MONTREAL — Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix for the third straight year for the Red Bull star’s 60th Formula 1 victory and sixth in nine races this season.
The 25-year-old Dutchman started second in the rain alongside pole-sitter George Russell, took control early as the sun came out and dominated again at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Ile Notre-Dame in the Saint Lawrence River.
Verstappen finished 3.879 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in the 70-lap race on the 2.71-mile (4.36-kilometer) road course.
He said he was unfazed by being beaten by Russell even though they had identical lap times because the Briton clocked his time first.
“No, I’m not worried by that,” Verstappen said before the race.
“And probably I should be pleasantly surprised to be on the front row in a way, but we lacked pace.
“The time Mercedes did in FP3 – that is not possible for us. Not really. And we have had a messy weekend. We need to tidy up and we need to improve our car too.
“So we have got a lot of work to do and it is not the easiest circuit for us here. But our target has to be that we are good everywhere.”
Daniel Ricciardo, an impressive fifth on the grid, was hit with a five-second penalty for a false start.
The sun came out and, as the track dried rapidly, it was Verstappen who lit up the timing screens and climbed all over the back of Russell.
But the three-time world champion ran across the kerbs at turn one, putting himself under the cosh from the fast-moving Norris.
The McLaren driver blasted past Verstappen with DRS on lap 20 and quickly dispatched compatriot Russell – with the Mercedes driver then running off track at the final chicane allowing the Dutchman to also charge through.
Norris blasted to an eight-second lead but that was snatched away when Logan Sargeant hit the wall and a safety car was deployed.
His teammate Sergio Perez, who signed an extended contract a week earlier, said qualifying had been a ‘disaster’ as he failed to progress for the second successive race.
Mercedes took the next two spots, with Russell third and seven-time Montreal winner Lewis Hamilton fourth. Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren, followed by Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, the lone Canadian in the race.
Last year in Montreal, Verstappen started from the pole and led every lap. He has won the last three world championships.
Verstappen started second on a tiebreaker after having the same lap time as Russell in qualifying Saturday. Russell got the pole because he posted the time first.
It was another brilliant drive from the 26-year-old who dealt with constantly changing weather, pit stop battles and challenges from McLaren and Mercedes while wrestling with his Red Bull’s suspension.
After Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Williams’s Alex Albon came together, bringing out the safety car for a second time, Verstappen pulled away on the restart and finished 3.879 seconds ahead of Norris while Russell won a nail-biting last-laps duel with team mate Lewis Hamilton to complete the podium.
Mercedes has ruled out Carlos Sainz for a 2025 Formula drive because they are focusing on young Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton’s likely replacement.
Spaniard Sainz is handing over his Ferrari seat to seven-time world champion Hamilton at the end of the year and has yet to find another drive, despite his experience as a proven race winner.
Champions Red Bull have confirmed Mexican Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate, closing that possibility to Sainz, while Mercedes look set to confirm Antonelli as George Russell’s teammate.
The 17-year-old Italian is currently racing in Formula Two.
“I think first of all, Carlos deserves a top seat. He’s done a fantastic job,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports television.
“But for us, we’ve embarked on a route now to say… we want to reinvent ourselves a little bit going forward and Kimi Antonelli definitely plays a part in that.
“We haven’t taken a decision yet for next year but we didn’t want to have Carlos wait as well because he needs to take the decisions for himself. That’s just fair. He’s doing a super job.”
Sainz is a top target for Williams and Swiss-based Sauber, with the former pushing hard and the latter last in the standings but set to become the Audi works team in 2026.
“The No 1 target is Carlos,” said Williams boss James Vowles.
“We are prepared to have a driver line-up that I think is going to be one of the best on the grid, if it’s achieved, and that’s a different era that we’re going into.
