GP Canada 2023 (race): Verstappen wins from start to finish

Max Verstappen is currently rewriting the record books. The world champion has led every lap since lap 48 of the Miami Grand Prix. Also in Montreal, the first-placed Red Bull team maintained the lead for all 70 laps.

The dominant laid the groundwork for the 41st victory of his career, which put Verstappen on par with Ayrton Senna, right from the start. From pole position, the Dutchman came off the line well. After that, it was just a matter of controlling the distance to the rest of the field and responding to the tire changes made by the pursuers.

There was a lot of activity in the pit lane for the first time on lap 12. Race management had to send the safety car onto the track because George Russell hit the wall in turn 9, leaving a small debris field behind him. The collision damaged the front wing and rear right wheel.

Russell dragged himself into the pits and, to everyone's surprise, was able to continue driving. The call to surrender did not arrive until lap 55. The brakes on the front axle were overheating. Apparently as a result of influence. Russell could only apologize for his mistake over the radio.

Alonso and Hamilton chase Verstappen

The pioneering trio also used neutralization to stop to save time. Behind Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton was second at the start. The Mercedes came off the line better than Fernando Alonso. But on lap 22, the Aston Martin driver was able to counter-attack on the long straight and thus restored the old order.

After a second pit stop lap for the leading trio in laps 41 to 43, Hamilton suddenly had better speed on the medium tires than Alonso on the hard rubber. The Spaniard also had to save fuel and protect the overheated rear brake. But in the end he was able to salvage a 4.5 second lead across the line.

“I was hoping we could challenge Max a bit more today,” said Alonso, a bit sad. “Unfortunately, I lost the position to Lewis at the start. After that, I had a big battle with him. At the beginning my speed was a little better than his at the end. I had to do my best for more than 70 laps. We had some problems. “This gives me hope that there is more to come and that we can put pressure on Red Bull next time.”

Red Bull vulnerable soon?

Hamilton can live with third place: “We continue to make little progress. But Aston has clearly taken a bigger step with the upgrade. But we already have new parts in the pipeline. We knew before the weekend that this route was not intended. “It suits us Well. “We have to improve traction and increase downforce at the rear.”

In the end, it was clear that Verstappen could not break away from his pursuers in Montreal as easily as he had done in the last few races. In the end, the gap to Alonso was limited to 9.5 seconds. This at least gives neutral fans some hope that Red Bull will become vulnerable at some point.

“We had problems keeping the tires in the working window. I had poor grip at times and skidded a lot,” Verstappen explained of the slight dip in speed. “In the end it was a great win, the 100th for the team. These are really amazing numbers.”

Ferrari is doing damage control

Ferrari was unable to compete for podium positions after failing in qualifying. In order to move forward without fighting, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz decided not to pit to save time during the safety car phase. This moved the Ferrari duo into fourth and fifth. On laps 39 and 40, they both gained enough of a lead over the rest of the midfield to complete a tire change without losing space.

Sergio Pérez also chose the same tactics, starting twelfth behind the Ferrari and eventually crossing the finish line in sixth place behind the red cars. Since there was enough air at the rear, Red Bull brought the Mexican into the pits shortly before the end to change the soft tyres. Thus, Perez received a bonus point for the fastest lap in the race.

Behind him, Alex Albon collected an important six championship points in a rejuvenated Williams. Thanks to his good top speed, the Thai eventually defended himself against Alpine pilot Esteban Ocon. There was also a tough battle for ninth place. Local hero Lance Stroll caught Valtteri Bottas's Alfa in the photo finish on the last lap.

The penalty kick disqualifies Norris from the points

Lando Norris already crossed the line in ninth place. But the McLaren driver later received a five-second penalty for slowing down too much during the early safety car phase. Norris wanted to create an artificial gap for his teammate Oscar Piastri in front of him so that he would not have to wait behind the sister car during the double stop. The referees described this behavior as unfair. The penalty dropped the Briton to thirteenth place.

Nico Hulkenberg didn't get any points in the World Cup either. As was the case recently in Barcelona, ​​the Rhinelander team had to struggle with increased tire wear in the race after a strong qualifying. Then Hulkenberg was not lucky with the timing. Haas completed its first pit stop of the race in one speed before the safety car phase. As a result, he slid into the backfield early. In the end only fifteenth place remained.

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