Hamilton and Alonso in fight as Verstappen matches Senna with Canadian GP win

18 June 2023 , 19:37

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Max Verstappen won in Montreal to maintain Red Bull's 100 per cent victory record so far in 2023 (Image: Getty Images)

Max Verstappen had to use his whole gearbox, of course – but metaphorically he never had to get out of second gear to match Ayrton Senna's total of 41 Formula 1 wins with victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Given how dominant Red Bull have been this season, that felt like an inevitable outcome. It was the team's eighth victory of the year and 100th in total in F1. But the real excitement in Montreal came behind him as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso fought tooth and nail to beat one another to second place.

The Spaniard was on the slower hard tyres towards the end and was nursing a rear brakes issue. But he had the all-important track position and was able to do enough to hold off the marauding Mercedes behind him.

And so the three men who stood on the podium boasted 11 world titles between them as experience won out in Canada. The two Ferraris climbed several places in the race but were unable to ever threaten the podium places, finishing fourth and fifth.

Sergio Perez could manage only sixth after a poor qualifying and so Verstappen's advantage at the top of the standings grew even further. It might have been worse for the Mexican, but George Russell eventually had to retire from the race after whacking his Mercedes off the wall.

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All 20 cars got away safely at the start, where the most notable move was that made by Hamilton on Alonso. The Brit promised after qualifying to give his old McLaren team-mate "hell" in this race, and lived up to that pledge within seconds.

He was by the Aston Martin before the first corner and Russell also had a go at Alonso. But the younger Mercedes racer was unable to get the move done and was made to wait for a chance that never came before he ruined his race with a hard hit into the wall.

Hamilton and Alonso in fight as Verstappen matches Senna with Canadian GP win

Verstappen is now level with Ayrton Senna on 41 F1 victories (Getty Images)

The damage was not terminal, but it did require a lengthy trip to the pits to fix his car. The safety car meant he did not lose too much time but rejoined at the back of the pack in 19th place. Logan Sargeant was the only man worse off as he retired early on after Williams spotted a problem on his car.

Verstappen again sped away from Hamilton after the safety car went back into the pits. And it wasn't long before Alonso got back at the Mercedes racer by roaring past heading into the final chicane with the help of DRS.

Russell was making steady progress back up the order and was just outside the points when he came up behind Kevin Magnussen and Nyck de Vries. And the Brit took full advantage as they squabbled to sneak by the both of them just before they both went off the road.

Russell's Mercedes was clearly damaged by the impact with the wall (Sky Sports)

Ahead of him, Alex Albon was putting in a superb race. The upgrades on his Williams were clearly working well and the Thai racer was closing in on his best result of the season so far – which will have gone a long way to console the team amid the disappointment over Sargeant's DNF.

Just as Russell looked like he would salvage a handful of points, the message he didn't want to hear came over the radio. Mercedes told him to retire the car amid concerns over his brakes and the Brit returned to the pits as he apologised repeatedly to his team for the crash which caused the problem.

Alonso kept saying he wanted to challenge Verstappen ahead of him, but was too busy dealing with Hamilton. The Aston Martin racer was nursing a problem with his brakes, but managed to keep the Brit at bay to take second place, while the Mercedes driver rounded off the podium.