Red Bull’s Max Verstappen held off a late charge by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to claim the victory in Sunday’s Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
Verstappen had to fend of fSainz for 16 laps following a caution for a wreck by Yuki Tsunoda in Turn 2.
The defending series champion led 53 laps from the pole and ultimately won by .993 seconds. It’s his fifth win in the last six races and his sixth through nine races. It is Verstappen’s second Montreal podium in six starts.
“It was really exciting at the end, I mean I was giving it everything I had, of course Carlos was doing the same,” Verstappen said. “Following is tricky around here, but I could see he was pushing, charging, pushing. But of course naturally when you’re on the DRS it’s a bit easier to charge. So, yeah, the last few laps were a lot of fun!”
For Sainz, who is still seeking his first career F-1 win after 148 starts, it is his fifth podium of the season.
Joining Verstappen and Sainz on the podium was Lewis Hamilton. It’s only his second podium finish of the season through nine races.
“It’s quite overwhelming honestly, to get this third place,” Hamilton said. “It’s been such a battle this year with the car as a Team, but we continue to stay vigilant, focussed and never giving up. That’s something I’m so proud of and I remain inspired by my crew so thank you, to everyone who’s here in Montreal and back at the factory. The guys are the front are a little bit quick for us at the moment, I was giving it everything, but we’re getting closer. We’ve just got to keep pushing and keep pushing and hopefully we’ll be in the fight with these guys.”
The top five was finished by George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc’s finish came he had to start from 19 due to a grid penalty for an engine change on Saturday.
In addition to Tsunoda, Haas’s Mick Schumacher and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez failed to finish due to technical issues.
Fernando Alonso, who started second, received a five-second time penalty for more than one change of direction to defend a position. The penalty relegated him to a ninth-place finish.