season.
Ferrari opted for a different strategy with Leclerc, keeping him out as long as possible with the Monégasque moving into sixth place by lap 29. When they did finally bring him into the pits on lap 42, he came out in 12th place, having 28 laps to try and move up the grid.
He did exactly that, picking off drivers one by one and on lap 61 passed Esteban Ocon to move into fifth place where he finished.
Ferrari leaves the Canadian Grand Prix scoring 29 points, with Sainz also getting an extra point for the fastest lap. The team still have lots of work to do sitting in second place in the Constructors Championship and Leclerc being in third place in the Drivers’ Championship.
Silver Arrows back it up
After a slower start to the season for Mercedes than accustomed to, the team has begun to take steps in the right direction scoring third and fourth-place finishes in back-to-back weekends.
With Hamilton starting in fourth, the seven-time World Champion biding his time before starting to move up the grid, after opting to stop on lap nine. The stop resulted in him dropping to ninth but with fresher tyres on he began to make up places able to get into third place by lap 24.
From there, Hamilton remained in third place for most of the rest of the race, scoring just his second podium finish of the season.
Russell continued his streak of finishing in the top five of every race this season when he came from eighth place to finish in fourth. The British driver did most of his work through the opening few laps of the race, getting into fifth place by lap five.
Once in the top five, Russell did not have the pace to catch his teammate, remaining behind him for the rest of the Grand Prix.
Russell has now scored 111 points this season to sit in fourth place in the Driver Championship Standings, while Hamilton has scored 77 ranking him sixth.
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