Max Verstappen became the ninth most successful Formula 1 driver in terms of outright wins last weekend, claiming his 26th career victory in the Canadian Grand Prix.
This was the sixth consecutive win for Red Bull, which is their second-longest streak of all time. They need three more to match their personal best and five more to equal the 34-year-old record held by McLaren.
Verstappen also took pole position – the 15th of his career but, remarkably, only his second of this season. The only other driver with 15 poles is his championship rival Charles Leclerc.
The Red Bull driver was denied a hat-trick of win, pole and fastest lap by Carlos Sainz Jnr, who claimed the bonus point. This is only the second time Sainz has set the fastest lap in a race – he previously did so at the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix.
Sainz finished second for the fifth time in his career. The only driver to have taken more second-place finishes without winning a race is Nick Heidfeld, who did so eight times.
It was also the fifth podium finish for Sainz this year, giving him one more than team mate Leclerc. Sainz also had the most podiums of the pair last season.
Lewis Hamilton returned to the podium for the first time since the season-opener in Bahrain. However it has been an unusually uncompetitive run for him lately in Mercedes’ W13.
He has now gone 10 consecutive races without scoring a win, which equals the longest such run of his career. He’s had 10 straight win-less races on three previous occasions.
After making his debut at the beginning of 2007 it took Hamilton just six races to achieve his first win, which came at that year’s Canadian Grand Prix. But his first championship victory in 2008 was followed by a lengthy win-less spell.
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In circumstances similar to those he finds himself in today, Hamilton’s McLaren team failed to master a new set of regulations at their first attempt, and he languished off the pace in the opening races of 2009. Hamilton eventually took the upgraded MP4-24 to victory in Hungary after 10 starts without a win.
A further two long win-less spells followed his move to Mercedes at the end of 2012. He won once in his first season at the team, again in Hungary, either side of which he went for 10 races in a row without another victory.
Hamilton’s current win-less streak began after his victory in…
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