Red Bull’s Verstappen wins Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal

Max Verstappen maintained his hold on the Formula One championship fight by holding off a late challenge from Carlos Sainz Jr. to earn his sixth win of the season in a fairly easy Sunday drive in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen won from the pole at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to extend his lead in the standings to 46 points over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who retired early with a gearbox issue.

“It’s still a very long way to go and I know the gap of course is quite big, but I also know that can switch around very quickly,” Verstappen said of his points lead. He noted he trailed Charles Leclerc by 46 points following the third race of the season.

MONTREAL MAX. ????

Max Verstappen wins the #CanadianGP for the first time in his career! ????️@redbullracing | #F1 pic.twitter.com/aHbCmxGCkW

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 19, 2022

The Dutchman had no trouble clearing Fernando Alonso, who earned his first front-row start in a decade then joked he’d attack Verstappen in the first turn to steal the victory.

But there was no challenge and by the time Sainz cleared Alonso for second on Lap 2, Verstappen had already built a lead of 2.4 seconds in his Red Bull. Sainz was able to close the gap over the final 10 laps and pressured the reigning F1 champion but faded on the last lap and finished .993 seconds behind in his Ferrari.

“It was good racing, it is always more enjoyable to be able to really push rather than just save your tires,” said Verstappen, who added Sainz didn’t have “a go in terms overtaking, but it was super close.”

Sainz said second was the best he could get on Sunday.

“When I gave it all, I was risking everything,” Sainz said. “I can tell you I was pushing. I left everything out there. For the first time this season I can say I was fastest man on track, which gives me confidence and some hope for the next races.”

Mercedes had a tremendous rebound from its season-long struggles, which included a terrible Friday practice, as seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton scored his first podium since the season-opening race in March. George Russell was fourth as Hamilton beat his new teammate for just the second time in nine races this season.

“It feels great to be amongst the battle and at the end there I was keeping up with these guys, but it does give me and the team a lot of hope,” Hamilton said. “The potential is truly there if we can get the setup right and I think that’s been the most difficult thing this year.”

Hamilton received a rousing ovation after his finish and said he had no problems with his back, which has been plaguing him all season because of how the new Mercedes bounces all over the track.

“It’s good, I’m back to being young,” said the 37-year-old. But he added “we still had bouncing, but it’s night and day the difference.”

It was Verstappen’s best finish in Montreal, which F1 said hosted a record 338,000 spectators over the three-day weekend as the series returned to Canada after a two-year pause during the pandemic. The Sunday crowd was treated to clear, sunny skies after two days of rain that upended qualifying and created the slick track that allowed Alonso – and other drivers, including Hamilton – to earn their top starting spots this year.

Montreal driver Lance Stroll of Aston Martin was 10th.