Reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen claimed his sixth victory of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday in Montreal, mastering both wet and dry conditions and successfully holding off a challenge from Lando Norris.
Verstappen's Red Bull Racing Honda completed the 70 laps at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, crossing the finish line 3.879 seconds ahead of Norris' McLaren Mercedes. George Russell and his Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, secured third and fourth places, respectively, while McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished fifth.
Verstappen earned 25 points for the win, extending his lead in the drivers' championship standings from 31 to 56 points over Charles Leclerc, a Monaco native who failed to finish the race due to an engine issue and difficulties with slick tires in wet conditions, leading Scuderia Ferrari to retire his car for no points.
Norris currently sits in third place in the standings, 63 points behind Verstappen.
Russell, who claimed pole position, and Verstappen battled for the lead early in the rainy conditions before being overtaken by Norris on lap 22 as the track dried out. However, Norris faced a setback when Logan Sargeant crashed, prompting a safety car deployment on lap 25 of 70. Norris had already passed the pit lane entry point and had to pit later, dropping him to third place.
"It was a pretty crazy race, a lot of things were happening, and we had to stay on top of our decisions," Verstappen said. "As a team, we performed really well today. We stayed calm, pitted at the right time, the safety car worked out nicely for us, and even after that, we managed the gaps quite well.
"I love it; that was a lot of fun. You need those kinds of races once in a while."
Verstappen took advantage of the restart to maintain his lead. As track conditions improved, cars switched from intermediate tires to slicks, but despite another safety car period after a collision between Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon on lap 53, Verstappen remained out of reach for the other drivers.
Norris stayed ahead of Russell, who faced challenges from his teammate and seven-time champion Hamilton, as well as Piastri.
"It was wild," said Norris, who had outpaced Verstappen for his first F1 victory at the Miami Grand Prix on May 5. "It was chaos. It was eventful. Honestly, I felt like I drove a good race the whole time, from start to finish.
"The first two stints were strong; I had amazing pace. Then the safety car compromised me, just like it helped me in Miami. It's now set me back. Honestly, I thought it was a pretty perfect race from my side; just a bit unlucky. But it was good fun overall.
"These conditions were so stressful inside the car but very enjoyable at the same time."
