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Verstappen Claims Victory in Wild Canadian GP

(Image credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Max Verstappen claimed his 60th F1 victory at a wild 2024 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada.

Mercedes’ George Russell led from pole but lost the lead to Lando Norris on Lap 21 who was followed through by Verstappen.

Williams’ Logan Sargeant however brought the safety car out on Lap 25 after spinning at Turn 4, which allowed most of the field to pit but Norris stayed out and got caught by the safety car which cost him the lead to Verstappen after his first stop.

Verstappen went on to take victory whilst Norris benefitted from a longer middle stint to take second from  Russell, who saw off Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri for the final podium spot.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished sixth and seventh ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, as the Aussie saw off Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon for eighth at the checkered flag.

In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen extended his title lead over Leclerc to 56 points, whilst Norris stayed third in the standings but now seven points behind Leclerc.

(Image credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Following torrential showers throughout the morning and lunchtime, the race commenced in damp conditions as Russell headed Verstappen, Norris and Piastri whilst Alonso and Hamilton jumped Ricciardo for fifth and sixth respectively.

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg meanwhile started on wet tyres unlike everyone else who opted for intermediates, which paid off as the pair climbed to fourth and seventh as a rain shower came in during the opening laps.

Magnussen however was forced to pit on Lap 8 for the intermediates as the track began to dry whilst Hulkenberg waited until Lap 13 to make his stop, which saw them fall down the order again.

Up front, Russell and Verstappen meanwhile scrapped hard on a drying track which allowed Norris to catch the pair, with the Brit passing the pair on Laps 20 and 21 respectively.

Russell however ran wide at the end of Lap 21 and gifted second to Verstappen before the pair headed those who pitted when the safety car was deployed on Lap 25, after Sargeant spun out of Turn 4.

Norris however stayed out for an extra lap but was caught by the safety car which cost him the lead as he re-joined third after his stop, whilst Hamilton jumped Alonso during the stops for fifth.

Racing resumed on Lap 30 as Verstappen fended off Russell, Norris and Piastri whilst Albon passed Ricciardo and Ocon for ninth into the final corner.

Gasly took a gamble on Lap 41 to switch to slick tyres but it wasn’t until Hamilton pitted on Lap 44 that everyone else reacted in the following laps, as Norris stayed out on inters and took the lead before he eventually stopped at the end of Lap 47.

Norris however skidded as he re-joined the circuit on pit exit and conceded the lead to Verstappen who a lap later complained of a “locked suspension”, whilst Russell passed Norris for second on the back straight with DRS.

Russell on Lap 51 hit the kerb hard through Turn 8 and returned second to Norris as the pair lost two seconds to Verstappen.

Perez meanwhile spun and broke his rear wing on Lap 52 to end his race but he was handed a three-place grid penalty for the Spanish GP, after stewards deemed that he had deliberately drove back to the pits with severe damage to avoid triggering a safety car rather than park up.

A lap later, Carlos Sainz spun at Turn 6 and collected a helpless Albon, which triggered another safety car period under which Mercedes pitted both Russell and Hamilton who re-joined fourth and fifth.

Racing resumed on Lap 59 but everyone held position but Russell lost one position on Lap 63 after he tried to pass Piastri into the final corner, but ran wide and re-joined fifth behind Hamilton.

Hamilton however enjoyed better luck two laps later to clear Piastri at the same corner for third but couldn’t catch and pass Norris, and instead got passed by Russell at the final corner on Lap 68 for third to deny the seven-time champion his first GP podium of the season.

Piastri settled for fifth ahead of Alonso, Stroll, Ricciardo, Gasly and Ocon.

F1 now heads to Barcelona, Spain, for the Spanish GP from 21-23 June which marks the first of a triple-header followed by Austrian and British Grands Prix in the following fortnight.

Position Driver Team Laps Time
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 70 1h 45m 47.927
2 Lando Norris McLaren 70 + 3.879
3 George Russell Mercedes 70 + 4,317
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 70 + 4.915
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 70 + 10.199
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 70 + 17.510
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 70 + 23.625
8 Daniel Ricciardo RB 70 + 28.672
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 70 + 30.021
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine 70 + 30.313
11 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 70 + 30.824
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 70 + 31.253
13 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 70 + 40.487
14 Yuki Tsunoda RB 70 + 52.694
15 Guanyu Zhou Sauber 69 + 1 Lap
RET Carlos Sainz Ferrari 52 Collision
RET Alex Albon Williams 52 Collision
RET Sergio Perez Red Bull 51 Spin
RET Charles Leclerc Ferrari 41 Power
RET Logan Sargeant Williams 24 Spin
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