MONTREAL — Max Verstappen tie the late Ayrton Senna to career victories and Red Bull won his 100th Formula 1 race as the Dutch driver extended his season-long dominance on Sunday in Canada grand opening.
Verstappen has won for the sixth time this season – the fourth in a row – and Red Bull remains a perfect 8 to 8 for the year. The victory for the two-time world champion was his 41st career win, placing the 25-year-old alongside Senna in fifth overall.
Lewis Hamilton holds the all-time record of 103 wins, but the seven-time champion said in Canada he expects Verstappen to surpass the mark.
“A century for the team,” Red Bull principal Christian Horner told Verstappen over the radio. “Wonderful. And thank you for creating that race win.
Hamilton and the rest of the field had hoped to give Verstappen a challenge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where rain throughout the weekend hampered the competition and created hope that Red Bull would be legally challenged.
Fernando Alonso thought he had a shot, and that improved as Nico Hulkenberg was awarded a qualifying penalty to move Alonso to the top alongside Verstappen to start.
But Hamilton, starting with Mercedes teammate George Russell in the second row, jumped on Alonso by surprise and took second from the start. Verstappen still easily escaped both, and on the first dry day of the weekend in Montreal, rolling to another easy victory.
One bright spot for Verstappen’s pursuers is his victory over Alonso is just 9.5 seconds.
Only one?
Correct. Verstappen has been so dominant this year that he often wins by more than 20 seconds in a race. In fact, Alonso himself noted after Saturday’s qualifiers that the only way to put pressure on Verstappen was “to be two seconds behind them. Not 20 seconds behind them.”
It’s not an overwhelming Red Bull habit; Sergio Perez, who had been hoping to “reset” his season in Canada, was sixth by a distance.
Hamilton finished third for the second time in a row and was followed by Ferrari Teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.
Williams’ Alex Albon was seventh and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was followed.
Lando Norris, who earlier in the race received a five-second penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior, waged a frenzied battle in the final lap that left fans already watching the predictable Verstappen parade emotion. Norris’s McLaren complained on his radio that the rear wing of the Alpine was flapping and endangering him when the car followed.
Norris chased Ocon in the final round and the two had a wheel battle in the final match, where Norris had to make a save in the chicken game. Norris dropped from 9th to 13th.
Lance Stroll is ninth for Aston Martin, a disappointment for the only Canadian in the field. His father owns Aston Martin and Lawrence Stroll was expecting both of his cars to take to the podium.
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