Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, June 18, 2023.
Montreal – Dutch pilot Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada and equaled the legendary Brazilian Ayrton Senna's record with the 41st victory in his career. The reigning world champion beat Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin by more than nine seconds on the track in Montreal, while Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished third. Red Bull also celebrated the jubilee 100th victory in F1.
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Photo gallery: World Championship of Formula 1 cars in the 2023 season
Verstappen defended last year's triumph in Canada and highlighted his lead in the world championship. The 25-year-old driver won the sixth of the eight races this year, dominated for the fourth time in a row and has not yet finished worse than second in the season. Behind him in the championship is his teammate Sergio Pérez, who finished sixth today, but received a bonus point for the fastest lap. The Mexican's loss to Verstappen grew to an abysmal 69 points.
“I am very happy. It was not a completely clear race because we had a hard time warming up the tires and it was difficult to work with them. But in the end we managed it,” said Verstappen in front of the television cameras. “To get a hundred wins for a team is something amazing. I never expected to be able to reach such numbers. It was a great day,” he added.
Red Bull became only the fifth team to get their 100th win in F1. Only Williams (114), Mercedes (125), McLaren (183) and Ferrari (242) have more triumphs.
“Winning a hundred races is a great achievement. It's not just about today, it's signed by all the men and women from the past who have been involved. We've won over 27 percent of the races we've started. That's an incredible statistic, ” said team boss Christian Horner.
Qualification winner Verstappen kept the lead after the start. Second place went to Hamilton, who overtook Alonso. On the eighth lap, Logan Sargeant of Williams retired due to technical problems.
Four laps later, Mercedes' George Russell hit the wall and the safety car came out. In addition to Verstappen, Hamilton and Alonso also drove for new tires. The British driver “closed” his opponent when returning from the pits, but the commissioners did not give him any punishment.
Two-time world champion Alonso did not stay third for long. In the 22nd lap, he took advantage of the better speed and overtook Hamilton. Russell returned to the top ten from the tail of the field, but ultimately did not finish the race due to brake problems.
The leading trio made one more pit stop before the final section. According to Mercedes, Alonso had problems with overheated brakes and Hamilton caught up with him with ten laps to go. However, the seven-time world champion did not develop any attack and finished third. The elite trio finished the race in the same order as they started it.
“It turned out as I expected. I believed that we would trouble Red Bull a bit. We lost one position after the start and Lewis and I were on each other for the whole race they pushed. I didn't have a single lap to relax. It was a great battle,” Alonso said.
The 41-year-old Spaniard stood on the podium for the sixth time in the season, Hamilton was on the podium for the third time. “It was a good weekend for us. I think we're on the right track,” said Hamilton.
A good race was also made by Williams' Alexander Albon, who maintained seventh place. The home Lance Stroll from Aston Martin finished two places worse.
The World Championship continues in two weeks with the Austrian Grand Prix.
Canadian Grand Prix standings:
1. Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 1:33:58.348, 2. Alonso (Sp./Aston Martin) -9.570, 3. Hamilton (Brit./Mercedes) -14.168, 4. Leclerc (Mon./Ferrari) -18.648 , 5. Sainz (Sp./Ferrari) -21.540, 6. Pérez (Mex./Red Bull) -51.028.
Fastest lap: Pérez.
< Current WC standings (8 out of 23 races): 1. Verstappen 195, 2. Pérez 126, 3. Alonso 117, 4. Hamilton 102, 5. Sainz 68, 6. Russell (British ./Mercedes) 65.
Constructors' Cup: 1. Red Bull 321, 2. Mercedes 167, 3. Aston Martin 154, 4. Ferrari 122, 5. Alpine 44, 6. McLaren 17, 7. Alfa Romeo 9, 8. Haas, 9. Williams 7, 10. AlphaTauri 2.
