The
"When I was a little kid driving and go-karting, I was dreaming about being a
"But of course, I hope it's not stopping here and I hope that we can keep on winning more races."
The odds of that are high. Verstappen, the two-time reigning world champion, has won four races in a row and six of eight overall this season.
The 25-year-old Dutch driver now leads the
Not only did Verstappen set new marks individually, he also won
"I've won 41 of them, we'll talk about maybe a new contract because of that," he quipped.
Aston Martin's
Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton have 11 world championships and 176 race wins between them, something all three drivers recognized while sitting together after the race.
"It's a privilege to be up here with these two, who've done incredible in their careers, and this is quite an iconic top three," said Hamilton. "I don't know if there's been a top three like this ever before."
Only one of the three, however, was truly pleased with the order.
"I think of course they want to swap positions of course," said Verstappen. "I'm happy in the middle at the moment."
"I'm really hoping at some stage we have a more level playing field in our cars and then we'll have a much more exciting race," added Hamilton.
Alonso, a 41-year-old veteran, earned his sixth podium this season and moved within nine points of Perez for second to continue building on a resurgent season.
Asked if he thought he could catch Perez, Alonso didn't stutter: "Yes."
Alonso and Hamilton duelled for second from the very first turn when Hamilton blasted past Alonso to move up to P2. Alonso then retook his position on Lap 22 with an overtake into the final chicane.
When Aston Martin informed Alonso over the radio that Hamilton had closed the gap to within 1.4 seconds with 10 laps remaining, the Spaniard responded: "Copy. Leave it to me."
"He's a multi-world champion, so yeah, he knows what he's doing," said Hamilton.
Russell, however, had to retire early after hitting the wall and damaging the right side of his car 12 laps in. He carried on until Lap 55 but pulled out due to brake issues.
The 24-year-old Aston Martin driver is eighth in the standings and has yet to reach the podium this season despite his teammate Alonso being a consistent top-three finisher.
"With all the circumstances, it was better than nothing to get some points," said Stroll. "But it was still a difficult weekend after yesterday and bad luck today."
Ferrari drivers
Williams Driving's
With the race falling on
"After my dad's own career, he invested all his time in mine. It's hard to explain you know how much he has dedicated to me because I probably still don't even understand how much he did," said Verstappen of his father Jos, who drove professionally through the 1990s and early 2000s. "I don't need to buy him a present, I did this, so I think he's happy."
"Congratulations to my father," Alonso joked. "My father is different, he has no talent at all to drive.
"He was always very with his feet on the ground and teaching me other things and other values because it was difficult to believe that I was able to reach
The track stayed dry beneath a mix of sun and clouds throughout the race after showers impacted practice and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday.
A record number of 345,000 spectators — including celebrity chef
After missing two years due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, the Canadian Grand Prix will return to
Next up, the series moves across the
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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