Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen has completed a Canadian Grand Prix hattrick of victories at a wet, wild and tricky Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Verstappen, who started on the front row alongside Mercedes polesitter George Russell, stayed clear of trouble on a day of constantly changing conditions, snatching the lead from McLaren's Lando Norris on the final pitstops.
The Dutchman then grimly hung on to claim his sixth victory from nine races this season and the 60th of his Formula One career.
Verstappen, 26, produced another brilliant drive, dealing with a track switching back and forth from wet to dry, pitstop battles, and challenges from McLaren and Mercedes, while wrestling with his Red Bull's suspension.
After Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Williams' Alex Albon came together, bringing out the safety car for a second time, Verstappen pulled away on the restart and finished 3.879 seconds ahead of Norris, while Russell won a nailbiting last-laps duel with teammate Lewis Hamilton to complete the podium.
"Not easy, but we did it," said Verstappen, over the team radio. "We had to be on top of our calls and I think, as a team, it went really well today.
"I think we pitted at the right time and, of course, the safety car worked out nicely for us, but even after that, I think we were managing the gaps quite well.
"I love it, that was a lot of fun. Those kind of races you need them once in a while."
The win will certainly provide a confidence boost at Red Bull, which have recently seen challenges to the team's once unquestioned dominance.
In the three races before Canada, Red Bull had managed one win, as the battle for the drivers and constructors titles tightened, but they return to Europe back in control of both, with Verstappen opening up a 56-point advantage over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the top of the drivers' standings, while Red Bull moved 49 clear of Ferrari for the constructors crown.
Both Ferraris failed to finish, with Sainz losing control of his car on the wet track and hitting the barrier, while Charles Leclerc retired, after struggling with an engine issue.
Reuters
