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Max Verstappen celebrates the 6th win of the season and the 4th full success in a row in the 8th World Championship race in Montreal.
The pedestal
- 1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)
- 2. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)
- 3. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)
Verstappen used his 25th pole position in the premier class to his 41st GP victory. The Dutchman drew level with the legendary Ayrton Senna/BRA. It took him 171 races to reach that mark. The Senna, who died in an accident in 1994, needed their 163. Verstappen’s Red Bull racing team also celebrated a nice anniversary with their 100th victory.
Right from the start it was clear that Verstappen didn’t need to fear much from the competition. The 25-year-old’s sixth win of the season never seemed in danger. Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin maintained his 2nd place on the grid to the finish. Lewis Hamilton, who was able to overtake Alonso in the meantime, completed the podium.
Legend:
Three world champions on the podium
Alonso, Verstappen and Hamilton (left to right). In between Adrian Newey, chief engineer of Red Bull.
imago images/Motorsport Images/Jake Grant
Verstappen’s dominance continues
Two safety car phases caused by Logan Sargeant (Williams) and George Russell (Mercedes) also failed to benefit the competition. Verstappen is currently dominating Formula 1. In the last 3 races, no other driver than Verstappen was in the lead.
Bottas’ strategy works
Alfa Romeo Racing celebrated the 9th championship point of the season. For the first time since Guanyu Zhou’s 9th place in Australia and 4 zeros in a row, the Hinwil racing team made it into the top ten. Valtteri Bottas, who had started from position 16, got lucky with the hard tyres. However, the 33-year-old had to fend off the stubborn Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) on the final laps.
Stroll actually outperformed Bottas, but because Lando Norris received a 5-second penalty, the Finn still scored. Teammate Zhou (16th) was able to move up 3 places from second to last.
Ferrari better than expected too
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished 4th and 5th. The “Scuderia” improved significantly after the disappointing qualifying (10th and 11th place).
This is how it goes
The F1 entourage will be relocated to Europe, where 6 races will take place within 2 months. Next stop is the Austrian GP in Spielberg on July 2nd.