Max Verstappen takes 3rd in Canada; Satisfied with first spot on podium this year
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in third place, securing his first podium finish of the season. Kimi Antonelli took the win, while Lewis Hamilton finished second.
“Being on the podium here is very positive. I am very happy about that,” Verstappen told RTL after the race. He added that in a difficult weekend for the team, they “should be very happy with this result.” Overall, Max Verstappen remains in seventh place in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship standings.
“Not everything went well this weekend, but that we now have our first podium is positive,” Verstappen told NOS after the race. The driver told the media he was unhappy with the adjustments his team made to his car. But, "sometimes, you just have to let them do what they want,” he said at the time. “Then it becomes clear that it doesn’t work.” In qualifying, Verstappen struggled with limited grip, bounced across the track at times, and ultimately set the sixth-fastest time.
Within the first ten laps of the race, Verstappen had moved up to third place, aided in part by a mistake from McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.
Ahead of him, the battle at the front centered on the two Mercedes drivers: Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Russell started from pole position but spent the opening phase trading the lead back and forth with Antonelli. His race ended after 31 laps when an engine problem forced him to retire.
Antonelli then took control at the front and built a strong lead. Behind him, the fight for second place tightened in the closing stages. Max Verstappen came under increasing pressure from Lewis Hamilton, who stayed close through the final laps. On lap 62, Hamilton completed the overtake to move into second, leaving Verstappen in third place.
