F1 Canadian Grand Prix 2023 LIVE RESULTS: Max Verstappen victorious in Montreal as Lewis Hamilton claims podium finish
MAX VERSTAPPEN has won a fourth consecutive Grand Prix and extended his staggering lead at the top of the F1 driver standings.
The Dutchman eased to victory in Canada and claimed his sixth win out of eight races - all of which have been won by Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton claimed a podium finish in Montreal after finishing in third spot behind Verstappen and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in second.
- TV channel: Sky Sports F1
- Live stream: NOW
- Result: 1 Verstappen, 2 Alonso, 3 Hamilton, 4 Leclerc, 5 Sainz, 6 Perez, 7 Albon, 8 Econ, 9 Stroll, 10 Bottas, 11 Piastri, 12 Gasly, 13 Norris, 14 Tsunoda, 15 Hulkenberg, 16 Zhou, 17 Magnussen, 18 De Vries, 19 Russell, 20 Sargeant.
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Lap 35/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso second
The Verstappen lead is growing ever more.
Alonso meanwhile has built a 3.3 second lead on Hamilton.
Leclerc and Sainz have still yet to pit in the race.
Credit: Reuters Lap 33/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso second
Despite the complaints of lose grip, Verstappen has built up a 5.2 second lead.
It makes you wonder whether Alonso and Hamilton's tyres are also graining up as the Dutch man is gaining 0.3 seconds per lap on the pair.
The two Ferraris are behind the Mercedes of Hamilton.
Lap 31/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso second
Max Verstappen has opened up a 4.4 second lead although he has reported through his comms that he is losing grip.
A few drivers are reporting this with the hard tyres.
The last thing Red Bull need is an additional pit.
Lap 29/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso second
Leclerc, Sainz and Perez have each gained six places in the race.
Alonso still holds the fastest lap of the day.
He is managing to edge ahead of the Mercedes with a 2.04 second lead now.
Lap 27/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso second
The race for the places behind Verstappen is a great watch.
Alonso, Hamilton, Leclerc and Sainz are all within seconds of each other.
Then there is a bit of gap to Perez in sixth place.
Lap 25/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso second
Verstappen currently has a 3.1 second lead over Alonso in second.
Hamilton is still right on the tail of the Aston Martin, 1.1 seconds behind him.
Leclerc is starting to put some real pressure on Hamilton, a similar distance behind him.
Credit: Reuters Lap 23/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso second
Fernando Alonso was using Lewis Hamilton's slipstream to perfection before he utilised DRS to take over him.
The Mercedes driver is not willing to give up his place and almost touches the back tyre of Alonso on the corner.
Unbelievably the stewards have decided no penalty for Hamilton for his early release in the pit lane, he certainly has got off lightly there.
Lap 21/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
Fernando Alonso registers the fastest lap of the day so far.
Showing the Aston Martin is not content with third place, he is looking to gain on Lewis Hamilton.
Magnussen is taken by Botas which drops him down to ninth place.
Lap 19/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
Carlos Sainz is now in fifth place with Sergio Perez in sixth.
Max Verstappen has clocked the fastest lap of the race.
The two Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz are battling for fourth place.
Lap 17/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
The safety car is back in now, it worked well for the front three as they were able to take to the pits and get their tyres changed.
Max Verstappen now leads Lewis Hamilton by 1.2 seconds, with Alonso in third place.
Interestingly Charles Leclerc is in fourth place so he has really benefitted from the safety car coming out.
Lap 15/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
Hamilton is being investigated for an unsafe release in the pit lane.
Ironically Norris does exactly the same to Albon in the pit lane moments later.
It is carnage down there today, keeping the stewards busy.
Meanwhile, the safety car still leads the drivers around.
Credit: Reuters Lap 13/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
Norris, Leclerc and Albon are currently having a titanic battle for 7th place.
George Russell has hit the wall and there is severe damage to the car.
His back wheel looks buckled and there is debris on the track.
Verstappen, Hamilton and Alonso all decide to pit as the safety car comes out.
Alonso 0.9 seconds quicker than Hamilton in the pit and as he looks to come out, Hamilton pulls in front of him almost causing a collision.
Lap 11/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
George Russell is gaining on the Aston Martin now and is right on the tail of Fernando Alonso.
With the virtual safety car now removed, somehow Verstappen has increased his lead to 3.4 seconds.
Whether he took off too fast too soon when the virtual safety car was lifted remains to be seen.
Hamilton is complaining that his tyres are already 'super hot'.
Lap 9/70 – Virtual safety car out
Logan Sargeant is out of the race and his car was causing an obstruction on turn six.
There seemed to be smoke coming from his engine and his team told him to get out of the car and retire.
His car is being lifted from the course and they have got the driver safely off the track.
Lap 7/70 – Verstappen leads, Alonso gaining
Verstappen leads Hamilton by 2.06 seconds now.
Alonso is driving hard and looking to put the pressure on Hamilton in front of him.
There is no talk on the comms from Aston Martin meaning that Alonso must have got away with no damage when his clipped the wall hard.
Lap 5/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
Alonso clips the wall with some force on turn four.
Aston Martin will be hoping he did not damage the suspension.
The changes to the DRS system on Alonso's car seems to have made some difference as he gains on Hamilton with Russell unable to gain on him at all from fourth place.
Lap 3/70 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
Both Leclerc and Sainz have improved on their grid positions by one place.
The most impressive mover however is Hamilton who has gone up from third to second.
Alonso's Aston Martin seemed sluggish off the grid.
Credit: Reuters Lap 1/70 - Verstappen leads, Hamilton second
An amazing start both both Verstappen and Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver takes Fernando Alonso at the first turn.
Hectic start in the Canadian Grand Prix.
No DRS in play for the first two laps.
Sainz seems to put Magnussen off the track but he manages to re-enter without endangering any other cars.
Lights out in Canadian Grand Prix
We are underway at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The track is dry and the sun it out and the drivers are off.
Formation lap begins
Reminder of the starting grid for race
Here is how the drivers will line up for the start of the race:
Credit: @F1
Spaniard looking to push Dutchman all the way
Fernando Alonso's fighting talk before the race is all about how he plans to give Max Verstappen the race of his season so far.
The Aston Martin driver seems fed up of people writing off races before they even start, declaring the Dutch driver champion.
We all hope he can produce such a race, Verstappen has been unchallenged when his team mate Sergio Perez is not in the running so far.
Mercedes focussed on challenge ahead
Toto Wolff has said how is expecting his drivers to have a real battle with Fernando Alonso in the race today.
He said how they do not expect to be challenging Max Verstappen but know where their focus lies.
It is almost like the team have written off the season where as challenging Red Bull is concerned but the cars behind him will be having a race of their own.
Mercedes getting race ready
As we edge towards the start of the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes' drivers are getting into the zone for the race.
Both drivers have shown improvements over the last few races, with podium finishes, and will be looking to continue that form today.
Mercedes will be looking to gain more points to close the gap in the constructor's championship.
Credit: Reuters Leclerc tribute to great driver
It has been decided that Charles Leclerc will wear a helmet in tribute to Gilles Villeneuve after talks with the Ferrari legend's family.
Initially the family were surprised to see him wearing the helmet at the track as they had not been consulted but Leclerc contacted the family himself to discuss it.
Eventually, they decided it was a fitting tribute to their father.
