Dutch Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ended a bitter fight with Spanish Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz with his sixth win of the season after finishing the Canadian Grand Prix, round ninth of the Formula 1 World Championship, ahead of him overall.
Last season’s world champion ended the Canadian race back on the calendar after a two-year absence due to the Corona virus as he started it in first place ahead of Science and seven-time world champion Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. while fellow Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc came fifth from Monaco after starting from 19th to last place due to a fine that had been imposed on him as a result of replacing powertrain components in his car.
Verstappen took advantage of his first victory at the Circuit of Gilles Villeneuve and 26th of his career, the suspension of his Mexican colleague Sergio Pérez due to a gearbox malfunction, to retire in the overall standings, raising his score to 175 points ahead of his colleague 129 and Leclerc (126). as well as British Mercedes driver George Russell, who finished fourth on Sunday (111), and Sinus, who was just around the corner from his first ever victory (102 after scoring the fastest lap point).
As for Spanish Alpine driver Fernando Alonso, who shone in the rain and finished second at the start, he couldn’t compete against Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes and finished seventh.
“I had fun today”
Verstappen showed great maturity and high morale after finishing ahead of Sinus at the end of the race, despite the advantage of the new tires over the Spaniard’s car, who came close to the Dutchman, failing to overtake him, while his teammate Leclerc conceded a huge race , finishing in fifth place despite starting from nineteenth.
Verstappen commented on his wonderful fight with Sayin, saying, “I gave everything except for Carlos. He put pressure, famously attacked. Of course, it’s easier to attack when you have DRS at your disposal. I had fun today.”
Regarding Sinus, he said: “We were faster throughout the race, but it’s hard to overtake here. I’m especially pleased with the pace of the race, how we were able to put pressure on Max.”
Third place and only a second podium finish this season was Hamilton’s victory as Mercedes struggled: “It’s nice to be third.
Verstappen retains lead
The lead at the start remained unchanged, with Verstappen staying ahead of Alonso, who confronted his compatriot Sainz, as did Hamilton, who held Dane Kevin Magnuson’s Haas car behind him.
Verstappen quickly widened the gap to Alonso, while Leclerc moved up two places at the bottom of the standings to seventeenth.
And having reached the third round of 70, Sinus managed to overtake Alonso, who was trying to regain his position, but he joined the fight with Hamilton, who came close to the two-time world champion at the moment when Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell shared from eighth place to fifth .
Short of lap ten, anxiety crept into the Red Bull team after Pérez was forced to retire with a gearbox problem, starting from thirteenth place due to an accident in qualifying.
As a result, Pérez’s car parked next to the track triggered a virtual safety car, opening the door for Verstappen and Hamilton to change tires.
The Dutchman was third behind Sinus and Alonso and Hamilton was sixth behind Russell and France’s Esteban Ocon (Albin), who were quickly outclassed by the seven-time world champion who overtook him on lap 12.
After the tire change, Verstappen was the fastest on the track, allowing him to get close to Alonso, while Leclerc was in 12th place after 14 laps.
Thanks to his new tyres, Verstappen easily overtook Alonso on lap 15 for second place, but was not much faster than Sinus.
Verstappen resists the attack of science
As a result of a malfunction in Mick Schumacher’s Haas car on lap 20, the virtual safety car was activated for the second time, opening up the opportunity for Sinus to change tires to hard quality, and he came out third behind Verstappen and Alonso, who made no stops.
Sinus had a bitter fight with Hamilton, who was trying to snatch third place from the Ferrari driver, who managed to overtake Alonso and then the Mercedes driver.
Finally stopping to change tires, Alonso came out seventh behind teammate Ocon and Leclerc, who didn’t make a single stop in turn, leaving him struggling and pleading with his team on lap 30, “I don’t have any grip on the road. corner, it’s very bad.
With a lead of more than 8 seconds from Science, reaching lap 36, it was clear no one could stand between Verstappen and his first win at the Ville Gelneuve.
As a result of waiting for a tire change until lap 42, Leclerc lost a lot of time behind Ocon to move into 12th place.
On lap 44, the second stop was made by Verstappen, who had a fight with Hamilton at the exit from the pit lane, but the latter kept his car in front of the opponent’s car, who quickly lost ground and made a second stop.
After Tsunoda’s crash, as he was exiting the pit lane, a safety car drove into him, opening the door for Sinus to make a second stop on lap 50 and find himself behind Verstappen with new tyres.
The safety car ran out on lap 55 and Verstappen managed to stay ahead of Sinus, who was furiously chasing the world champion and unsuccessfully trying to overtake him several times, while his teammate Leclerc overtook the duo of Albin Alonso and Ocon. to the fifth.
Despite the pressure, Verstappen knew how to keep his car ahead of the Ferrari, depriving the Spaniard of his first-ever win.
Here are the results of the Canadian Grand Prix in the Formula One World Championship:
1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 1.36:21.757 hours
2. Carlos Sainz (Spain/Ferrari), 0.993 seconds back
3. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain/Mercedes) 7,006 sec.
4. George Russell (Great Britain/Mercedes) 12.313 sec.
5. Charles Leclerc (Monaco/Ferrari), 15.168 seconds back
6. Esteban Ocon (France/Alpine region) 23,890 sec.
7. Fernando Alonso (Spain/climbing) 24.945 sec.
8. Valtteri Bottas (Finland/Alfa Romeo), 25.247 seconds back.
9. Zhou Guanyu (China/Alfa Romeo) – 26.952 sec.
10. Lance Stroll (Canada/Aston Martin), 38.222 seconds back.
11. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia/McLaren) 43.047 sec.
12. Sebastian Vettel (Germany/Aston Martin), 44.245 seconds back
13. Alexander Albon (Thailand/Williams) is 44.893 seconds back.
14. Pierre Gasly (France/Alfa Tauri), 45.183 seconds back.
15. Lando Norris (Great Britain/McLaren), 52.145 sec.
16. Nicholas Latifi (Canada/Williams), 59.978 seconds back.
17. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark/Haas) 1:08.180 min.
Carlos Sainz also set the fastest lap of the race: (Spain/Ferrari) 1:15.749 on lap 63 (average speed: 257,207 km/h).
Withdrawals:
Sergio Perez (Mexico/Red Bull): Mechanical problem (lap 8)
Mick Schumacher (Germany/Haas): Mechanical problem (lap 20)
Yuki Tsunoda (Japan/Alpha Tauri): Detour (Lap 49)
Position at the World Championship
Here is the F1 World Championship standings after the Canadian Grand Prix, the ninth round of this season, which took place in Montreal.
Driver Rating:
1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) 175 points
2. Sergio Perez (Mexico) 129
3. Charles Leclerc (Monaco) 126
4. George Russell (Great Britain) 111
5. Carlos Science (Spain) 102
6. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) 77
7. Lando Norris (Great Britain) 50
8. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 44
9. Esteban Ocon (France) 39
10. Fernando Alonso (Spain) 22
11. Pierre Gasly (France) 16
12. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) 15
13. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) 15
14. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 13
15. Yuki Tsunoda (Japan) 11
16. Zhou Guanyu (China)
17. Alexander Albon (Thailand)
18. Lance Stroll (Canada)
Manufacturers order:
1. Red Bull 304 points
2. Ferrari 228
3. Mercedes 188
4. McLaren 65
5. Alpine 61
6. Alfa Romeo 47
7. Tower Alpha 27
8. Aston Martin 16
9. Haas 15
10. Williams 3
