Once more, it was all Max Verstappen, this time Sunday at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix. Verstappen led from pole and won for the sixth time in 2023 and for the fourth consecutive time. It was his 41st career victory and Red Bull Racing’s 100th victory in Formula 1.
“The 100th Grand Prix win for the team, that’s incredible,” said Verstappen. “I never expected to be on these kind of numbers myself as well, you know, so, yeah, we keep enjoying, we keep working hard. But today has been a great day again.”
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso overcame late-race brake issues to take P2 with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton taking the final step of the podium.
I think we were hoping to challenge a little bit more the Red Bull, but we lost a place at the start with Lewis,” Alonso said. “Then it was a battle with the Mercedes, and Lewis was pushing all the race. I didn’t have one lap where I could relax a little bit, so it was an amazing battle.”
Verstappen had a clear lead at lights out, but Hamilton was able to charge past Alonso for second. At the start of lap eight the lead was 2.4 seconds ahead of Hamilton. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Logan Sargeant parked his Williams at the side of the track, but when the American’s car was removed and the caution ended Verstappen’s progress away from the pack continued and by lap 10 he was almost 3.5 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with Alonso a second off the Mercedes in third place. George Russell held fourth ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri sixth ahead of the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.
On lap 12 the Safety Car was deployed when Russell overcooked his entry into Turn 9 and hit the wall. He limped back to the pits and the SC period prompted Verstappen to pit and switch his starting medium tires for a set of hard compound Pirellis. Hamilton and Alonso also changed tires during the SC phase, leaving Verstappen to emerge from his stop in the lead.
Behind the top three, both Ferrari drivers opted to stay out on starting medium tires and they moved up to P4 and P5 with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz. Behind them, Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull also stayed out, on hard tires, and he climbed to sixth place. The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 16. Verstappen held his lead ahead of Hamilton and Alonso, and the twin Ferraris kept Checo at bay as the race went green again.
At the front, Verstappen again began to draw away and by lap 20 he was again almost three seconds clear of Hamilton. The Mercedes driver was coming under increasing pressure from Alonso, however, and at the end of lap 22 the Spaniard pounced, using DRS to slip down the inside of Hamilton’s car as they approached the final chicane to take P2.
The order at the front settled as the leaders worked their way through the stint on hard tires, with Verstappen widening the gap to Alonso to 5.2 seconds by lap 33.
Further back, lead Ferrari driver Leclerc was now three seconds behind third-place Hamilton. Sainz was two seconds off his teammate and Checo held sixth, five seconds behind Sainz and seven clear of Ocon.
Pérez made his sole stop of the race on lap 38, moving to medium tires and emerging in P7 behind Albon. Ferrari reacted by pitting Sainz on the following lap and after a 2.8 switch to hard tires he rejoined ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon who was targeting a one-stop race. Leclerc then pitted from P4 on lap 40 and after taking on hard tires he rejoined ahead of Sainz. Checo was on the hunt, though, and as Leclerc emerged from the pit lane, the Mexican passed Albon to take P6 just 4.5 seconds behind Sainz and on quicker tires.
Hamilton also stopped on lap 40, heading back to medium compound Pirellis, while Alonso stopped on the next lap, fitting another set of hard tires.
Verstappen made his final stop on lap 42, moving to medium tires and once again he took the lead for his final stint. Verstappen was in total control after 70 laps, he took his sixth win of the season ahead of Alonso and Hamilton. With two laps left, and with a significant gap behind him, sixth-placed Pérez pitted for a set of soft tires and an attempt at the fastest lap. The Mexican delivered a 1:14.481 second lap to add a point to the eight he scored for sixth place behind the two Ferraris.
Seventh place in the race went to Albon with the Briton defending well in the closing stages to keep Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in eighth. Ninth place went to Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and the final point went to 10th-placed Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas.
“Of course, I’m very happy right now,” said Verstappen. “It was not a very straightforward race, because the tires were not really getting in their window. It was very cold today compared to Friday and we were sliding around quite a bit, but we made it work. To win again [and] win the 100th Grand Prix for the team is incredible.”
FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2023 – RACE RESULT
| Pos | Driver | Time/Retired | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:33:58.348 | 25 | |
| 2 | +9.570s | 18 | |
| 3 | +14.168s | 15 | |
| 4 | +18.648s | 12 | |
| 5 | +21.540s | 10 | |
| 6 | +51.028s | 9 | |
| 7 | +60.813s | 6 | |
| 8 | +61.692s | 4 | |
| 9 | +64.402s | 2 | |
| 10 | +64.432s | 1 | |
| 11 | +65.101s | 0 | |
| 12 | +65.249s | 0 | |
| 13 | +68.363s | 0 | |
| 14 | +73.423s | 0 | |
| 15 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 16 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 17 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 18 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| NC | DNF | 0 | |
| NC | DNF | 0 |
* Provisional results. Note – Perez scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Norris received a five-second time penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior.
Greg has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.