Verstappen won the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix ahead of Sainz

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix race at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to extend his lead in the 2022 Formula One World Championship.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari finished second, less than a second behind, in a close race, with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes-Benz AMG in third place by about seven seconds.

Verstappen started the race from pole position, with Alpine's Fernando Alonso on the front row for the first time in many years. Verstappen got a good start and quickly opened up a gap as the slower Alonso held off Sainz and Hamilton.

Sainz passed Alonso on lap 3 and was able to catch up to Verstappen. Five laps later, however, Red Bull's Sergio Perez ran into trouble and retired.

This brought out the virtual safety car and Red Bull switched Verstappen from medium to hard tires.

Verstappen was now third behind Sainz and Alonso.

Verstappen finally passed Alonso on lap 15, and five laps later the safety car was brought out again due to a problem with Mick Schumacher's Haas. At this point, Sainz pitted and Verstappen took the lead, with Alonso moving up to second. Hamilton moves up to third.

In the second half of the race Verstappen tried hard to maintain his lead, but Sainz, with fresher tires, was able to catch him. Verstappen made his second pit stop at the end of lap 43 and moved up to third, just behind Hamilton. Verstappen was slowed by Hamilton's pace, but by lap 44 Hamilton was on the side and Verstappen was chasing Sainz by nearly 10 seconds.

Verstappen was forced to retire on lap 49 when Hiroki Tsunoda in the Alfatauri lost control in turn 2 and slid into the barriers. The safety car was brought in and Verstappen took the lead as Sainz pitted. As a result, Verstappen took the checkered flag at the top of the standings.

The safety car left the track at the end of lap 54. Verstappen held off Sainz and Hamilton to take the lead, with Sainz setting the fastest lap on lap 56 and Verstappen coming under pressure with 15 laps to go. Sainz closed in on him on the final lap, but Verstappen defended well and held off Sainz and Hamilton to cross the finish line in the lead.

Mercedes' George Russell finished fourth, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fifth after starting from the back of the grid due to a penalty for replacing his power unit and control electronics.

Verstappen's first win in Canada gave him a 46-point lead in the 2022 drivers' championship. Verstappen has 175 points to Perez's 129 and Leclerc's 126. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull leads with 304 points to Ferrari's 228 and Mercedes' 188. The next race is the British Grand Prix in two weeks.

Below are the complete results for the 2022 F1 Canadian Grand Prix.

1) Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 2) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.993 seconds 3) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Benz AMG) +7.006 seconds 4) George Russell (Mercedes-Benz AMG) +12.313 seconds 5) Charles Leclerc (Mercedes-Benz AMG) +12.313s 313.5) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +15.168s 6) Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +23.890s 7) Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +25.247s 8) Guan Yu Zhou (Alfa Romeo 9) Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +26.952s 10) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +38.222s 11) Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +43.047s 12) Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +44.245s 13) Alexander Albon, Williams +44.893 seconds 14) Pierre Gasly, Alfatauri +45.183 seconds 15) Lando Norris, McLaren +52.145 seconds 16) Nicolas Latifi, Williams +59.978 seconds 17) Kevin Magnussen ( Haas) +68. 180s NC) Hiroki Kakuda (Alfa Tauri) - DNFNC) Mick Schumacher (Haas) - DNFNC) Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) - DNF