Opinion
Well, once again we come out of a grand prix talking about a Red Bull and Max Verstappen victory. But as always, there’s still plenty of other interesting things to talk about, and that’s what we’re here to do after the Canadian Grand Prix. Let’s do it.
Another race, another Red Bull win. And another weekend with more history.
The team secured their 100th victory in the sport, joining Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams as the only team in the history of the sport to do so.
The win was also the 200th for their Chief Technology Officer and iconic aerodynamicist Adrian Newey, who has won races with Red Bull, Williams and McLaren in his incredible career.
The other milestone of note was the 41st victory for Verstappen, who equals the legendary Ayrton Senna in total amount of wins, and moves to equal fifth on the overall win list.
Red Bull also equalled their longest streak of consecutive wins with nine, previously set in both 2013 and 2021, and also moved a step closer to the record for most consecutive wins from the start of the season, currently held by McLaren, who won the opening 11 races of the 1988 season.
The scary fact with the nine consecutive race win streak by the team is that their effort last year of nine consecutive wins was only broken by George Russell’s victory in Brazil, before their new streak started, meaning the team has now won 18 of the last 19 races.
The perfect season is still on.
Max Verstappen. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Back in 2017 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a young Canadian by the name of Lance Stroll scored his first-ever podium and sent raptures down the Williams pit as it was celebrated in one of the best races of the 2010s.
What is often forgotten is that Stroll should’ve been second, but was pipped on the line by Valtteri Bottas, then driving for Mercedes.
Fast forward six years and Stroll got sweet sweet revenge at his home race on Bottas, as he went from 10th to ninth on the line against Bottas and his Alfa Romeo.
While it wasn’t for a podium, it was still an epic result for the Canadian who drove an incredible race that once again was completely shunned by fans and media alike.
Starting 16th on the grid, Stroll moved up the field slowly before he was one of the biggest losers of the safety car period given he pitted a lap before it was called out.
From there, though, he worked his way through the field and got himself up to fight for points, being the biggest gainer in the race in terms of overall positions.
A great race for Stroll with a great sense of revenge for 2017.
A race where Ferrari got strategy right?! Maybe there is such thing as a miracle!
The Scuderia looked likely to be in for another bad afternoon, with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz having a poor qualifying and then not moving their way through the field as expected.
However a strategy call that went against the norm came, and once again most of us rolled our eyes thinking here we go again…
But the call to keep both Leclerc and Sainz out longer than their rivals proved to be the right decision, with both drivers maintaining a solid pace and being able to leapfrog the majority of the drivers in the points to finish the race in fourth and fifth.
Given their recent form, it is a result they will gladly take. Here’s hoping that the strategy team can keep up some solid results like this moving forward.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. (Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
It was only a few rounds ago that I said Sergio Perez could win the Championship. How quickly times change.
Pole position in Miami seemed to put him in the box seat to take another win and really stamp his authority on a Championship charge. However that race didn’t go to plan, he finished second and since then he hasn’t featured on the podium once.
More worrying for Perez is his qualifying form, and the fact that his usual skilled charge through the field hasn’t materialised when he has had a bad qualifying.
He now sits nearly three wins behind teammate Verstappen in the Championship and only 9 points ahead of Fernando Alonso. Yes, we aren’t even halfway through the season yet so there is plenty of time for him to catch Verstappen. But given the form Verstappen is in, it is highly unlikely this will change without some luck going the way of the Mexican.
It’s an obvious one to close this out on, but Fernando Alonso is the only one who at this stage can beat the streak of Red Bull and mainly Verstappen.
Alonso was under 10 seconds behind Verstappen at the end, which is a huge gap in F1 circles but in 2023 is quite close.
Sure, he won’t beat Verstappen on pace alone, but we’re due for a race with some bad luck for Verstappen or a technical issue or something.
Who will be there to pounce on that? A certain Spaniard, for sure.
Could it be the most popular win the sport has ever seen? Maybe. But watch out, because if one person is there to break this Red Bull stranglehold, it’s Alonso.
It’s that exciting time to rank the F1 teams as we conclude another race and leave Canada with plenty on our mind.
Of course that means the simple disclaimer I put before each of these has to come. With any power rankings, these are subjective and based purely on opinion mixed with results.
Are these 100 per cent accurate? Inside my mind, yes! Outside of it, no. But it’s a nice way to spark some discussion, showcase some form and allow a conversation that brings F1 fans closer together – and maybe also further apart at the same time.
Fun, right? Always!
5. Alpine (-1)
Drop a spot mainly due to Ferrari rising one, more points for the French team as they keep up their consistency.
4. Ferrari (+1)
You mean to tell me Ferrari made a good strategy call?! Wow! Decent result for Ferrari with fourth and fifth, something that looked highly unlikely after qualifying. They’ll take that into Austria with some confidence.
3. Aston Martin (-)
Another second for the team at the hands of Fernando Alonso and a strong drive from the back for Lance Stroll sees them narrowly miss out on second place on this list. They are closing in on second place in the Championship too, so perhaps a change will be coming.
2. Mercedes (-)
Should’ve been double points again had it not been for George Russell’s retirement. Solid pace again and remaining consistent. Still a fair way off a win though it seems.
1. Red Bull (-)
Another race. Another win. Only three more to go to tie the record for most consecutive wins from the beginning of a season. It’s getting more and more likely each race.
With the team power rankings done, it’s now time to rank the drivers once again as Canada moves into the history books.
5. Lance Stroll (+2)
It baffled me on Sunday that nobody talked up Stroll’s performance at all. Starting 16th on the grid, he made one of his trademark great starts, got hit with the worst of luck by the timing of the safety car, before switching strategies and forcing his way to ninth. This was also bookmarked by his stunning overtake of Bottas on the finish line.
Yet, as is often the case with Stroll, he was completely overlooked and not even apparently in the discussion for driver of the day honours. Sure, his teammate finished second and his qualifying once again let him down on the Saturday. But that came down to a bad tyre call, not his pace.
A great result for the Canadian, particularly compared to the other ‘second driver’ in the other front running team.
4. George Russell (-1)
Was on for some more solid points until his brakes failed on lap four. Clearly getting the bad luck in the Mercedes this year, which is a shame given how well he is driving.
3. Lewis Hamilton (-1)
Another solid race from Hamilton, who enjoyed a great battle with his former teammate and arch-enemy Fernando Alonso. Very, very lucky to not get a penalty for an unsafe release, but did everything he could to try and get second back before settling for another podium.
(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
2. Fernando Alonso (+2)
One-off weekend for Alonso wasn’t going to stop him from getting back up and back into his solid form. He actually remained closer to Verstappen’s Red Bull than many people thought, and getting second by less than 10 seconds behind the winner will be another win for him. Another great result.
1. Max Verstappen (-)
Won the race with a bird stuck in his car. Also won the race making jokes about nearly knocking himself out over the curbs. If that doesn’t tell you how well he is driving, nothing will.
What do you think of these rankings? Do you agree with the positions? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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The absolute vitriol against the Canadian that has come from the incident is beyond reprehensible.
