Why “faster” Ferrari couldn’t beat Red Bull in Canadian GP

On paper the Canadian Grand Prix will go down as Max Verstappen’s latest triumph, fending off late pressure from Carlos Sainz to extend his Formula 1 world championship lead. But as safety car periods, virtual and real, shook up the race Ferrari demonstrated it can take the fight to Red Bull after recent failures

“I left everything out there. But compared to Red Bull, we were quicker the whole race. First time this season that I can say that I was fastest man on track.”

Carlos Sainz’s demeanour in the four 2022 post-race press conferences he’d attended before last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix had been strikingly downbeat. His struggles to gel with the F1-75 and team-mate Charles Leclerc’s superiority explained why the famously open and analytical driver didn’t want to over celebrate. This time, he exuded confidence. But it was paired with familiar despair – because Max Verstappen beat him to victory in Formula 1’s first Montreal race since 2019.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.