Lewis Hamilton notes HUGE improvements as Max Verstappen hails 'incredible' Red Bull

Verstappen, Canada, Red Bull, 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

Canadian Grand Prix

Hamilton notes HUGE improvements as Verstappen hails 'incredible' Red Bull – Podium Reacts

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were both thrilled with how their races went in the Canadian Grand Prix

Dan McCarthy

Sunday 18 June 2023 23:42

Max Verstappen was elated after winning his 41st race in F1 and the 100th overall for Red Bull, describing his afternoon as straightforward.

The Dutchman led from start to finish, with all the action in the race happening behind him.

It was more proof that Red Bull are in a league of their own, and he could not hide his joy when talking to Sky pundit Jenson Button straight after the race.

Article continues under video

"We made it work and to win again, today win the 100th grand prix for the team – that's incredible," said the 25-year-old.

“It’s amazing. I never expected to be on these kind of numbers myself as well. We keep enjoying, we keep working hard but today has been a great day again.

Hamilton pleased with progress after another podium

Lewis Hamilton started third and finished third to guarantee a second straight podium for Mercedes, who are displaying clear signs of improvement after rolling out upgrades at Monaco last month.

Hamilton overtook Alonso into the first corner of the race but the Spaniard managed to wrestle the place back from him.

He tried to chase down at the end of the race but couldn't manage it though was visibly very happy with how he and his car performed.

“It’s been a great weekend for us," he said. "I think we’re slowly chipping away. The Astons took a little bit of a step ahead this weekend when they added the upgrades, but we’re working on bringing some more moving forwards.

Hamilton and Alonso nearly came together in the pits

"To just have this consistency and be up on the podium here in Montreal, which is such an incredible city, we’ve got such a great crowd here every single year without fail."

Alonso admits it was a tough battle with Hamilton and it prevented him from having a real go at overtaking Max Verstappen, which is something he was hopeful of prior to the race.

“We were hoping to challenge a little bit more the Red Bull, but we lost a place at the start with Lewis and then it was a battle with the Mercedes," he said. "Lewis was pushing all the race, so I didn’t have one lap where I could relax a little bit."

He noted later talking to Sky Sports F1 it was "our most competitive race of the year".