One thousand, one hundred and six days since the last time F1 raced in Canada, World Championship leader Max Verstappen scored his 26th career Grand Prix win and sixth of 2022 this Sunday (June 19) by winning the Canadian Grand Prix.
It was a lap 49 Safety Car for Yuki Tsunoda’s crash on pit exit that set up a thrilling duel to the finish between Verstappen and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard spent the closing laps within DRS range of the World Champion, but a flawless defensive drive ensured Verstappen his first victory at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve over Sainz and Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen described his final laps to Sky Sports’ Jenson Button: “I could see [Sainz] pushing, charging, pushing, charging … the last few laps were a lot of fun.”
“I wasn’t leaving any inch to the walls … under braking,” Sainz said. “I was pushing everything. I tried everything to pass Max [Verstappen] but we didn’t have the pace.”
“I tried everything there guys” 😓#CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/JNMhjOQJDX
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 19, 2022
Verstappen will extend his World Championship points lead to 46 over teammate Sergio Perez, who suffered a gearbox failure on lap 8 that brought an end to his day, and his 100% finishing record in Montreal.
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR (LAP 9/70)
Perez pulls off to the side with a suspected gearbox issue, and is our first retirement of the afternoon#CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/UO6EAhGfNq
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 19, 2022
A further three points behind is Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who took a grid penalty for replacing power unit components, and only recovered to fifth after a tumultuous afternoon.
Starting from a career-high fifth place, Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher spent the early laps running solidly inside the points. But while defending handily from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Schumacher’s Haas suffered a mechanical issue. His stationary car brought out the second virtual Safety Car of the afternoon on lap 19.
Though Mercedes-AMG had continued their season of struggle in practice, the Silver Arrows showed up on race day. Divergent tire strategies that worked well on both cars kept Hamilton and George Russell towards the front, and a turn of pace in the closing laps allowed the two to finish third and fourth.
Hamilton, who scored his first podium since the season opener in Bahrain, said to Button: “It’s quite overwhelming honestly to get this third place, it’s been such…
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