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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Hamilton looking forward to race
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has spoken about qualifying and the race itself:
I love driving this track. It's mega. The car didn't feel bad but I think we definitely have some work to do. Not the greatest but not the worst. It is feeling pretty decent but it is just bumpy. I think everyone is having struggles with the bumps. We just have to improve our ride control and a bit of balance through the corner and I think we'll be all right. The car is massively better than last year. The rear end is not but overall it is a step forward and I am definitely feeling the improvements we brought in Monaco.
Lewis HamiltonLooking to break Dutch stranglehold on title
Max Verstappen currently leads the F1 drivers championship by a stunning 63 points.
Lewis Hamilton is some 83 points behind the Red Bull driver.
With second place on the grid, Fernando Alonso, 71 points behind fans are starting to wonder whether the defending champion already has one hand on this season's title.
Forecast for Canadian Grand Prix
While the qualifying sessions saw some rain making for a wet track which caused the drivers all sorts of problems, it should be a dry day for the race itself.
With the country being ravaged by wildfires lately, the air quality was a concern for the race initially but has posed no problems so far.
The wildfires have caused air quality issues as far afield as New York but fortunately the race seems as though it will be unaffected.
Pirelli under pressure to keep F1 contract
Bridgestone tyres have lodged a bid to become the supplier for the F1 from 2025.
Italian company Pirelli have held the contract since 2011 and are looking to keep the business.
Drivers feel that the Pirelli tyres are too sensitive to overheating when pushed hard or trying to overtake and have been pushing for them to address this for some time.
Hamilton arrives at circuit in Canada
Lewis Hamilton seems to be having a competition with himself for the most bizarre outfit he can rock up to the race in.
Today's little number seems to in keeping with the colours of the Canadian flag at least.
With the tweaks made to his Mercedes seemingly improving his performances, he sits third on the grid today, hoping he can give Verstappen some concerns.
Credit: Alamy Canadian Grand Prix grid positions
Here is how the drivers will line up for today's race:
Credit: @F1 Unique end to first session practice
The first practice at the Canadian Grand Prix was abandoned because of a CCTV failure at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
As it is part of the Formula One’s safety apparatus the FIA said it was impossible to continue with the session without it functioning.
The second practice was extended by 30 minutes to make up for the lost race time.
Max wants to see Spaniard win if he can’t
Max Verstappen was interviewed and asked whether he could win every race of this F1 season.
The Dutch driver said it was impossible to do that and that there would be instances where we would see another driver on the podium.
Asked who he would like to see win those races, his answer was clear, Fernando Alonso.
Verstappen said “If you ask me one driver who I would like to see win a race, it's him. He deserves it - he is a real racer.”
Ferrari overriding driver decision key
Charles Leclerc has questioned some of his team’s decision making after the driver requested slick tyres before the rain came which his team decided to ignore.
It would have been the correct decision as the track was reduced to being a very wet surface soon after.
Leclerc said that they have to better as he felt Ferrari are “making our life way too difficult in those situations”.
Welcome to the Canadian Grand Prix
Qualifying provided a different challenge to the drivers this weekend as they had to deal with wet conditions which brought a lot of drama to the sessions.
Concerns were that the race may be hampered by the wildfires in Canada but the sessions offered quite different conditions with rain making for a wet track.
Max Verstappen took pole position with Nico Hulkenberg taking second place but the German driver was later awarded three-place grid penalty for exceeding the speed limit under red flag conditions.
As a result, Fernando Alonso will start second on the grid with Mercedes’ drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell taking the other two positions in the top four.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished tenth while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez will start in twelfth position.
The pair were knocked out in the second session for taking too long to switch to slick tyres when the rain came.
Carlos Sainz managed to finished a respectable eighth but was later given a penalty for impeding Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Esteban Ocon will start in sixth position with Lando Norris in seventh.
His McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri will start in eighth place while Williams driver Alex Albon will start in his best grid position of the season, ninth place.