Red Bull’s Max Verstappen overtook Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari to win the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday to take a 46-point lead at the Formula One World Championship after his 150th race.
The 24-year-old Dutch driver took his 26th career win by 0.9 seconds ahead of Spaniard Sainz, who closed the gap and made a thrilling final chase to deploy a safety car.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completed the podium for Mercedes in a notable change for Britain, who had just days earlier declared his bouncing car undriveable.
Sainz collected bonus points for the fastest lap as the Italian team narrowed the gap between Red Bull’s runaway leaders in the Constructors’ Championship to 76 points from the previous 80.
“It was really exciting at the end. I was giving it everything I had and of course, Carlos was doing the same,” said Verstappen on his sixth win of the season and Red Bull’s sixth in a row. Said later.
“I could see he was pushing and charging, but it’s a lot easier to charge when you’re on DRS (Drag Reduction System). The last few laps were a lot of fun.”
This was his first win in Canada.
Sainz, who had newer tires than Verstappen, said he had done everything possible to end his long wait for his first win at a circuit named after Canada’s late Ferrari great Gilles Villeneuve.
“We were very close to winning today. I will take the positives and keep trying in the next one,” he said.
Hamilton overwhelmed
Hamilton said the result, with teammate George Russell in fourth place, was “quite overwhelming” and that he and the team had high hopes for the rest of the season.
It was his first podium after finishing third in Bahrain in the opening race.
“It’s been such a battle with the car this year, but we’re alert, focused and never give up, and that’s something I’m proud of,” he said.
“We’re getting closer, so we have to keep moving forward and hopefully we’ll be in a fight with these guys eventually.”
Verstappen’s Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez, who finished second overall, retired and turned on a virtual safety car after just eight out of 70 scheduled laps when his car got stuck in gear.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc started in 19th place after an engine penalty and finished the day fifth, but is now 49 points behind Verstappen.
Verstappen had led the field away from pole position, with Alpine’s double world champion Fernando Alonso on the front line after qualifying on a wet Saturday, but was unable to make good on his threat to take the lead in the first corner.
The 40-year-old Spaniard was passed by Sainz on lap three and finished seventh, ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon in sixth, but under scrutiny by the stewards.
Valtteri Bottas finished eighth for Alfa Romeo, but was also called up after the race by the stewards, with Chinese teammate Guanyue Zhou in ninth.
Canadian Lance Stroll took the end point for Aston Martin.
laugh off
The disappointment for Haas was when Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher were fifth and sixth on the grid, but failed to score.
Magnussen had to pit to replace the damaged front wing on lap seven and Schumacher, still chasing his first point in Formula One, slowed down and retired on lap 19.
It triggered the second virtual safety car of the afternoon, in which Sainz had to stand from the lead he had inherited when he was out during the Perez incident while Verstappen came in for new tyres.
The actual safety car was deployed after Alphatauri’s Yuki Tsunoda went into the barriers on lap 48, Sainz made his second stop and kept Verstappen ready to attack the last 16 laps.
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