Meanwhile Sergio Pérez made an impressive recovery from P12 on the grid to take P6 at the flag, and an extra point for pumping in the fastest lap of the race on his final lap of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Commenting on his win, Max Verstappen said: “I’m of course very happy to win here in Canada. It wasn’t an easy or straightforward race though, it was quite difficult to switch on the tyres and get them to the right temperature.
“This is our 100th win and it’s an incredible moment for the Team, the hard work doesn’t stop here though, the new target is 200 now!
“Right from when I was a young kid karting, I was always dreaming about being a Formula One driver and I would have never imagined to actually win so many races, so to tie with Ayrton Senna is incredible and I feel really proud of that.
“Hopefully we will have plenty more wins in the future, I don’t want to stop now.”
When the lights went out at the start, the champion made the perfect start from pole position, comfortably pulling away from his fellow front-row starter Fernando Alonso. The Spanish driver was then ambushed by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and the Briton swept past into Turn 1 to take P2 behind Max.
Further back, Checo, starting from P12 and on hard tyres, got a great launch and passed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as they streamed towards the first corner. Sainz fought back and the pair were soon locked in a tight battle for the rest of the lap. The fight became a little too close into the final chicane as Sainz moved across and Checo was forced to back out of the contest and slow dramatically.
At the front, Max began to edge away from Hamilton and at the start of lap eight he was 2.4 seconds ahead of the Mercedes. His progress was briefly halted when the race was neutralised by a Virtual Safety Car caused by Logan Sargeant stopping his Williams at the side of the track, but when the caution cleared the Dutchman began to steadily draw away from the pack (again) and by lap 10 he was almost 3.5s ahead of Hamilton, with Alonso a second off the Mercedes in third place.
On lap 12 the Safety Car was released when Russell overcooked his entry into Turn 9 and slapped the wall with the rear right of his car. He limped back to the pits as the SC was released and that prompted the Team to pit Max. The race leader switched to hard tyres in a 2.3-second halt and with Hamilton and Alonso also choosing to change tyres, Max emerged in the lead once more.
Behind the top three, both Ferrari drivers opted to stay out on their starting medium tyres and they rose to P4 and P5 respectively. Behind them, Checo, on his more durable starting hard tyres, also stayed out and he climbed to sixth place, targeting a longer sting than either Ferrari.
When the Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 16, Max held his lead ahead of Hamilton and Alonso, and the twin Ferraris kept Checo at bay as the race went green again.
At the front, Max began to repair the gap to P2 which he lost to the Safety Car. By lap 20 he was again almost three seconds clear of Hamilton. The Mercedes driver was coming under increasing pressure from Alonso. At the end of lap 22 the Spaniard pounced, using DRS to slide past down the inside of the Briton’s car as they approached the final chicane.
The order at the front settled as the leaders worked their way through the stint on hard tyres, and though Max complained that the white-banded Pirellis were not giving him the grip he needed, he still managed to widen the gap to Alonso even further.
Checo made his first stop of the race on lap 38, moving to medium tyres in a 2.3s stop to emerge in P7 behind Albon. Ferrari reacted by pitting Sainz on the following lap and after a 2.8 switch to hard tyres he rejoined just ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon who was targeting a one-stop race.
Checo was on the hunt, though, and as Leclerc emerged from the pit lane, the Mexican passed Albon to take P6 just 4.5 seconds behind Sainz, and on quicker tyres but couldn’t quite reel him in.
Finishing the race in the best way he could, sixth-placed Checo pitted for a set of soft tyres and delivered a 1:14.481 to grab that fastest lap and the extra point that comes along with it.
Talking through his race, driver Sergio Perez said: “Today was a bit of a surprise, we just didn’t have the pace. It was looking good on the hard tyre initially but once the safety car came in I couldn’t recover the grip on that tyre and we didn’t have the pace on the medium.
“It is important we take time to understand the weekend because this race, in particular, has been poor in pace and we need to get on top of it. I have the confidence in myself and know what I can do but today we were not good. Right now, I am more concerned about my drop in performance than my place in the Championship because the pace is just not there. You never have no pressure on you, it has been a difficult period but I am here to perform and I need to do that in the next few races.
“On a positive note, we achieved 100 wins today and it is really great for the Team, I am very happy for everyone, Max has done a tremendous job, not just today but throughout the whole season.”
Max made is final stop on lap 42, moving to medium tyres, and emerged still in the lead for his final stint. His team-mate, meanwhile, was pushing hard to reel in the Ferrari and by lap 43 he was just three seconds behind Sainz.
At the front, Max was in total control and aside from a small moment in which he took a kerb too hard – causing him to laugh and tell his race engineer “I almost knocked myself out with that kerb” – the Dutchman’s march to his 41st win and the team’s 100th, was without trouble an after 70 pitch perfect laps, the Dutchman took his sixth win of the season ahead of Alonso and Hamilton.
Commenting on the team’s performance and start of the 2023 season, Team Principal Christian Horner said: “It’s a landmark day today and one for our history books, 100 victories for the team, 200 for Adrian and Max’s 41st putting him up there with Senna. An amazing result for the whole team, not just the people here, but everyone back at the factory who works so hard, ensuring we continue to perform at such a high level.
“I remember our first victory in China in 2009 and being happy that we’d won just one race, and here we are with 99 more. To get a century of victories is an incredible achievement, competing in 100 races is a feat in itself, but winning 27% of all races we have entered is something truly to be proud of. It’s been an amazing journey in a relatively short space of time and it’s down to our incredible people, our spirit and our culture.
“Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate as a team back in the factory, but of course we’re still in the middle of a championship and have a lot of races to go, so after tomorrow the attention is on our home race in Austria in two weeks’ time. For now, though we can reflect on a job well down here in Canada and celebrate our 100 wins. Great work Team!”
The paddock now looks to Austria for Oracle Red Bull Racing’s home race at the Red Bull Ring with 154 points ahead of its nearest rival in the Constructors’ Championship.