Canadian GP 2022 - Race: Unstoppable Verstappen, Sainz yet to score his first win
Max Verstappen managed to convert his pole potition into another victory, his 6th of the season, keeping Carlos Sainz behind him. Mercedes bounced back with a 3-4 finish, and Lewis Hamilton scoring his second podium of the 2022 season.
Race Start: Clean start for everyone, with Max Verstappen keeping ahead of Fernando Alonso. Kevin Magnussen picked up some slight damage after a contact with Lewis Hamilton, being shown a black and orange flag on lap 7.
Lap 3: Carlos Sainz overtook Fernando Alonso down the main straight for P2.
Lap 9: Virtual Safety Car deployed, as Perez pulled off to the side of the track at T13, with a suspected gearbox issue. Verstappen and Hamilton both pitted for a fresh set of hards under the VSC period. Meanwhile, Leclerc had already made up 7 places, with the Monegasque running in P12.
Lap 16: Verstappen managed to overtake Alonso for P2, after pitting for hards earlier.
Lap 20: Just like Perez earlier, Mick Schumacher stopped at the run off area at T13, due to some engine issue.
Lap 22: Sainz passed Alonso for a second time, after pitting for hards tyres.
Lap 29: Charles Leclerc, running in P6, chasing Ocon for a while at that point, reported he "doesn't have the grip on exit", confirming the reason why he couldn't pass Ocon.
Halfway Point (Lap 35): VER 1, SAI 2, HAM 3, RUS 4, OCO 5, LEC 6, ALO 7, BOT 8, STR 9, ZHO 10
Lap 42: Slow stop for Leclerc, a 5.3 for the Ferrari driver, coming out of the pits right behind the P9-P11 DRS train
Lap 44: Max Verstappen emerged into the pits to change for a fresh set of hards, dropping just behind Hamilton and passing him shortly after
Lap 49: Yuki Tsunoda lost the brakes, coming out of the pits, and crashed straight into the wall at T2, triggering a Safety Car. Ferrari snatched the opportunity to call Sainz into the pits, to change for hards again, under SC.
Restart (Lap 55): Verstappen kept ahead of Sainz, with Hamilton, Russell, Ocon and Alonso following.
Lap 62: Leclerc, starting from P19, cleared both Alpines to get P5, triggering a "I'm 100x faster" team radio from Alonso, as Alpine told him they won't be switching places with Ocon, who was ahead of him, within DRS range.
End of the race (Lap 70): Max Verstappen saw the chequered flag first, after getting pressured from Carlos Sainz for 15 laps. Sainz got the extra FL point, with Leclerc being voted by the fans as the Driver Of The Day.
With Max Verstappen winning the race and Carlos Sainz in P2, it was a great performance by both Mercedes as well, with Lewis Hamilton securing P3 and his second podium of the season, and George Russell right behind him in P4.
Charles Leclerc drove an amazing race, recovering well from his P19 start, placing his Ferrari in P5, followed by the two Alpine drivers, with Esteban Ocon in P6, leading Fernando Alonso in P7.
Completing the top 10, Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou in P8 and P9, respectively, and Lance Stroll in P10.