Canadian Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen hailed his team’s performance as “incredible” after he delivered Red Bull its 100th Formula 1 race win.
Verstappen started from pole and led every lap in Montreal to beat Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to the chequered flag.
It was his 41st career win, equalling the tally of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna.
“To win again today, win the 100th grand prix for the team, that’s incredible,” Verstappen said.
“I never expected to be on these kinds of numbers myself as well,” he added.
“We keep enjoying, we keep working hard, but today, it’s been a great day again.”
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Red Bull is the fifth team in F1 history to take 100 race wins, and the third fastest behind Mercedes and Williams.
It was another commanding performance from Verstappen, only fastest lap short of a third successive grand chelam.
He managed the race well, remaining just far enough ahead of the Alonso/Hamilton battle behind to stay safe without unduly stressing himself or the car.
His cause was aided by a slow start for Alonso, who fell to third by the opening corner.
Stuck behind Hamilton in the opening stint, it took much of the pressure off the world championship leader.
” I expected more or less what we had today,” Verstappen said in terms of how the race unfolded.
“But it was really difficult to just keep the grip and the temperature into the tyres because the grip was disappearing very quickly.
“That’s why maybe the gap was not that big.
“But we had a few safety cars here and there but overall we won, that’s the most important.”
Verstappen now holds a commanding position atop the drivers’ championship with 195 points to his name.
Team-mate Sergio Perez remains his nearest challenger, now 69 points behind and only nine clear of Alonso.
After starting 12th, Perez recovered to sixth and claimed the bonus point for fastest lap in Canada, conceding another 16 points to Verstappen.
In the constructors’ fight, Red Bull holds a 154-point advantage over Mercedes in second, the Silver Arrows with a tally of 167 points, sitting 13 ahead of Aston Martin.
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