Verstappen hails ‘incredible’ milestone as he helps Red Bull hit a century of F1 wins

Max Verstappen was left feeling overjoyed after making F1 history for himself and Red Bull with another commanding run to victory in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen made it back-to-back wins at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to secure Red Bull’s landmark 100th triumph in the sport, having contributed 41 of them since stepping up to the team from Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in 2016.

READ MORE: Verstappen wins Canadian GP to claim Red Bull’s 100th victory and equal Senna’s tally

That tally of 41 also gave Verstappen a piece of personal history as he drew level with Ayrton Senna in the all-time F1 winners’ list – the pair now sitting tied for fifth behind Alain Prost (51), Sebastian Vettel (53), Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (103).

Speaking after he jumped out of the car, Verstappen said: “Of course, I’m very happy right now. It was not a very straightforward race, because the tyres were not really getting in their window.

“It was very cold today compared to Friday and we were sliding around quite a bit, but we made it work. To win again [and] win the 100th Grand Prix for the team is incredible.”

Pushed on how the historic moment feels, he said: “It’s amazing. I never expected to be on these kinds of numbers myself, so we keep enjoying, we keep working hard, but today has been a great day again.”

Verstappen crossed the line almost 10 seconds clear of his nearest rival, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton some five seconds further back.

WATCH: Enjoy the race start at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix as Hamilton claims P2 behind Verstappen

Asked if he expected a bigger challenge from those behind, he added: “Firstly, I expected more or less what we had to do today, but it was really difficult to keep the grip, the temperatures into the tyres, because the grip was disappearing quickly.

“That’s why maybe the gap was not that big, and we had a few Safety Cars here and there. But overall, we won and that’s the most important.”

Verstappen’s team mate, Sergio Perez, crossed the line in sixth position after his compromised qualifying session, bagging an extra point by stopping for soft tyres late on and setting the fastest lap.