In another flawless drive, Max Verstappen secured his 6th win of the season after triumphing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. With this win, Verstappen has equaled Ayrton Senna’a tally of 41 Formula 1 race victories. The 25-year-old two-time defending champion and current championship leader led the race from the lights to the flag seeing off his closest challenger Fernando Alonso by 9.5 seconds.
The 2024 Canada Grand Prix – As It Happened
Source: XBP Images
With Max on the pole and Alonso and Lewis behind him, fans expected to see a close battle between former and current world champions. However, the Dutchman made no mistake at the start, leaving his Spanish and British counterparts way behind by the end of 1st lap. However, Hamilton did overtake Alonso before the first corner of the first lap to take the second position in the race.
Hamilton’s teammate and compatriot George Russell brought out the safety car after hitting the wall on the 12th lap. Consequently, Russell’s nightmare race ended on lap 55 after brake damage. Fernando Alonso made a bold move and lunged down the inside of Hamilton to take back second place on lap 23. Before this, the former McLaren teammates had a close coming together in the pits as well. However, since the overtake on lap 23, Alonso kept his place and came home 5 seconds ahead of Hamilton.
Post-race Alonso revealed he was battling brake issues towards the end of the race. The two-time former F1 champion said, “We had hoped to challenge Max a bit more but lost pace at the start to Lewis and then battled all race.”
“It was like 70 qualifying laps for me,” he added.
Hamilton praised Fernando and Max after the race. He said, “It’s been a great weekend for us. We are slowly chipping away. The Astons took a little bit of a step ahead this weekend when they added the upgrade. But we are also working on bringing some more moving forwards. It’s quite an honor to be on the podium with these two great world champions.”
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished impressively 4th and 5th respectively, after starting in 10th and 11th. Sergio Perez, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, and Valtteri Bottas rounded the top 10. Besides Russell, Williams driver Logan Sargeant also couldn’t finish the race after having to retire on lap 8 following critical issues in his car.
Max Matches Ayrton’s Legacy – What Does It Mean for Him?
Source: F1
Max Verstappen‘s victory at the Canadian Grand Prix has put him on par with the legendary Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 F1 wins. This achievement is a testament to Verstappen’s incredible talent and skill on the track, as he continues to dominate the field with his impressive performances. The Red Bull driver now trails Alain Prost (51 wins), Sebastian Vettel (55 wins), Michael Schumacher (91 wins), and Lewis Hamilton (103 wins) only on the all-time F1 career wins list.
Furthermore, this was Max’s 4th straight win of the season and third straight win where he led from start to finish. He has now also extended his championship lead over teammate Perez to 69 points and looks set to win his third consecutive WDC title this year.
These achievements surely establish him as one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, with the potential to surpass even more records in the future. However, it should be noted that the number of races has significantly increased over the years, and the kind of close championship battles we used to have in the 1980s and 90s is hardly visible in the current hybrid era. So, it’s still a long way before Verstappen actually matches Ayrton’s legacy. Till then, all he can do is win and keep winning
