MONTREAL – Max Verstappen eased the pressure on Sunday as he completed a hat-trick of Canadian Grand Prix victories to consolidate his first season lead in the drivers’ championship.
After losing two of the previous three races, the series leader and three-time champion returned to competitive form to win by 3.879 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris thanks to his team’s excellent tactical call. .
Starting from pole, Mercedes’ George Russell finished third ahead of the fast but disappointing team-mate in the seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen scored his third consecutive win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and the 60th of his career in a dramatic contest that at times featured two Safety Cars.
“It was a crazy race and a lot happened,” Verstappen said. “We have to stay on our phones and as a team we were really good today. We were calm and ready at the right time.”
No Ferrari finished – just two weeks after Charles Leclerc took an emotional victory at the Monaco Grand Prix – Verstappen’s success left him 56 points ahead of the Monegasque driver in the championship race.
“The safety car worked well for us today,” he said, referring to the Miami Grand Prix where he lost his advantage, allowing Norris to take his maiden victory. “But even after that, we managed a good gap.
“I like it. It’s very interesting. Such a competition should be held simultaneously. The main thing is that we win. Hangover is not a special problem.”
“We know what it is, so we have to work on it. There’s still room for improvement.”
A self-critic after the race, Hamilton passed Russell in the final lap, but finished ahead of fifth-placed Oscar Piastre in the second McLaren and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
‘WILD. THIS IS CHAOS’
Hope Lance Stroll was 7th in the second Aston Martin ahead of Daniel Ricciardo RB and the two Alpines Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
“It’s very exciting,” said Norris, who scored his first points in Canada since 2014, marking the 56th anniversary of the team’s first victory since 1968 with Piastri, and Bruce McLaren in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix.
“It’s wild. It’s chaotic. It’s a show. Honestly, I feel like I had a good race from start to finish. It’s a very stressful situation in the car, but at the same time, it’s a great time. .”
“It was a really bad race on my behalf and I’m sorry about that. It feels like a missed opportunity to be honest. We had a fast car this weekend,” said Russell.
On a rainy and sunny day, five cars – Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, Ferraris and two Williams – failed to finish in front of many fans who were amazed by the changing conditions and the race conditions.
Verstappen’s victory moves him ahead of Leckler on 138 points and Norris on 131 points in the Drivers’ Championship. In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull finished 301 points ahead of Ferrari with 252 in a difficult season by their standards.
