Max Verstappen claims sixth win of 2023 to extend championship lead; Fernando Alonso back on podium after managing brake issue, with Lewis Hamilton coming home third; George Russell hits barriers early on and eventually forced to retire; Alex Albon gives Williams best result since 2021
By Jonathan Green in Montreal
Last Updated: 18/06/23 11:11pm
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Max Verstappen delivered Red Bull their 100th win in F1 with another lights-to-flag victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Verstappen extended his world championship lead to 69 points as he picked up his sixth victory of the season and 41st overall, drawing him level with Ayrton Senna in fifth place in the all-time F1 standings.
Fernando Alonso returned to the podium with a second-place finish, with Lewis Hamilton completing the top three.
Hamilton had initially got ahead of Alonso at the start off the line, but the Spaniard reclaimed second spot after a Safety Car period caused by George Russell hitting the wall.
With Alonso being told to lift and coast due to a rear-brake issue for much of the second half of the race, Hamilton closed up to within a second and a half of his old rival in the closing laps but was unable to snatch second.
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Red Bull’s margin of victory was also the smallest it has been all season, with Alonso finishing 9.5 seconds behind Verstappen.
Having initially thought his contact with the barriers was race-ending, Russell had produced a fine recovery drive to get up to eighth before having to retire on lap 55 with a brake problem.
Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez all made up positions by staying out during the Safety Car period and came home fourth, fifth and sixth after starting 10th, 11th and 12th respectively.
Ferrari instructed Sainz not to attack Leclerc, while Perez struggled to put pressure on the two red cars after losing out in an opening-lap battle with Sainz.
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Alex Albon delivered Williams their best result since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix as he finished seventh in the heavily-upgraded FW45, fending off the challenge of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in the closing stages.
Lando Norris came home ninth on the road, but was demoted to 13th in the final standings after being handed a five-second time penalty for driving too slowly behind the Safety Car.
As a result, Lance Stroll was lifted to ninth in his home race, with Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.
Canadian GP result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
3) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
6) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
7) Alex Albon, Williams
8) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
10) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Verstappen delivers team and personal milestones
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Verstappen has now led the last three grands prix from start to finish, with no other driver having held the lead since he overtook Perez on lap 48 of the Miami GP.
The Dutchman was in control from the moment he got away well from pole position to see off any threat behind and, despite an apparent bird strike, had opened up a three-second advantage within 10 laps.
His early advantage was wiped out when the Safety Car was deployed for Russell’s shunt, but the championship leader aced the restart, immediately getting himself out of any DRS threat behind.
Indeed the stiffest challenge would once again be himself, with Verstappen saying he “nearly knocked himself out” with a rough ride over the kerbs with just five laps remaining.
After matching Senna’s win tally and delivering Red Bull their century of wins, Verstappen said: “To win the 100th GP for the team is pretty incredible. It’s amazing. I never expected to be on these kind of numbers myself as well. We keep enjoying it and keep working hard. Today has been a great day again.
“I expected more or less what we had today but it was really difficult to keep the temperature into the tyres, so there was not much grip. Maybe that was why the gap was not that big. “
But while Verstappen may have had a serene drive out front, there were plenty of battles taking place throughout the field behind.
Hamilton and Alonso go toe to toe early on
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While Verstappen had got away well from pole position, the same could not be said for Alonso as Hamilton had excellent reactions off the line to pass his old rival before Turn 1.
The opening lap also saw hard racing between Perez and Sainz in the midfield. Perez, starting 12th, had got ahead of the Ferrari through the opening corners, but Sainz fought back to reclaim 11th down the back straight. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen also nearly hit the wall as he raced up behind the squabbling pair.
Alonso then hit the wall fairly hard with his rear right on lap five as he pushed to keep the pressure on Hamilton in the early stages.
The duel would continue but Alonso could never quite get close enough to overtake, although Russell’s error in the other Mercedes would provide fresh opportunity after the Safety Car.
Indeed Hamilton and Alonso would almost collide in the pitlane as their teams rushed to secure second place, but Alonso would seize his chance five laps after the Safety Car ended with a move down the straight before the final chicane.
But after opening up a five-second gap over his former team-mate, a rear-brake issue on Alonso’s Aston Martin allowed Hamilton to close back to within touching distance with 10 laps remaining.
However, Alonso was able to see off the threat and push on in the final stages to seal his sixth podium of the season and second runner-up spot.
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“We were hoping to challenge a little more the Red Bull, but we lost a place at the start to Lewis,” Alonso said.
“I didn’t have one lap where I could relax a little bit, so it was an amazing battle. It was tough, a very demanding race, all 70 laps of qualifying today.”
While Hamilton was unable to get consecutive second-place finishes, the seven-time world champion could be satisfied with another podium for the W14 that is progressing after its Monaco upgrade.
Hamilton said: “It’s been a great weekend for us. We are slowly chipping away. We knew this weekend it wouldn’t be our strongest circuit because we struggle in the slower corners, particularly.
“That was where I was losing to Fernando and Max – just on traction out of pretty much every corner.
“I do believe we will get there but our pace was a little bit closer today so we are going in the right direction.”
Ferrari also showed signs of progress with improved race pace and better tyre degradation allowing them to switch to a one-stop strategy after opting not to pit behind the Safety Car.
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Albon stars to deliver Driver of Day performance
After a superb Saturday qualifying in which Albon had topped Q2 after being the first driver to brave slick tyres in the wet, the Williams driver starred again on Sunday to deliver his best result for the team.
The London-born Thai driver made the most of Williams’ one-stop strategy and despite being on worn tyres and without DRS, he first fended off Russell and then late attacks from Ocon.
Albon was the only driver running Williams’ upgrades this weekend – and team-mate Logan Sargeant retired early with a “critical” issue – and the performance of the FW45 in his hands will offer confidence of a potential upturn in fortunes as F1 returns to Europe.
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“We have made a step forward and everyone has done such an amazing job,” Albon told Sky Sports F1.
“Two weeks ago I was at the factory and I don’t want to call it a crisis but we were quite low on parts. We had a meeting with everyone and had to sacrifice their weekends and work all day and night.”
McLaren’s Norris provided some of the overtaking highlights of the race with good moves on Kevin Magnussen and especially Bottas with six laps remaining.
He attacked Ocon through the final laps and went side-by-side with the Alpine into the final chicane but had to back out and his five-second penalty would demote him out of the points.
