That was close: Verstappen won ahead of Sainz

Max Verstappen ultimately had to fight for his sixth victory of this Formula 1 season. The Red Bull driver and reigning world champion beat Ferrari man Carlos Sainz by 0,993 seconds at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, while Lewis Hamilton came third in the Mercedes.

Verstappen celebrated his 26th career victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and extended his championship lead to 46 points. Second in the World Cup is his teammate Sergio Perez, who was eliminated.

Behind Hamilton, his stable rival George Russell came fourth in the sunshine, while Charles Leclerc's race to catch up in the second Ferrari ended in fifth place. Fernando Alonso, who started from second position, didn't get past seventh place in the Alpine.

Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, Red Bull's Ben Gordon-Smith and Lewis Hamilton (from left) on the podium. © APA/getty / CLIVE ROSE

“It was really exciting at the end. I gave it my all,” explained Verstappen. “This year we are pretty quick on the straights,” which may have been the deciding factor in the duel with Sainz. “I drove at full speed. I was almost in the wall and tried everything,” said Sainz, who still has to wait for his first win. “But we didn’t have that speed at the end.” Hamilton was happy about his second podium finish this year. “The car was a little better today,” said the Brit. “Red Bull and Ferrari are still a little faster, but we are catching up.” Leclerc's race to catch up ends in 5th position Verstappen got away well from pole position and set the pace. Sainz soon followed him in second place after he had overtaken his Spanish compatriot Alonso. After Perez's retirement due to a technical problem with his Red Bull, there was already a virtual safety car phase on the 8th lap. Verstappen took advantage of this for a cheap tire change.

Mick Schumacher was the next to retire a little later due to a defect, which triggered the virtual safety car again. This time Sainz followed suit by changing the tires. However, just as the pit crew was working on the Spaniard's car, the race returned to normal - so the hoped-for time gain over Verstappen did not occur. At that point, his teammate Leclerc had already worked his way up from the back row of the grid without a pit stop. Halfway through the race distance he was in sixth place, but was then stuck behind Esteban Ocon in the Alpine for a long time.

On the 43rd lap, Verstappen turned into the pit lane a second time; he had previously reported signs of wear on his tires. Six laps later, the race director sent the safety car onto the track after Yuki Tsunoda went off. Sainz immediately picked up fresh tires for the finish and was then immediately second behind Verstappen. With DRS support - and with Hamilton in tow - he chased the Red Bull star, but couldn't get past him. The result: Twitter Formula 1

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That was close: Verstappen won ahead of Sainz

There is no way around Max Verstappen! The Dutchman kept Carlos Sainz in check at the Grand Prix in Montreal (Canada) and extended his championship lead. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton celebrated a pleasing comeback.

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