Rainy race in Quebec:

LIVE from 8pm: Who will win the legendary Canadian GP?

Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix.

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Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is back on the top step of the podium. The Red Bull driver relegated McLaren's Lando Norris and George Russell (Mercedes) to second and third place in Canada's rain on Sunday.

 

Max Verstappen celebrated his sixth Formula 1 victory of the year and extended his lead in the world championship. The Dutchman won the turbulent and partly rainy ninth race of the season in Canada on Sunday, just ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren and Mercedes driver George Russell, who overtook his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the finish.

The final result:

Ferrari completely missed out on the race. Carlos Sainz and Monaco winner Charles Leclerc retired early after only trailing behind. Leclerc was lapped just after the halfway point. Sergio Perez also had to retire after hitting the rear of his Red Bull.

"You need it from time to time"
For his team-mate, however, there was cause for celebration again after his sixth place in Monte Carlo. "A pretty crazy race in which a lot happened and we had to be careful with our decisions," said world champion Verstappen. "You need this kind of race from time to time. It was a lot of fun out there." Norris called the Grand Prix "chaotic" and "eventful". "I felt like I drove a good race from start to finish. I had incredible pace," said the Briton, who finished 3.8 seconds behind Verstappen.

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Haas benefited from the rain
The race started on a wet track and the rain intensified during the first four laps. As the Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg were the only ones equipped with rain tires, they ploughed through the field during this phase. On lap 4, Magnussen was fourth behind Russell, Verstappen and Norris, while Hülkenberg was eighth. The rain then stopped temporarily and the track dried out.

Verstappen did not manage to get ahead of Russell for a long time, partly due to a short off that cost him almost two seconds. Instead, Norris roared past him with DRS assistance on lap 21 and also caught Russell at the end of the lap. In the same scene, Verstappen also overtook the Mercedes man, putting him back into second place. Norris was up and away - but only until lap 25, when the safety car came out onto the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve to recover Logan Sargeant's Williams.

George Russell (r.) and Max Verstappen

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Oscar Piastri

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Lando Norris

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Duel for the podium at Mercedes
While Verstappen and Russell immediately headed to the pits to change tires, Norris had already passed the pit entrance and came out behind them after his forced later stop. After that, Verstappen controlled the action. After another round of pit stops, third-placed Norris had virtually gained a position by returning in second place behind the world champion. Russell also lost his third place at the end after another safety car period, but regained it against Hamilton.

Missed opportunity
"To be honest, it feels like a missed opportunity," said the Briton afterwards. "We had good pace at the start on the intermediate tires, but made a few mistakes when we went to the limit. Being back in contention and fighting for the win is what Formula 1 is all about. We will take everything positive from this race, the podium, the pole."