GP Opinion: Luck smiles, but even Ferrari can't stop the unstoppable Verstappen

Max Max Max, Super Max Max... pardon me, reader, but it is inevitable that the Pitstop Boys ' song will stick in your head after the performance of the reigning world champion at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix. Two of the Dutchman's main rivals in the drivers' championship, Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc started the race in Montreal from the bottom of the grid - 13th and 19th, respectively. With Fernando Alonso ahead of Carlos Sainz at the start, only something out of the ordinary would be able to take Verstappen's triumph at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

And it says a lot about the Dutchman's performance level that even with the unusual showing up, he still managed to walk away with the victory. Luck smiled on Ferrari when Yuki Tsunoda crashed alone on the final straight of the race and caused a safety car, which enabled the Italian squad to put fresh hard tires on Sainz's car. Verstappen, with the final change already made, found himself at a disadvantage.

As soon as the safety car was out of the picture and the grid was tightly bunched together, the Spaniard from Ferrari was smart. It was not necessary to overtake Verstappen right away: all he had to do was to stay less than one second behind and wait for the FIA (International Automobile Federation) to release the use of the mobile wing. When this happened, Sainz went hunting.

But even with a little outside help, the Spaniard couldn't take advantage. The overtake looked like it would eventually happen, but Verstappen made sure to close every door. And worse: without any communication with Red Bull. In the end, the impression was that Sainz could have spent another 70 laps following the Dutchman, it wouldn't have made a difference.

Verstappen and Red Bull's merit? Or another failure for Ferrari? Let's press pause. From the beginning of the season to now, the fact is that RB18 and F1-75 are not as they started the year. But post-Baku impressions changed after the race in Montreal. I'll explain.

After Azerbaijan, Red Bull seemed to have solved the RB18's reliability problems once and for all. But at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, this ghost came back to haunt Christian Horner and the rest of the Taurinos. On the ninth lap, Sergio Pérez gave bye bye to the race due to a gearbox problem. The 'Czech' had prepared himself to climb the mountain and serve as an interesting piece to, who knows, hold Leclerc back - but it didn't work out.

Also after the race in Baku, with its double abandonment, the scenario was devastated for Ferrari. In Montreal, the Italian team gave an interesting answer, however: Leclerc was stuck behind the Alpine for a long time, it is true, but he fulfilled his mission of climbing the pack and successfully completed the goal set by Ferrari: fifth place.

Sainz, in turn, needed once again to put himself in a position to fight for victory. Not to win, strictly speaking, but at least to fight. Undeniably, this happened in Canada. Here, in the case of the Spaniard, it is more a psychological issue: he needed to show himself more and more adapted to F1-75, to accumulate confidence and get back to the championship.

Speaking of him... the Drivers' World Championship, after Montreal, has Verstappen in the lead with 175 points, 46 ahead of Perez and 49 ahead of Leclerc. Mathematically, of course, there is still a lot of competition ahead. But if things continue the way they are, it is hard not to imagine that the Dutchman will not add another world title to his account.

After all, of the last six races of the 2022 Formula One season, Verstappen has won five. It is such a dominance that it seems to overcome any adversity. Just look at what happened in Canada. Not even when 'chance' gives a little boost can Ferrari fight. Or better: it fights, but does not win.

Formula 1 returns in two weeks, from July 1 to 3, at Silverstone, with the British GP. A final shot or the shy beginning of a recovery in the championship? Let's wait and see.