Formula 1: Max Verstappen leads every lap in Canadian Grand Prix win
Max Verstappen got his sixth win in eight races as he led all 70 laps of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Verstappen started first and easily had the lead entering Turn 1 ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. He then sprinted away from the field again after a safety car for George Russell’s early race crash and wasn’t threatened over the course of the Grand Prix.
Alonso finished second after getting past Hamilton shortly after the restart. Hamilton finished the race on a set of medium compound tires compared to the hard tires on Alonso’s car, but Alonso was able to pull away over the final 10 laps after Hamilton closed in as Alonso managed his car’s brakes.
The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth, respectively, after a one-stop strategy worked out in their favor. Leclerc and Sainz started outside the top five but moved up during the safety car period when they didn’t pit. They were able to each make their starting set of medium tires last over 30 laps before stopping for hard compound tires to run the rest of the race.
Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton all pitted twice, as did much of the rest of the field. The win is the 100th win for Red Bull Racing in Formula 1 as the team looks well on its way to another drivers' title with Verstappen and another constructors' title as well.
Russell made it back into the top 10 at one point before he had to retire because of brake issues. He finished 19th ahead of Logan Sargeant.
The main way for teams at the back of the pack to find track position was pit strategy as a massive DRS train had formed outside the top six over the final half of the race. Alex Albon led that train and was able to steal a seventh-place finish ahead of Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris and Lance Stroll. Norris, however, officially finished 13th thanks to a five-second penalty.
Verstappen’s win extends his points lead over teammate Sergio Perez to a staggering 69 points after Perez finished sixth. Perez has 126 points to Verstappen’s 195 as Alonso has closed the gap to six points behind Perez in third. Hamilton is 15 points back of Alonso in fourth.
Canadian Grand Prix results
1. Max Verstappen
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Sergio Perez
7. Alex Albon
8. Esteban Ocon
9. Lance Stroll
10. Valtteri Bottas
11. Oscar Piastri
12. Pierre Gasly
13. Lando Norris
14. Yuki Tsunoda
15. Nico Hulkenberg
16. Zhou Guanyu
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Nyck De Vries
19. George Russell
20. Logan Sargeant
