Milestones in Montreal for Verstappen and Red Bull
Monday, 19 June 2023
Max Verstappen equalled Ayrton Senna in the record books, and Red Bull Racing made history of their own on another dominant weekend for the F1® world champions in Canada.
Max Verstappen led from pole to victory for the third straight race – and his fourth victory in a row in all – at the Formula 1® Canadian Grand Prix, on a day that was special for the Dutchman and his all-conquering Red Bull Racing team.
Verstappen's 41st win extended his championship lead to 69 points over teammate Sergio Perez (who finished sixth), and was the two-time world champion's 41st F1® victory, drawing him level with all-time great Ayrton Senna in the sport's record books.
For Red Bull Racing, which debuted in Australia in 2005, the victory was their 100th in the sport, joining Ferrari (242), McLaren (183), Mercedes (125) and Williams (114) as the only teams to amass a century of wins in F1® history.
After Verstappen negotiated a tricky qualifying session in half-wet, half-dry and then very wet conditions to take pole, he cruised after beating a fast-starting Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) into the first corner, winning by 9.570secs for his third straight win from pole while leading every lap.
In all, Verstappen has led the past 224 laps after taking the lead on lap 48 of the Miami Grand Prix, then winning from start to finish in Monaco, Spain and now, Canada.
The primary intrigue behind Verstappen was a race-long fight between Hamilton and front-row starter Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who made up for a slow getaway by passing the British driver at the final chicane on lap 22 of 70 and finishing 4.598secs ahead of the Mercedes for his sixth podium in eight races this year.
Oscar watch
After a Q3 crash in the wet on Saturday that saw qualifying red-flagged, Oscar Piastri shone when the lights went out on Sunday, running as high as sixth place in the opening stint of the race before finishing 11th, one place outside of the points.
Piastri gained a spot on the grid when Ferrari's Carlos Sainz (who had qualified one place ahead of the Australian in eighth) was penalised three grid positions for impeding Pierre Gasly (Alpine) in qualifying, and quickly passed McLaren teammate Lando Norris and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg to slot into sixth by lap seven.
A lap 12 safety car caused by George Russell (Mercedes) hitting the wall was where things went awry for McLaren, as Piastri fed back out into 10th place, and Norris was investigated and eventually issued a five-second penalty for 'unsportsmanlike behaviour' for driving too slowly to create a gap so McLaren could double-stack its cars in the pits to change tyres.
Piastri advanced to seventh before his final stop on lap 37, but faded thereafter and finished 12th on the road at the chequered flag, which became 11th when Norris' penalty saw him demoted to 13th.
Unsung hero
Alex Albon finished a remarkable seventh for Williams in Canada, the Thai driver scoring more points in one race than he had in his previous 28 Grands Prix with the team over the past two seasons.
Albon was brave in the difficult conditions in qualifying, topping Q2 in the wet and ending up in the top 10, and stopped just once in the race, coaxing 58 laps out of a set of hard tyres and using Williams' renowned straight-line speed to hold off the faster Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Russell (before he retired on lap 54) and Norris in the closing stages to take the team's best result since the rain-shortened Belgian Grand Prix of 2021, when Russell finished second.
Albon's heroics saw him pass Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Piastri and Hulkenberg to claim 12th in the drivers' standings, while Williams moved off the foot of the constructors' table, relegating AlphaTauri to last place.
Number to know
41: With 41 Grand Prix wins, Verstappen sits equal fifth all-time with Senna; he now only trails Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) in the all-time wins list. At his current trajectory, he could usurp Vettel by the end of 2023, with 14 races remaining this season.
To tie with Ayrton is something incredible. I'm proud of that, but of course I hope it's not stopping here. When I was a little kid … I would have never imagined winning 41 Grands Prix.
Canadian Grand Prix: top 10
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 1hr 33mins 58.348secs
2. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +9.570secs
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +14.168secs
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +18.648secs
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +21.540secs
6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) +51.028secs
7. Alex Albon (Williams) +60.813secs
8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +61.692secs
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +64.402secs
10. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +64.432secs
Standings (top 5)
Drivers' championship
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 195 points
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 126 points
3. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 117 points
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 102 points
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 68 points
Constructors' championship
1. Red Bull Racing (321 points)
2. Mercedes (167 points)
3. Aston Martin (154 points)
4. Ferrari (122 points)
5. Alpine (44 points)
Next race
Round 9: Red Bull Ring, Austria (June 30-July 2)
