List of All Articles with Tag 'f1'

Max Verstappen completed another crushing performance in Canada on Sunday to match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories – and then promised to keep the good times rolling. A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to beat Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton and move into joint fifth in the pantheon of Formula One winners. Even an early collision with a bird could not stop the flying Dutchman, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealing that his star driver completed the majority of Sunday’s 70-lap race with part of the animal lodged in his brake duct. Verstappen will not celebrate his 26th birthday until September, but his sixth victory from the opening eight fixtures of the year leaves only Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books. “When I was a little kid driving go karts, I was dreaming about being an F1 driver and I would never had imagined I would win 41 grands prix,” said Verstappen, who also notched up Red Bull’s 100th victory in the sport. “To tie with Ayrton is incredible and I am proud of that but I hope it doesn’t stop here. I hope we keep on winning more races. “It is also a great achievement for the team. We knew this was the first opportunity to win 100 races. I am happy that is done, but I hope we will win more than 100 so the new target is 200.” Remarkably, Verstappen has won 15 of the last 19 races in F1, with Red Bull failing to taste victory on just one occasion in that streak. Red Bull could yet become the first team to win every race in a single season. And with Verstappen at the wheel – rather than team-mate Sergio Perez who finished only sixth on another trying weekend for the Mexican – they have every chance. Verstappen’s triumph – his fourth in succession – was all but sealed on the short dash to the opening chicane after he fended off a slow-starting Alonso. Hamilton, who gazumped Alonso, set his sights on Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox, but by the end of the opening lap, the seven-time world champion was eight tenths back – and when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap eight after Logan Sargeant broke down in his Williams, the gap was the best part of three seconds. With Verstappen racing off into the distance, Alonso was the filling in a Mercedes’ sandwich. But that changed on lap 12 when George Russell slammed into the wall on the exit of Turn 9. Russell’s front wing snapped in half, while his right-rear tyre dangled off his Mercedes. With debris littering the circuit, the safety car came out and the main players stopped for new tyres as Russell pulled in for repairs. After changing all four tyres, Hamilton was released into Alonso’s path. Alonso said he had to slam on the anchors to avoid running into the back of the Mercedes man, and the flashpoint was duly noted by the stewards, and latterly investigated, but the British driver would escape without punishment. The safety car came in five laps later and Verstappen executed a fine getaway to leave Hamilton trailing. Indeed, after the opening two turns, he was already one second up the road. Rather than looking ahead, Hamilton’s attention was occupied by Alonso behind. And on lap 22, the Spaniard dived past Hamilton with a fine move at the final chicane. Hamilton had a nibble back at Alonso as they raced to the opening corner, but the evergreen Spaniard held his nerve to keep the Mercedes man behind. Russell raced back from last to eighth before he was forced to park a Mercedes riddled with excessive brake wear with 15 laps remaining. Verstappen took the chequered flag 9.5 sec clear of Alonso. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari. Alex Albon crossed the line a commendable seventh in his Williams. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen claims pole position during rain-hit qualifying for Canadian GP Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian Grand Prix finally gets started Max Verstappen closes in on ‘amazing achievement’ of matching Ayrton Senna

Lando Norris was left perplexed at the penalty which cost him points at the Canadian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver, who started seventh on the grid, was grappling for positions towards the bottom of the top-10 throughout the race which was won by Max Verstappen. However, his efforts were scuppered by a five-second time penalty dished out by the stewards for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” The penalty was later explained to be for Norris driving too slowly during the safety car period, in order for his McLaren team to “double-stack” Oscar Piastri and Norris in the pit-window without delay. “It doesn’t make sense to me,” Norris said, when asked about the penalty after the race, which dropped him from ninth at the chequered flag to outside the points in 13th. “I was three or four seconds down… I’m quite surprised. The rest of the race I was very happy with. There were some fun overtakes. “Everyone leaves gaps [in safety car period]. It’s not like I was 10 seconds down on my delta. If it’s a delta-difference, people should be given penalties for the last three or four years.” Despite missing out on two points, Norris admitted he enjoyed vying for positions throughout the race, including a thrilling last-lap battle with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. “It was always about making the most of one opportunity I had,” he added. “It was a struggle, nothing was easy. Tough race, still managed to fight through which was nice. “The pace was a bit better than the last few weekends. Hopefully we can take some step forwards next time out.” Norris is currently 11th in the championship standings on 12 points, seven clear of team-mate Piastri. McLaren’s scoreless race in Montreal means the team still haven’t picked up points in Canada since 2014 – a streak of seven Canadian GP races without a top-10 finish. Read More Red Bull mastermind Adrian Newey hints at retirement: ‘It’s on a countdown’ Lewis Hamilton ‘excited’ to share Canada podium with two world champions Max Verstappen wins Canadian Grand Prix to match F1 legend in race wins ‘It’s on a countdown’: Red Bull mastermind Adrian Newey hints at retirement F1 Canadian Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and lap times from Montreal Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian GP finally starts

Lewis Hamilton said he was honoured to be fighting two world champions after finishing behind Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso at the Canadian Grand Prix. In his newly revamped Mercedes machine, Hamilton claimed his second podium in succession, a fortnight after he finished runner-up to Verstappen at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. “It is quite an honour to be up there with two world champions,” said Hamilton. “I was really excited to be third, and just trying to be in that mix. “We didn’t have the pace today. We knew this would not be our strongest circuit because we struggle in the low-speed corners, and that was where I was losing time to Fernando and Max. “But we are chipping away and I do believe we will get there at some stage. Our pace was better today so we are going in the right direction.” Hamilton scored just one top-three finish in the opening six rounds of the year but the seven-time world champion will now head to the next round in Austria on July 2 with the momentum of two strong showings in Barcelona and Montreal. The 38-year-old started third, and was up to second at the opening corner after he breezed past a slow-starting Alonso. Hamilton kept ahead of Alonso at the first round of pit stops, but he could do little to prevent the evergreen Spaniard from regaining second place on lap 22 of 70. “Aston Martin took a step ahead of us this weekend with their upgrades but we are working on bringing more upgrades to move forward,” added Hamilton. “It is great to have this consistency and to be up on the podium.” For Verstappen, the Red Bull man completed an emphatic lights-to-flag victory to finish 9.5 seconds clear of Alonso and move 69 points clear at the summit of the world championship. It marked the Dutch driver’s 41st win in Formula One – to draw him level with triple world champion Ayrton Senna – and a century for Red Bull. “To win the 100th grand prix for the team is incredible,” he said. “It is amazing and I never expected to be on these kind of numbers for myself, too.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen claims pole position during rain-hit qualifying for Canadian GP Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian Grand Prix finally gets started Max Verstappen closes in on ‘amazing achievement’ of matching Ayrton Senna

Max Verstappen completed another crushing performance to win the Canadian Grand Prix and match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories. The Dutchman led every lap at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to draw level with Senna and extend his championship lead. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished runner-up, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell retired on lap 55 of 70 following an earlier prang with the wall. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari, with Sergio Perez sixth. Alex Albon crossed the line a commendable seventh in his Williams. Verstappen, who notched up Red Bull’s 100th win in Formula One, now leads Perez by 69 points on his unstoppable march to a hat-trick of titles. A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry to emulate Senna and move into joint fifth in the pantheon of F1 winners. Verstappen was not even born when Senna won his 41st and final race at the 1993 season-ending Australian Grand Prix. Senna lost his life the following year in Imola following a fatal crash at the Tamburello curve, aged just 34. Verstappen will not celebrate his 26th birthday until September, but his sixth victory from the opening eight fixtures of the year leaves only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books. Remarkably, Verstappen has won 15 of the last 19 races in F1, with Red Bull failing to taste victory on just one occasion in that streak. Indeed, Red Bull could yet become the first team to win every race in a single season. And with Verstappen at the wheel, they have every chance. “I am very happy right now,” said Verstappen. “To win again and take the 100th win for the team is incredible.” Verstappen’s triumph was sealed on the short dash to the opening chicane. Alonso was slow away from his marks, and Hamilton leapfrogged the green Aston Martin machine to take second spot. Hamilton set his sights on Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox, but by the end of the opening lap, the seven-time world champion was eight tenths back – and when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap eight after Logan Sargeant broke down in his Williams, the gap was the best part of three seconds. With Verstappen racing off into the distance, Alonso was the filling in a Mercedes’ sandwich. But that changed on lap 12 when Russell slammed into the wall on the exit of Turn 9. Russell’s front wing snapped in half, while his right-rear tyre dangled off his Mercedes. With debris littering the circuit, the safety car came out and the main players stopped for new tyres as Russell pulled in for repairs. After changing all four tyres, Hamilton was released into Alonso’s path. Alonso said he had to slam on the anchors to avoid running into the back of the Mercedes man, and the flashpoint was duly noted by the stewards, and latterly investigated, but the British driver would escape without punishment. After five laps behind the safety car, Verstappen executed a fine getaway to leave Hamilton trailing. Indeed, after the opening two turns, he was already one second up the road. Rather than looking ahead, Hamilton’s attention was occupied by Alonso behind. And on lap 22, the Spaniard dived past Hamilton with a fine move at the final chicane. Hamilton had a nibble back at Alonso as they raced to the opening corner, but the evergreen Spaniard held his nerve to keep the Mercedes man behind. A second round of pit stops followed and Hamilton set about reeling Alonso in. But Russell’s race came to an end while running in eighth with 15 laps remaining when he was told to park a Mercedes riddled with excessive brake wear. Alonso was also struggling with a brake problem and Hamilton sensed blood. “Hamilton is 1.9 seconds behind,” Alonso was told with eight laps to run. “Copy,” replied the 41-year-old. “Leave it to me.” Alonso was true to his word, holding off Hamilton’s advances. Verstappen ran across the second chicane with a handful of laps to run. “I nearly knocked myself out on that kerb,” said the Dutchman with a chuckle before taking the flag 9.5 seconds clear of Alonso with Hamilton 4.5 sec further back. “It has been a great weekend for us,” said Hamilton. “We are slowly chipping away. And we will bring more upgrades to move forward. “I do believe we will get there at some stage. We are going in the right direction.” Hamilton added: “It is quite an honour to be up there with two world champions. I was excited to be third, and in that mix. “We didn’t have the pace today, and we knew this would not be our strongest circuit because we struggle in the low-speed corners, and that was where I was losing time.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen claims pole position during rain-hit qualifying for Canadian GP Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian Grand Prix finally gets started Max Verstappen closes in on ‘amazing achievement’ of matching Ayrton Senna

Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix following Saturday’s rain-hit qualifying session in Montreal. Verstappen has won five of the opening seven rounds and even a wet-dry-wet track in Montreal could not slow the Dutchman down. F1 grid: Starting positions for Monaco Grand Prix Nico Hulkenberg took advantage of the sodden track to take second spot for Haas, 1.2 seconds behind Verstappen, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third. Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell in the other Mercedes, while Lando Norris claimed seventh for McLaren. Yet Hulkenberg has been demoted three places due to a red-flag infringement, meaning Alonso will line up on the front row. Verstappen has been in a class of one this year and the Red Bull man kept his composure in changeable conditions to take an impressive pole. Follow live updates from the Canadian Grand Prix with The Independent - the race starts at 7pm (BST). Read More F1 grid: Starting positions for Canadian Grand Prix Max Verstappen claims pole with shock front row partner for Canadian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz crashes out of Canadian GP third practice with Max Verstappen fastest

Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix following Saturday’s rain-hit qualifying session in Montreal. Verstappen has won five of the opening seven rounds and even a wet-dry-wet track in Montreal could not slow the Dutchman down. Nico Hulkenberg took advantage of the sodden track to take second spot for Haas, 1.2 seconds behind Verstappen, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third. Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell in the other Mercedes, while Lando Norris claimed seventh for McLaren. Verstappen has been in a class of one this year and the Red Bull man kept his composure in changeable conditions to take an impressive pole. Verstappen was quickest out of the marks in Q3 before Oscar Piastri’s shunt on the exit of the second corner led to a red flag. The session was delayed for eight minutes and – with the intensity of the rain increasing – no one would threaten Verstappen’s time. Hamilton had briefly held third spot, but the seven-time world champion was usurped by Hulkenberg just as the red flag arrived for Piastri’s collision with the wall. Sergio Perez’s string of poor races continued after he was eliminated in Q2 and starts Sunday’s round from 12th place. Perez, who trails team-mate Verstappen by 53 points, started last in Monaco after he crashed out of qualifying and then was only 11th on the grid last time out in Spain. Here, the Mexican again begins a race outside of the top 10 after he failed to get a clean lap together and faces losing even further ground to Verstappen. On an afternoon of surprise results, Charles Leclerc was also knocked out in Q2. The Monegasque, who, too, performed badly in Barcelona – qualifying 19th and taking the chequered flag in 11th – was denied an early switch by Ferrari to dry rubber. When the brief changeover to slicks arrived, Leclerc could not do enough to progress to Q3, yelling in frustration over the radio. “The tyres are not ready,” he said. “Come on!” Earlier, qualifying was red-flagged after a handful of minutes when Zhou Guanyu temporally broke down in his Alfa Romeo. The Chinese driver managed to get going again, limping back to the pits, with the session restarted after a seven-minute suspension. Zhou was able to continue in Q1, but he finished 20th and last. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian Grand Prix finally gets started Max Verstappen closes in on ‘amazing achievement’ of matching Ayrton Senna Lewis Hamilton plays down talk of imminent new Mercedes deal

The new Formula 1 season is here - and that means F1 Fantasy is back! The game will see millions of motor sport fans pick their fantasy selection of drivers for an imaginary $100m budget. FOLLOW LIVE: F1 qualifying updates and FP3 lap times as rain falls in Canada F1 Fantasy began five years ago and it has grown rapidly in popularity, in line with F1’s rise in popularity. The 2023 season will reward those players who are able to spot the early trends as the new season takes shape. See below for all the rules and top tips: How to play F1 Fantasy 2023 Each player gets to pick five drivers and two constructors (up from one in 2022) ahead of the first race of the season in Bahrain, spending a budget of $100m. They also pick a weekly ‘DRS Boost’ whose points are doubled – and new for 2023, any driver in your team can be given the DRS boost. There are also chips available to power up your team, 6 in total: Autopilot, Extra DRS boost, No Negative, Wildcard, Limitless and Final Fix. Max Verstappen is the most expensive driver at $27.6m, with Lewis Hamilton second on $24.0m and Charles Leclerc on $21.2m. As for the Constructors, Red Bull are $27.9m, Mercedes $25.2m and Ferrari $22.2m. Players can make up to two transfers to their team per week, up until the start of qualifying. More than 2 transfers carries a 4 point penalty per additional transfer - similar to Fantasy Premier League. F1 Fantasy tips (pre-Monaco) Let’s not mess about: get Fernando Alonso on your team! The two-time world champion, for Aston Martin, who has finished third in four out of the five races, is still something of a steal at $9.4m. Elsewhere, Nico Hulkenberg is a cheap option at $3.8m while Lance Stroll is also not a bad bet at $7.6m. It’s still hard to look beyond picking Max Verstappen ($27.6m), but Carlos Sainz is not a bad bet for your second-most expensive driver - at $17.2m. Similarly, Aston Martin are an obvious Constructors option at this point at $7.0m alongside one of the big boys. The deadline to make changes to your team is Canada qualifying at 9pm (BST) on Saturday afternoon *** One key to success in Fantasy F1 is riding the price waves and increasing the value of your team. You can do this by identifying the best value picks each week, and also by buying and selling strategically - so buy a successful driver at the end of a race on Sunday and sell him on later the following week for a profit. It’s worth biding your time when it comes to making your final substitutions, however. Practice on Friday will generally reveal plenty about what go down in qualifying, so waiting as long as possible to soak up information will help in making the right decisions each week. Given the budgetary restrictions, and the fact that most players will have some combination of Hamilton, Verstappen, Mercedes or Red Bull, the area to get a jump on the rest is in the midfield pack. Will Ferrari toppple Red Bull? Can McLaren top the midfield? And what about Alpine? How does the scoring work? Qualifying: Pole position (first place) 10 pts 2nd place 9 pts 3rd place 8 pts 4th place 7 pts 5th place 6 pts 6th place 5 pts 7th place 4 pts 8th place 3 pts 9th place 2 pts 10th place 1 pt No time set -5 pts Disqualification from qualifying -15 pts Constructors’ in qualifying Neither driver reaches Q2 -1 pt One driver reaches Q2 1 pt Both drivers reach Q2 3 pts One driver reaches Q3 5 pts Both drivers reach Q3 10 pts Race: 1st Place 25 pts 2nd place 18 pts 3rd place 15 pts 4th place 12 pts 5th place 10 pts 6th place 8 pts 7th place 6 pts 8th place 4 pts 9th place 2 pts 10th place 1 pt 11th-20th place 0 pts DNF/Not classified -20 points Disqualified -25 points Extras Positions Gained 1 pt per position Positions lost -1 point per position Overtakes made 1 pt per overtake Fastest lap 10 points Driver of the Day 10 points Constructors’ in race Fastest pitstop 10 points 2nd fastest pitstop 5 points 3rd fastest pitstop 3 pts Read More F1 Monaco Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates and FP3 results after Lewis Hamilton crash F1 2023 season predictions: World champion, surprise star, best race and more Guenther Steiner interview: What makes star of Drive to Survive tick? F1 Canadian Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates and times as rain falls in Montreal Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian GP finally starts Canadian Grand Prix practice descends into farce after bizarre CCTV blackout

The Formula 1 paddock heads to Montreal next for the Canadian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won his third race in a row with a cruise of a victory in Spain last time out, with his lead in the F1 world championship now 53 points from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. COMMENT: Ferrari’s F1 flaws all the more baffling after shock success at Le Mans It was an improved weekend in Barcelona for Mercedes though, with their revamped car showing improvements as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came home second and third respectively. There was disappointment for Fernando Alonso though, who only finished seventh, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished outside the points in 11th. Verstappen won last year’s race in Montreal, seeing off Carlos Sainz in second. FP1 on Friday was abandoned early on due to a CCTV issue at the track, while Lewis Hamilton was fastest in second practice later in the day. Follow live coverage from the Canadian Grand Prix with The Independent - FP3 starts at 5:30pm (BST). Read More Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian Grand Prix finally gets started F1 Fantasy: How to play in 2023 season and top tips for Canadian Grand Prix Max Verstappen closes in on ‘amazing achievement’ of matching Ayrton Senna

The Formula 1 paddock heads to Montreal next for the Canadian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won his third race in a row with a cruise of a victory in Spain last time out, with his lead in the F1 world championship now 53 points from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. COMMENT: Ferrari’s F1 flaws all the more baffling after shock success at Le Mans It was an improved weekend in Barcelona for Mercedes though, with their revamped car showing improvements as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came home second and third respectively. There was disappointment for Fernando Alonso though, who only finished seventh, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished outside the points in 11th. Verstappen won last year’s race in Montreal, seeing off Carlos Sainz in second. Follow live coverage from the Canadian Grand Prix with The Independent - FP2 now starts at 9:30pm (BST). Read More F1 commentator sacked from BBC role after ‘inappropriate touching’ Lewis Hamilton plays down talk of imminent new Mercedes deal Ferrari’s F1 flaws all the more baffling after shock success at Le Mans

Max Verstappen has admitted it is beyond his childhood dreams to draw level with Ayrton Senna’s victory tally ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. Verstappen heads into Sunday’s race at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve just one victory shy of the great Brazilian’s haul of 41 after winning five of the opening seven rounds in his dominant Red Bull machine. Verstappen was not even born when Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, but a victory here would take the 25-year-old into joint fifth in the pantheon of F1 winners. “When I was a little kid, I would never have imagined being on that list,” said the two-time world champion. “But you cannot compare it. People have different careers and some drivers get into a race-winning car sooner than others and nowadays we have more races than back in the day. “I never look at the numbers, but it is an amazing achievement, that’s for sure.” A sixth victory of a one-sided campaign would leave only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton reached 41 wins to draw level with his boyhood hero Senna at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2015 before going on to surpass Schumacher’s haul five years later and stand on his own as the driver to have won the most races in the history of the sport. However, the seven-time world champion, who has not won a race since his contentious championship defeat to Verstappen at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, admitted that his rival could “absolutely” eclipse his record. But when asked if Hamilton’s record is on the horizon, Verstappen said: “It is very hard to beat. “You need to be in the right car for a long time and we don’t know if we have that. I am just going with the flow and enjoying the moment.” Verstappen has already established a 53-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez on his seemingly unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of world titles. Lewis Hamilton - 103 Michael Schumacher - 91 Sebastian Vettel - 53 Alain Prost - 51 Ayrton Senna - 41 Max Verstappen - 40 The world champions are undefeated in the opening seven fixtures, winning 17 of the past 18 races, and could become the first team to win every round in a single season. A victory here on Sunday would also be the team’s 100th in F1. “For the sport, I understand people get bored if one team is dominating,” added Verstappen. “But we have seen it at Mercedes, we have seen it at Ferrari, and we have seen it at Red Bull in the past. “For me, it provides me with even more motivation because I know I have a car that can win. “If you look at how we are performing, yes we can win every race, but it is not realistic. As long as I win the championship, that’s the most important thing.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton plays down talk of imminent new Mercedes deal On this day in 2007: Lewis Hamilton claims first Formula One victory Susie Wolff urges F1 teams to back initiatives to help develop female drivers

Lewis Hamilton won his first Formula One race at the Canadian Grand Prix, on this day in 2007. The then 22-year-old took first place in only his sixth grand prix after a series of podium finishes in his debut season for McLaren. Hamilton took pole position over team-mate Fernando Alonso, who qualified second on the grid, and the Briton controlled the race from the moment the lights went out, keeping in front of the Spaniard at Turn One and again on the inside line for Turn Two. Alonso was hunting down his third world title and may have expected Hamilton to make way but the pair battled again before Alonso ran into the grass and dropped back in among the rest of the field. Two safety cars were called when Robert Kubica ran his BMW into a concrete barrier after Adrian Sutil crashed his Force India, but Hamilton defended well in both situations to retain the lead and take home his first race victory. After the race in Montreal, Hamilton said: “I’ve been ready for this for quite some time, ready for the win – it was just a matter of where and when. “I have to dedicate this win to my dad – without him this wouldn’t have been possible. “The last few laps were just a case of counting them down and it really was just about enjoying it.” Hamilton took the chequered flag 4.343seconds ahead of Nick Heidfeld in the BMW, while Williams’ Alexander Wurz crossed the line in third. Hamilton has since become a record-equalling seven-time world champion and has won the Canadian Grand Prix a further six times during his career to date.

Formula 1 insists next week’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal is not at risk despite wildfires in nearby regions. More than 400 wildfires are raging in Canada which have led to mass evacuations in the Quebec region and officials warned this could be the country’s worst wildfire season on record, with over 6.7 million acres already scorched. In Montreal, thick layers of smog have descended on parts of the city in the last few days but F1 insist next week’s race meet at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is set to go ahead as planned. An F1 spokesperson said: “The event is not at risk, and we have been assured by all the relevant information that the situation in Montreal at this time is different to other parts of the country and northern US and the risk remains low and air quality is good in Montreal.” F1 had to previously cancel last month’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola due to devastating flooding in the region. Despite calls in cities as far south as New York for residents to stay indoors if possible, Montreal has not enforced a similar requirement of its locals this week. The government situation states the situation in the city is low risk, with wind direction set to move the smoke away from Montreal in the coming days - and expected rainfall should also alleviate the situation. F1 will continue to monitor the situation but there is no concerns at this stage. Max Verstappen won last year’s race in Canada - the first grand prix in the country for three years due to the Covid pandemic - and holds a 53-point lead in the championship this season after recent wins in Monaco and Spain. Read More F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix cancelled after heavy flooding in region Smoky haze blanketing US, Canada could last for days as wildfires rage, winds won't budge ‘Apocalyptic’ photos capture smoky haze blanketing New York City as moon turns red and air alerts raised