"We’ve been a lot closer," claims Verstappen after securing his first podium in 2026

Red Bull left the Canadian Grand Prix with renewed confidence after Max Verstappen delivered a strong drive to finish third, securing the team’s first podium of the season.

It marked a positive turnaround after a mixed weekend in which Verstappen showed flashes of pace but also battled tyre‑temperature issues in the cold Montreal conditions. Verstappen enjoyed an excellent race, chasing down Lewis Hamilton and overtaking him on merit during the middle phase of the Grand Prix.

Although he later lost the position again to the Ferrari driver, he remained within striking distance until the final lap, ultimately missing out on second place by just half a second. Despite the late‑race tyre drop‑off, Verstappen was able to stay close and pressure Hamilton all the way to the flag.

His teammate, Isack Hadjar, had a more complicated afternoon. The Frenchman picked up two in‑race penalties — one for moving under braking in a battle with Charles Leclerc, and another for a yellow‑flag infringement.

Even with roughly 30 seconds added to his race time, Hadjar managed to hold onto fifth place, salvaging valuable points for Red Bull.

After the race, Verstappen expressed satisfaction with both the result and the team’s progress. He said:

“It’s great to be back on the podium. It was a little bit of a surprise, but we made the right calls and didn’t leave anything on the table.”

He highlighted the strength of his opening stint: “We had a very good first stint on the Soft tyre, and that gave us the gap we needed.”

However, the second half of the race proved more challenging: “The Medium tyre was more difficult because managing the temperatures, combined with going in and out of Virtual Safety Cars, made things more challenging.”

Verstappen also enjoyed the late‑race battle with Hamilton: “I enjoyed the last few laps battling with Lewis, and I pushed hard to take the position back.”

He emphasised that Red Bull has made clear progress over the last two rounds: “Over the last two weekends, we’ve been a lot closer, and there have been positive steps forward.”

Finally, he noted the significance of the result for Red Bull Powertrains: “It’s also our first podium with our own powertrain, which is a great milestone for the Team, so credit to everyone for getting us here.”