Verstappen scores first podium of the season with third in the Canadian Grand Prix
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Editorial Dept.
Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen scored his first podium finish of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship and the first-ever podium for Red Bull Ford Powertrains at Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
The four-time world champion claimed third place behind clear winner Kimi Antonelli and runner-up Lewis Hamilton in a thrilling race to the line, as team-mate Isack Hadjar and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson both also scored good points in fifth and seventh places.
After a hard fight to qualify sixth on the fast Circuit Gilles Villeneuve street circuit, Verstappen made a great start to the Grand Prix and made an impressive pass on Hamilton for third place on Lap 9.
The Dutchman then inherited second place when Antonelli’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell retired and held the position until just a few laps to go when Hamilton came back through as Verstappen’s tyres overheated. Verstappen didn’t accept his fate however and fought back with everything he could, pushing the Ferrari driver all the way to the finish line, but having to settle for third by just half-a-second.
Just two positions behind in fifth place was the second RB22 of Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman moved through from seventh place on the grid and celebrated both his best finish of the season to date and first top-five finish for Oracle Red Bull Racing.
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls saw Liam Lawson score important points in seventh place as the New Zealand driver equalled his best finish of 2026 so far with a great drive through the pack from 11th place on the grid. There was terrible misfortune for the team’s rookie Arvid Lindblad however, who failed to start after his VCARB03 failed on the grid.
QUOTES
Oracle Red Bull Racing
MAX VERSTAPPEN – 3rd
“It’s great to be back on the podium. It was a little bit of a surprise, but we made the right calls and didn’t leave anything on the table. We had a very good first stint on the soft tyre, and that gave us the gap we needed. The medium tyre was more difficult because managing the temperatures, combined with going in and out of Virtual Safety Cars, made things more challenging. I enjoyed the last few laps battling with Lewis and I pushed hard to take the position back. Over the last two weekends we’ve been a lot closer and there have been positive steps forward. It’s also our first podium with our own powertrain, which is a great milestone for the team, so credit to everyone for getting us here.”
ISACK HADJAR – 5th
“I started off with a very good launch, but struggled a lot with pace during the race. The car was very fast, but hard to drive compared to yesterday, when I felt more comfortable, so I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted. I think we could have secured fourth place, but had to settle for fifth in the end. The overall car performance this weekend was very positive – we took a big step forward since Miami and made the most of the weekend. I hope we can keep the same momentum for Monaco.”
LAURENT MEIKES – CEO & Team Principle
“Firstly, congratulations to everyone at Red Bull Ford Powertrains. To claim our very first podium with our own PU, in only its fifth race, is truly a historic moment, especially when you consider the pedigree and experience of our competitors. A PU on its own is not enough and, of course, this result is also down to the hard work of everyone back on campus in Milton Keynes and here at the track.
“Overall, maybe we have closed the gap a little bit more to those ahead of us and this confirms we are moving in the right direction, but we are well aware that the next three to five tenths that we need to find are always the hardest ones.
“Max was as strong as always, very fast and very consistent, knowing the right time to apply pressure. sack was on the pace and got into the right rhythm from the start of the weekend, and he delivered an impressive performance, also having to deal with a couple of penalties. It was important for the championship to have both cars scoring good points.”
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