Max Verstappen cruises in Canada to take a historic victory for both himself and Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen took yet another race victory in the 2023 Formula 1 Season as he equalled the legendary Ayrton Senna for 41 race victories in the sport whilst Red Bull hit the Century mark (which was quite fitting given its Ashes season). Fernando Alonso drove excellently to finish within 10 seconds of the Dutchman whilst Lewis Hamilton rounded out the Podium.
The Biggest Talking Points
Lewis Hamilton got Fernando Alonso off the start and it looked like we would be getting a 3-way battle between Alonso and the two Mercedes (Hamilton and Russell) for the remaining 2 spots on the Podium. However, George Russell shockingly crashed which resulted in both him dropping to the back of the field and a Safety Car. Ferrari decided to keep both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz out when the Safety Car was deployed and that strategy worked out for them well. Lando Norris was given a 5-second time penalty for “Unsportsmanlike behaviour” before Fernando Alonso pulled off a brilliant overtake to move back into second place. Carlos Sainz looked to be quicker than his teammate at parts of the grand prix, but he was definitely quicker than Sergio Perez who continues to majorly underperform in his Red Bull. George Russell was eventually forced to retire (mainly due to his crash) whilst Nyck de Vries and Kevin Magnussen both played their part in each other's races being ruined as they went down the escape road at turn 3. Most people opted for a two-stop strategy in the race, but Williams decided to keep Alex Albon out and that resulted in their star driver coming across the line in P7 after holding off a train which included 4 different drivers from 4 different teams. Lance Stroll recovered well in his home race by overtaking Bottas on the run-up to the line whilst Max Verstappen was already waving to the crowd.
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve given out a total of three 10’s for this race and the first one is obviously for Max Verstappen. Verstappen average at the end of the 2022 season was pretty high, but I have a feeling that if he and Red Bull keep up this amazing pace, it’s going to be a lot higher. The second driver I’ve given a 10 to is Fernando Alonso who continues to get the maximum and then some out of his Aston Martin. Also, being less than 10 seconds off Verstappen is a very good effort when you consider the gap at other circuits. The last 10 I’ve given out is for Alex Albon who drove a sensational race to finish P7. Williams are clearly getting stronger and I genuinely believe Albon could race as well as the likes of Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo when they were at Alpha Tauri and Renault respectively. I also thought Lewis Hamilton had a great race to finish on the Podium whilst Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas all had really good showings.
Drivers who had a Horror Race
In total, I’ve only given out two 1’s for this race. The first one is for Kevin Magnussen who had another terrible showing in his Haas. He didn’t have the pace to hold on like Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas did and he was just as much to blame in the incident with de Vries in my opinion. The other driver I’ve given out a 1 to is Nyck de Vries who just can’t seem to have a good race at the moment. His pace actually looked pretty good, but he made a silly error which ruined both his and Magnussen’s race. I also thought George Russell had a poor showing and made a terrible error whilst Zhou Guanyu seemed to struggle for pace all weekend long.
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
Max Verstappen: 10
Fernando Alonso: 10
Lewis Hamilton: 9
Charles Leclerc: 8
Carlos Sainz: 8
Sergio Perez: 6 (FL)
Alex Albon: 10
Esteban Ocon: 8
Lance Stroll: 6
Valtteri Bottas: 8
Oscar Piastri: 5
Pierre Gasly: 4
Lando Norris: 6
Yuki Tsunoda: 4
Nico Hulkenberg: 3
Zhou Guanyu: 2
Kevin Magnussen: 1
Nyck de Vries: 1
George Russell: 2 (DNF)
Logan Sargeant: - (DNF)
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