Max Verstappen Savors 60th Career Win in Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix Amid Winter-Like Conditions
In a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen demonstrated his exceptional skills by claiming his 60th career win in Formula 1, overcoming close competition and treacherous winter-like conditions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. The three-time Formula 1 champion praised the strategic calls made by the Red Bull pit wall, which played a crucial role in his triumph.
Verstappen’s journey to the top step of the podium was not without its challenges. As the Dutch driver began to pressure polesitter George Russell in the opening stages, a wide moment at Turn 1 allowed Lando Norris to overtake him. However, Russell’s mistake under braking at the last chicane handed Verstappen second place, and a well-timed Safety Car enabled him to capitalize on Norris’s lead.
When asked about his win, Verstappen expressed that it was “very rewarding” due to the close competition and difficult conditions. “It’s never an easy race,” he stated. “It’s easy to make mistakes, especially on the inters when they were almost becoming slicks. It was very easy to go off because the track was drying in most places, but in some corners, it was still a bit too wet to go to slicks. That made it just very, very difficult.”
Red Bull’s strategic decisions paid off, as they avoided replicating McLaren’s mistake by not bringing Norris in during the Safety Car period. Verstappen commended the team’s calls, emphasizing the importance of remaining calm and focused under pressure. “You’re very focused, but you try to remain as calm as you can be, and also the communication to the pit wall and them to you to ask what are the conditions. And I definitely think as a team, you know, we did make the right calls today. And yeah, that, of course, is also very important.”
Despite his triumph, Verstappen acknowledged that Red Bull is not operating at the same level of dominance as last season. “I mean, I think we are all very focused,” he said. “We are still doing a lot of things right. But for whatever reason, we are not in that same flow as we had last year, where everything just seemed to be going really well for us. At most places, no reliability issues.”
The three-time champion attributed the team’s current struggles to an unknown reason, adding that it might take time to regain their momentum. “Sometimes it almost feels like you’re a bit in a spiral, and it maybe takes a bit of time to get out of it. But yeah, we are for sure on top of everything. Of course, there are always things that you can do better. But yeah, we’ll come out of this week and analyze everything again and try to improve.”
Verstappen’s win in the Canadian Grand Prix marks his 60th career victory and cements his position in the Formula 1 standings. As the season progresses, fans can expect more thrilling battles between top contenders in the world of Formula 1 news.
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