Verstappen hails team for staying calm in 'crazy race' as he takes victory in eventful Canadian GP

Max Verstappen hailed his Red Bull team for being on "top of our calls" after his victory in an action-packed Canadian Grand Prix, with the chaotic race requiring crucial strategy calls amid changing weather conditions and two Safety Car periods.

While pole-sitter George Russell initially led away from Verstappen as the race got under way, Lando Norris went on to slot into P1 before the lead changed hands again when the Safety Car was deployed on Lap 25 after Logan Sargeant hit the barriers in the Williams.

While the positions switched again following a second pit stop phase, Verstappen ultimately got ahead of Norris and the Dutchman held onto P1 to the chequered flag, despite further incidents including a second Safety Car, this time owing to a collision between Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. 

Given that his running earlier in the weekend was curtailed following an ERS issue with his car, Verstappen bounced back in style by taking the win and praised his team for staying "calm" during an eventful Grand Prix.

"It was a pretty crazy race," the world champion said after jumping out of his RB20. "A lot of things were happening and we had to be on top of our calls. I think as a team we just did really well today – we remained calm, I think we pitted at the right time.

"Of course the Safety Car worked out nicely for us, but even after that I think we were managing the gaps quite well. I love it, that was a lot of fun. Those kinds of races, you need them once in a while."

Asked about how much McLaren and Mercedes had taken the fight to Red Bull during the 70-lap encounter, Verstappen responded: "Yeah, in different stages of the race as well. It was a lot of fun out there."

There looked to be a potential issue for Verstappen when he was heard to complain about his suspension in the race, having previously experienced this problem earlier in the weekend. Reflecting on this, the 26-year-old acknowledged that the team still have some areas for improvement.

"[It was] not particularly an issue – we know what it is. We just need to work on it," he explained. "But nevertheless we won, that's the most important, and we still have a lot of room to improve." 

Canadian GP – Qualifying: Russell tied

George Russell was fastest in the thrilling and stunning Canadian Grand Prix qualifying at the Montreal circuit and will start Sunday's race from pole position. Next to him in the first row will be Max Verstappen who did the same time as the Briton, but lost in the tie! Deafening exclusions for Ferrari and Perez!

Despite the rain that fell between the end of FP3 and the start of qualifying, the track was dry when the drivers took to the track for the first time. However, the clouds were heavy and rain was quite likely throughout, with the teams looking to maximize their slick tire time on track.

In Q1 the interest was intense as not only did the track stay dry throughout the proceedings, but because the times kept improving with the fastest time constantly changing hands. In the end, it was Max Verstappen who managed to come out on top, despite being out of the top 15 just seconds before the finale.

The Dutchman managed to write a very good lap in 1:12.360 to take the lead by a margin, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Lewis Hamilton. The other Red Bull, however, was the big surprise of the first period, again with a negative connotation, as it was left out for the second race in a row, together with the two Saubers of Bottas, Zhou, the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.

And if Sergio Perez's disqualification was a big surprise, qualifying hid the biggest surprise in Q2. After Perez, Alex Albon's lap in the final of qualifying also threw Charles Leclerc out of the final battle for pole position, while a mistake by Carlos Sainz at the last corner also left the Spaniard out, in Ferrari's first double ban since the Q3, after the Belgian GP in 2021!

Apart from the two Ferraris, Logan Sargeant with the very competitive Williams, Kevin Magnussen with Haas and Pierre Gasly with Alpine were left out. At the top of the times were the two Mercedes with George Russell being marginally faster than Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris with McLaren following. Apart from Albon, RB impressed with its double presence in the top ten.

George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo took part in Q3 and the battle for pole position. The sprinkles that fell during Q2 did not turn into rain with the sun even making an appearance at the start of Q3.

With no spare tires waiting out the rain, the cars took to the track on used tires at the start of Q3, with Mercedes still holding onto the lead and Russell with a time of 1:12.000 fastest ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen , Piastri to follow.

The McLarens were the first to take to the track for the second attempt, with Norris moving up to second, 27 milliseconds behind his compatriot. Piastri approached his teammate's pace, but was unable to overtake him. Verstappen was next to complete his lap, putting in a terrific first lap, but in the end he set exactly the same time as Russell, who was unable to improve but took pole, having set the fastest time earlier in the process !

Thus, only for the second time in the history of Formula 1, after the triple tie of Villeneuve, Schumacher and Frentzen in 1997 in Jerez, the pole position was decided with the same time between two drivers! The McLarens will be on the second row, while in third the impressive Daniel Ricciardo moved up to fifth for RB, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton who was disappointed with seventh. Tsunoda, Stroll and Albon completed the top ten of the rankings.