Max Verstappen holds off Sainz for Canadian GP Victory
![Max Verstappen holds off Sainz for Canadian GP Victory Max Verstappen holds off Sainz for Canadian GP Victory](https://www.si.com/.image/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/MTkwMjIzODU2OTk1MTQ4OTUz/si202206110318_hires_jpeg_24bit_rgb.jpg)
Max Verstappen crossed the line in P1 at the Canadian GP, showing maturity and composure to keep a charging Carlos Sainz behind.
The Dutchman executed a solid start to keep first place into the first corner and got into his race rhythm from there. Carlos Sainz took a few laps to overtake Fernando Alonso before settling and looking to hunt down the reigning World Champion.
Verstappen and Sainz opted for different strategies, with the Spaniard extending his first stint significantly. Still, the race ultimately came down to a sprint to the line after the last safety car, in which the Dutchman held off Sainz's charge.
Mercedes executed a perfect race with their two drivers. Hamilton secured his second podium of the season ahead of George Russell in P4, who consolidated two strong finishing positions for the Silver Arrows.
![M319634](https://www.si.com/.image/t_share/MTkwMjgxOTgxODYxMzA3NjUy/m319634.jpg)
Charles Leclerc did well to recover after a compromised weekend and will be relatively content with his evening of damage limitation.
Ocon will be pleased to have taken P6 after poor strategy and reliability issues plagued his teammate Alonso, who was relegated from P7 to P9 after a 5-second penalty, rubbing salt in the wounds as the Double Champion again suffered from an embarrassing race operationally from Alpine.
Zhou Guanyu in P8 took his first points since the first round in Bahrain, completing an extremely impressive weekend to finish behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Lance Stroll rounded out the points.