Max Verstappen tied late Brazilian great Ayrton Senna with 41 career wins on Sunday — and he has his sights set even higher.
The Red Bull driver led from start to finish and cruised to victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to claim the Canadian Grand Prix for a second year in a row.
“When I was a little kid driving and go-karting, I was dreaming about being a Formula One driver and I would have never imagined winning 41 Grand Prix,” said Verstappen, who tied Senna for fifth all-time. “I’m proud of that.
“But of course, I hope it’s not stopping here and I hope that we can keep on winning more races.”
Max Verstappen wins second straight Canadian Grand Prix
Verstappen never trailed defending his Canadian Grand Prix title in Montreal.
The odds of that are high. Verstappen, the two-time reigning world champion, has won four races in a row and six of eight overall this season.
The 25-year-old Dutch driver now leads the Formula One drivers’ standings with 195 points, 69 ahead of teammate Sergio Perez, who came in sixth on Sunday and missed the podium for a third straight race.
Not only did Verstappen set new marks individually, he also won Red Bull its 100th victory.
“I’ve won 41 of them, we’ll talk about maybe a new contract because of that,” he quipped.
Max Verstappen celebrates his 2023 Canadian Grand Prix victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes placed second and third to round out the podium, which could hardly be more decorated.
Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton have 11 world championships and 176 race wins between them, something all three drivers recognized while sitting together after the race.
“It’s a privilege to be up here with these two, who’ve done incredible in their careers, and this is quite an iconic top three,” said Hamilton. “I don’t know if there’s been a top three like this ever before.”
From left to right, Fernando Alonso, Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton celebrate on the podium after the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Only one of the three, however, was truly pleased with the order.
“I think of course they want to swap positions of course,” said Verstappen. “I’m happy in the middle at the moment.”
“I’m really hoping at some stage we have a more level playing field in our cars and then we’ll have a much more exciting race,” added Hamilton.
Alonso, a 41-year-old veteran, earned his sixth podium this season and moved within nine points of Perez for second to continue building on a resurgent season.
Asked if he thought he could catch Perez, Alonso didn’t stutter: “Yes.”
DRIVER STANDINGS ????<br><br>A nice gap at the top for Max ????<br>The battle for second heating up! ????<br>A solid haul for the Ferraris ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CanadianGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CanadianGP</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#F1</a> <a href=”https://t.co/rGm8OohcM8″>pic.twitter.com/rGm8OohcM8</a>
Alonso and Hamilton duelled for second from the very first turn when Hamilton blasted past Alonso to move up to P2. Alonso then retook his position on Lap 22 with an overtake into the final chicane.
When Aston Martin informed Alonso over the radio that Hamilton had closed the gap to within 1.4 seconds with 10 laps remaining, the Spaniard responded: “Copy. Leave it to me.”
“He’s a multi-world champion, so yeah, he knows what he’s doing,” said Hamilton.
Mercedes was looking for a second consecutive strong Grand Prix after Hamilton and teammate George Russell made the podium in Spain earlier this month.
Russell, however, had to retire early after hitting the wall and damaging the right side of his car 12 laps in. He carried on until Lap 55 but pulled out due to brake issues.
Montreal’s Stroll finishes 9th
Montreal’s Lance Stroll, Canada’s lone F1 driver, started in 16th and finished ninth, tying his best result at home.
The 24-year-old Aston Martin driver is eighth in the standings and has yet to reach the podium this season despite his teammate Alonso being a consistent top-three finisher.
“With all the circumstances, it was better than nothing to get some points,” said Stroll. “But it was still a difficult weekend after yesterday and bad luck today.”
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz began the race in 10th and 11th after some missteps during Saturday’s qualifying session, but made ground to finish fourth and fifth.
Williams Driving’s Alex Albon was named the F1 driver of the day after coming seventh, his best result in two years. Alpine’s Estaban Ocon was eighth.
Red Bull remained perfect with eight wins in eight races this season and increased its already sizable lead in the constructors’ standings with 321 points to Mercedes’ 167.
TEAM STANDINGS<br><br>Red Bull look unstoppable ???? And the fight behind them looks set to rumble on all year-long ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CanadianGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CanadianGP</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#F1</a> <a href=”https://t.co/1JQxur9fwY”>pic.twitter.com/1JQxur9fwY</a>
With the race falling on Father’s Day, the drivers took a moment to thank their old men for helping them reach these heights.
“After my dad’s own career, he invested all his time in mine. It’s hard to explain you know how much he has dedicated to me because I probably still don’t even understand how much he did,” said Verstappen of his father Jos, who drove professionally through the 1990s and early 2000s. “I don’t need to buy him a present, I did this, so I think he’s happy.”
“Congratulations to my father,” Alonso joked. “My father is different, he has no talent at all to drive.
“He was always very with his feet on the ground and teaching me other things and other values because it was difficult to believe that I was able to reach Formula One one day, and that’s the beauty of our story.”
The track stayed dry beneath a mix of sun and clouds throughout the race after showers impacted practice and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday.
Max Verstappen crosses the finish line to win the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. (Timothy A. Clary/Pool via Reuters)
A record number of 345,000 spectators — including celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, NHL stars Mitch Marner and Carey Price, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell — made the trip to Île Notre-Dame, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, over the event’s three days.
After missing two years due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, the Canadian Grand Prix will return to Montreal for a third straight year in 2024. The circuit is under contract with Formula One until 2031.
Next up, the series moves across the Atlantic for the Austrian Grand Prix on July 2.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
