© Getty ImagesTop Six Moments From CanadaThe Montreal track delivered an epic race once again, so time to look at some of our favourite moments (we couldn't pick just five...)
Sunday’sraceattheCircuitGillesVilleneuveshowedhowmucheveryonehadmissedtheCanadianGrandPrix.It’salwaysanexcitingraceandanythingcanhappen.ItwentrightdowntothewirewithCarlosSainzonMax’sgearboxforthelast15laps,sohere’safewofourfavouritemoments…
Max On The Top Step For The Sixth Time In 2022© Getty Images
That’s some solid numbers right there! The Canadian Grand Prix marked 150 career starts for Max, with the Dutchman converting 26 of those to wins and 67 podiums. That means that out of all his races, Max finishes in the top three 44% of the time.
His win also now puts him ahead of Jim Clark and Niki Lauda in career wins. That’s some amazing company to be in. He now sits ninth on the overall career wins list, and one more win will see him move joint-eighth with Sir Jackie Stewart.
StrategyTeamWorkTheirMagic
The Dream Team On The Pit Wall© Getty Images
Once again, the strategy team earned their stripes in the race. When Checo stopped on lap eight and the VSC came out, the Team pulled Max into the pits, when he was leading, for fresh, hard tyres. He came out in P3 behind Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso. He was soon in front of the Alpine driver, and then when Sainz pitted, he took P1.
He pitted again at the end of lap 43, again re-joining in third, this time behind the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Max dispatched Lewis quickly and the team knew that Sainz wasn’t going to be able to run to the end of the race on the hard tyres. So, when Sainz came in Max took the lead again, where he stayed until the chequered flag.
Magic Moments In Montreal© Getty Images
When Sainz did enter the pits for the second time, it was under the Safety Car, so he came out on fresh tyres, just behind Max. When the Safety Car returned to the pits there were 16 laps of racing left, and Sainz was on rubber that was six laps fresher than the Red Bull. Max pulled away strongly at the restart, but Sainz was able to keep just within that one-second gap to enable DRS lap after agonising lap. Carlos kept applying the pressure, but it wasn’t bothering Max at all, he kept a cool head and took his sixth win of the season.
A Maiden Win For Max In Montreal© Getty Images
In the past Max has often been accused of being hot headed and overly aggressive. However, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Max showed a maturity beyond his 24 years to take the win. There was no shouting over the radio or aggressive driving from Max as he held under the pressure of Ferrari’s Sainz, Max showing that being World Champion doesn’t bother him at all and he now knows he can win in tough situations. Even Max’s Race Engineer, GP, said over the radio after the chequered flag: “Well done Max, you drove like a champ!”
These Team Photos Never Get Old© Getty Images
Montreal saw the Team take its sixth race win in a row (seven out of the nine race so far, but who’s counting). Oracle Red Bull Racing hasn’t seen a run of form like that since Sebastian Vettel won the last nine races of the season back in 2013.
Now, we know there’s still plenty of the season to go, but the form the Bulls are in, we’re hoping that the record of 2013 might fall!
TheSlowestRaceInRedBullHistory
Checo, That's Not The RB18...© Getty Images
When Oracle Red Bull Racing goes to a circuit, we like to embrace the local culture, so when we hit Montreal for the first time in a few years we wanted to be Canadian. And what could be more Canadian than racing a couple of Zambonis. For those of you that don’t know what a Zamboni is, it’s the machine they use on ice rinks to smooth the ice before ice hockey and figure skating. They’re not the fastest machines in the world, redlining at 15kph, so what’s better than getting two Formula One drivers to race a couple of them. Canadian pro ice hockey player P.K. Subban and snowboarder Seb Toots, invited Checo and Yuki Tsunoda to see who would be king of the Zambonis, we won’t spoil who won, check it out here:
