Max Verstappen Wins in Canada and Closes in on Third Consecutive Title

Defending Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix and is on track for his third straight championship.

Verstappen's Sixth Win

Max Verstappen in his Red Bull car continued his winning streak in Formula 1 with his sixth win in the eighth race of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. The victory was the 41st of his career, matching the legendary Ayrton Senna.

Red Bull also celebrated their 100th win, with Sebastian Vettel having won the first in 2009. Only Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Williams have reached that milestone before. Verstappen joked with his team, "Not bad, huh?"

Competition Falls Short

Verstappen dominated the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with the competition once again unable to keep up. Fernando Alonso finished second in his Aston Martin, followed by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes, both with a significant gap.

Nico Hülkenberg, who surprised with a second-place qualifying session, was penalized three spots on the grid for ignoring a flag signal. His Haas did not perform well, and he finished outside of the points in 15th place.

Tension at Ferrari

Ferrari ended a frustrating Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and Carlos Sainz fifth, somewhat reconciled. However, the mood in the team was tense, as Leclerc was harshly critical after the disappointing qualifying session. He had solutions in mind but claimed the team made many wrong decisions.

The race was uneventful from start to finish, with Alonso unable to catch up to Hamilton, although he did fend off Mercedes's George Russell. There was a significant gap to the rest of the pack behind the top four drivers.

Russell's Accident

George Russell prevented Mercedes from achieving a better result, as he crashed early in the race, damaging the right rear wheel of his car. The Safety Car came out for the first time in 50 years at the Canadian Grand Prix, and teams were allowed to change their tires. Russell tried to get back in the race but eventually abandoned in the 56th lap, acknowledging that his car was damaged.

Mixed Weather

The weekend in Montreal was full of chaos due to the weather and a power outage on Friday. Teams and drivers had to be patient and persistent throughout. The first practice was abandoned after 4 minutes and not resumed because several surveillance cameras around the track were offline. The third training session and the qualifying on Saturday took place in heavy rain.