Max Verstappen had long promised that, given the tools, he was more than capable of offering a world championship. He won the title last year, but his victory at the Canadian Grand Prix for Red Bull was an objective demonstration that appears in every position to now go on to seal multiple championships.
He had never won the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit before, but he was the owner of the race with a dominant and composed drive that smelled of great champions, including the elimination of a late charge of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who was second. The victory has further expanded Verstappen’s lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who is third in the championship, to 49 points.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell secured third and fourth for Mercedes with a performance that will be a real boost for the team. Third place matched Hamilton’s best result this season. The wide smile of the seven-time champion and the pleasure of having a decent ride under him was palpable, clearly invigorated to feel genuinely part of the fight. “It feels great to be in the middle of the battle today,” he said. “For a second I was about to keep up with these guys up front. It has given me and the team a lot of hope that there is more to come from this car.”
There will be reason for optimism in Mercedes, as they showed an excellent race pace, keeping in good touch with the times of Ferrari and Red Bull. They may still dare to dream of fighting for victory in the next round at Silverstone.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen takes on Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz challenge. Photo: Canadian Press / Shutterstock
However, it was Verstappen who had shown in the field how difficult it will be to catch him this season. After a remarkable lap in wet conditions to get the pole, he followed it with another master class of control sometimes under fierce pressure. The victory of the 24-year-old who won the title in Abu Dhabi last year may have been embroiled in controversy, but there is simply no discussion with his credentials to be world champion at the time and, most importantly. , now. This is his sixth win in nine races this season and then he had the relaxed demeanor of a man who is exactly where he wants to be.
“I was without problems, going up to the limit. I knew I could be wrong, the pressure was always there,” he said. “It was a good race, a good push. It was very close and it was good to see it.”
Verstappen has been helped by Ferrari’s reliability issues that have recently affected Leclerc. Here was a case of Leclerc doing his best to minimize the damage of leaving from the 19th after the sanctions on the grid for a change of engine. It was always going to be a tough afternoon and he was back in fifth place. It’s not what he would have expected, as Ferrari left him out of the bottle for too long behind Esteban Ocon. The team now needs to give him a reliable car with which to challenge and perfect his decision-making if they want to start regaining Verstappen’s leadership.
From the first moment, the world champion had shown his intention. Verstappen made a great start from the pole, seeing the threat of Fernando Alonso who was next to him in the front row, while Hamilton maintained his fourth position. Then, Sainz left Alonso to take second place in the third round.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium after finishing third at the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit. Photo: Geoff Robins / AFP / Getty Images
Verstappen opened a gap quickly, three seconds behind Sainz on the eighth lap. The pit stops came after a first virtual safety car when Sergio Pérez left the track after a problem with the gearbox on the ninth lap, with Verstappen and Hamilton stopping, but Ferrari leaving Sainz was out to inherit the lead. Race resumed with Verstappen now behind Sainz and Alonso, but the latter quickly overtook on lap 16 to take second place, showing his commitment to fresh rubber with a series of faster laps.
In a race dictated by his control, the impeccable execution lap after lap was vital and showed no tear in the armor. Sainz came in under a second VSC and Verstappen regained the lead, the Dutchman had already taken the lead, nine seconds ahead of Sainz on lap 20. Verstappen was serene ahead, reacting with pace every time the Spanish was approaching. He made his second stop on lap 44 and Sainz was now leading Ferrari looking to get a stop, nine seconds ahead of Verstappen.
However, a safety car was requested on lap 49 and Ferrari took the opportunity to stop free for Sainz, who came out second. He left a sprint to the finish between the two with similar rubber.
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Verstappen managed the restart with 15 laps to go and tried to re-impose his authority. Sainz refused to be tilted and stayed within the DRS range. He closed repeatedly, but Verstappen held his nerves and the perfect line. Sainz chased him hard, but the Dutchman was imperious to see the pressure to catch the flag.
The season still has a long way to go, but in Montreal Verstappen showed a form that sees him more than willing to disappear on the horizon. Catching him now will be a feat.
Alpine’s Ocon was sixth and his teammate Alonso ninth. Valtteri Bottas and his teammate Guanyu Zhou were seventh and eighth for Alfa Romeo and Lance Stroll in 10th for Aston Martin.