The World Championship leader keeps the McLarens at bay and the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc abandon
MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Dutch Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) regained the taste of victory by winning the Canadian Grand Prix this Sunday, marked by the coming and going of the rain, where the Spanish Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) finished sixth and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) could not finish.
After nine races, the current triple world champion remains the undisputed leader of the World Championship despite the latest ‘surprises’. That of McLaren seems to be maintained, since Lando Norris was second and Oscar Piastri, fifth, with the podium completed by the Englishman George Russell (Merecedes), who started from pole.
As for the Spanish, Alonso once again felt competitive in a very complicated weekend, but one that left behind three races of suffering. The double world champion started sixth and held his position, while, after being third in Monaco, Carlos Sainz ended an agonizing Canadian GP with abandonment.
Verstappen didn’t seem to have enough in the first half of the race but, after a first safety car with 30 laps to go, he took the lead. The start had been pleasant, with a lot of water but with the expectation that it would last 15 minutes. The Haas of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen opted for the rain tire and gained many positions over the other intermediates.
Russell took advantage of the visibility of having no one ahead of him, while Ferrari’s collapse was confirmed at the Gilles Villeneuve. Starting eleventh and twelfth, Charles Leclerc was warned from the beginning of an engine problem and Sainz had no option to overtake with the poor grip these days.
The race was all about following the dry lane and the first to go for the win was Norris, who accounted for Verstappen and Russell with apparent ease. The rain radar warned that he was going to return but the stop was precipitated by the safety car caused by Logan Sargeant (Williams). There, and not on the track, Alonso lost position with Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), while Sainz remained fourteenth and Ferrari was involved with Leclerc.
The Monegasque, who had just won at home, took a chance on dry tires and had to enter again shortly after because the rain did appear. From the highest to the lowest, Leclerc ended up abandoning. The return was Verstappen and, after the water, the track began to dry, although in parts and with risks.
Hamilton was the first to go for the dry and Norris who took a gamble by doing the opposite of the others. Both strategies could not withstand Red Bull, a Verstappen who still had an ordeal to endure with another safety car, the one caused by Sainz. The Madrid native’s Ferrari also did not end with a spin that took Alex Albon (Williams) ahead.
Grouped again, the Dutchman, with his third consecutive victory in Montreal, protected his first position from Norris, while Piastri gave in to the pressure of the Mercedes. Russell won a nice fight with Hamilton to complete the podium and Alonso confirmed a sixth place that Aston Martin will trust will be a turning point to get back into bigger fights.