When he won the pole in the pouring rain, Max Verstappen was quick to explain that it had been his father who would stand on the wet track during his early days of karting and point him to the correct driving lines.
So when Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix on Father’s Day — a 41st victory that tied the Dutchman for fifth on the all-time Formula One wins list with the late Ayrton Senna, and gave Red Bull its 100th win as an organisation — he was quick to salute the man who had moulded him into the two-time reigning world champion.
The 25-year-old reminisced of the days he and Jos Verstappen travelled by van throughout Europe to his karting races, the father hoping to raise a winner. Jos Verstappen made 107 F1 starts and was once a teammate of Michael Schumacher.
“Without him I would not sit here today,” Verstappen said of his father.
“He has taught me and prepared me for so much, from a very young age. He had this goal, he had this goal set for me to first of all be better than him. And then try to get to Formula One, you know?
“We still call every day. I mean right before the race, I was still talking to him about what we were going to do with that strategy. He likes to know. Even when he’s not here. It’s just nice to have that kind of relationship with your dad.”
The Dutchman’s repeat win in Montreal extended his season-long dominance.
Verstappen won for the sixth time this season — the fourth in a row — and Red Bull remained a perfect eight from eight on the year.
Tying Senna was simply a byproduct of his success.
“I hate to compare different generations,” Verstappen said, deflecting.
“From my side, the only thing I can say is when I was a little kid driving and karting, I was dreaming about being a Formula One driver. I never imagined to win 41.
“And of course I’m proud of that. But of course I hope it’s not stopping here. I hope that we can keep on winning races.”
Lewis Hamilton holds the all-time record with 103 wins, but the seven-time champion said in Canada he expected Verstappen to surpass the mark eventually. Verstappen was quick to note that as Red Bull celebrated its 100th win, he alone was responsible for 41 victories.
“We’ll talk about maybe a new contract because of that,” he said with a laugh.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner radioed his gratitude when Verstappen crossed the finish line.
“A century for the team,” Horner told Verstappen.
“Fantastic. And thank you for producing that race victory.”
The one bright spot for everyone chasing Verstappen at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was that his margin of victory over Fernando Alonso was only 9.5 seconds.
Only?
Yes. It was the closest race of the season because Verstappen has been so dominant that he typically wins by 20-plus seconds a race.
“Probably not our best race, but still to win by nine seconds, I think shows that we have a great car,” Verstappen said of the margin of victory.
It wasn’t an overwhelming Red Bull rout; Sergio Perez, who had hoped to “reset” his season in Canada, was a distant sixth. Perez has been so underwhelming of late that Alonso answered a simple “yes” when asked if he can pass Perez in the championship standings.
Perez is second with just a nine-point lead over Alonso. Verstappen leads Red Bull teammate Perez by 69 points.
