Max Verstappen’s stellar start to the 2022 F1 season continued in Montreal as the Red Bull driver won his sixth race of the year at the Canadian Grand Prix. With Charles Leclerc relegated to the back of the grid due to engine penalties, Verstappen started on pole and held off Carlos Sainz in P2 to extend his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings. It was also a more promising weekend for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, with the Briton taking just his second podium this season in Montreal to finish in P3.
Here are the four things we learned about the current F1 season from the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix.
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Max Verstappen’s greatness is often overlooked considering the drama and fanfare surrounding the Red Bull driver, but the Dutchman has been driving at an incredibly high level throughout the past two seasons and is undoubtedly the best driver on the grid at the moment. Despite not having the fastest car every weekend, Verstappen has dominated every race this season in all conditions and has deservedly taken a commanding lead in the championship.
Verstappen’s brilliance was on show in Montreal as he produced a stellar performance all weekend to win his first Canadian Grand Prix. The Dutchman took pole in the wet qualifying session on Saturday before defending expertly and not making any mistake against the charging Ferrari of Carlos Sainz after the safety car period to take his 5th win in the last six races.
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Carlos Sainz has had a forgettable start to the 2022 F1 season, with most of the accolades taken by Leclerc and the two Red Bulls. However, most of Sainz’s misfortunes in 2022 have just had to do with bad luck, and the Spaniard’s performance in Montreal on Sunday showed why he deserves to be near the top of the grid. With Leclerc fighting his way through the field, Sainz battled his former 2015 Toro Rosso teammate Max Verstappen for the win and was the fastest driver on the grid for most of the Grand Prix, deservedly taking home the extra point for the fastest lap of the race.
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It has been far from a straightforward season for Mercedes in 2022, but the Silver Arrows have slowly started to show their true pace in the last few races. For the second race in succession, the seven-time world champions earned a P3, P4 finish, with Hamilton taking his first podium since the opening round in Bahrain while George Russell continued his stunning streak of finishing in the top five in every race in 2022. Although Mercedes don’t have the pace of Red Bull or Ferrari just yet, the Silver Arrows have done well with their strategy this season to take advantage of any slip-ups from the top two teams. In addition, the proposed new porpoising limits could help them get further up the order in the second half of 2022.
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Even at age 40, Fernando Alonso proved that he belongs at the top of the grid in F1 and remains one of the best drivers on the grid in the wet. The Spaniard took advantage of the changeable conditions on Saturday as he finished P1 in FP3 before taking the second spot on the grid in qualifying, his first front-row start in F1 since the 2012 German Grand Prix. Although Alonso predictably fell back in the dry on Sunday and finished in P7, the two-time world champion did well to hold off Sainz initially before losing out in both virtual safety car periods during the race.
[Featured Image Credit: F1]
Shivaan Shah