F1: Max Verstappen needs to stay out of trouble in Canada, Liam Lawson needs more points

Dutch Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen.
Photo:
MPS AGENCY / PHOTOSPORT
Max Verstappen will have to keep out of trouble as he chases an unprecedented fourth Canadian Grand Prix win in a row this weekend, with only a penalty point between the Formula 1 champion and a race ban.
The Red Bull driver has won for the last three years in Montreal, the last time after starting alongside Mercedes' pole-sitter George Russell - the same rival he clashed with two weekends ago - in a qualifying draw.
How Verstappen will respond is an open question but others are sure to want to take whatever advantage they can of the situation at a track famed also for changeable weather.
"He mustn't do anything wrong over the next two race weekends, and of course he will be told not to do anything rash," Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko wrote in a column for www.speedweek.com post-Spain.
While McLaren, with Oscar Piastri leading Lando Norris by 10 points after nine of 24 races, will be the team to beat again, Mercedes will fancy their chances in the season's second race in North America.
"It's a track where we've tended to find our feet relatively well in the past," said Mercedes technical director James Allison. "So I'm looking forward to it.
Mercedes have not won since Las Vegas last November, with Russell's second place in Bahrain in April the best they have managed so far.
McLaren have won seven of nine but last triumphed in Canada with Lewis Hamilton in 2012, although historically they have won more times (13) than any team there. The battle between Piastri and Norris could be about to heat up.
Ferrari, now up to second in the constructors' standings, last won with Sebastian Vettel in 2018 at a track named after their late local great Gilles Villeneuve.
The circuit holds fond memories for Ferrari's seven-times world champion Hamilton, who took his first career F1 victory there in 2007 and shares with Michael Schumacher the record of seven wins in Canada.
New Zealand driver Liam Lawson was unlucky to miss out on points in Spain an will again need to have a good qualifying result to get his Racing Bulls car into the top ten.
US-owned Haas will be celebrating their 200th start with a retro grey livery similar to the one they started out with in 2016.
Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls at the Spanish Grand Prix, 2025.
Photo:
CHARLY LOPEZ / AFP
Formula 1 statistics for the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, round 10 of the 24 race championship:
CANADA
This weekend will be the 54th Canadian Grand Prix, and 44th in Montreal.
Verstappen is chasing his fourth Canadian win in a row, which would be unprecedented.
Lewis Hamilton has won seven times in Montreal (in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019), including the first of his career. He holds the record jointly with Ferrari great Michael Schumacher.
They also share the record for six poles each.
Fernando Alonso (2006) and Verstappen (2022, 2023, 2024) are the other winners.
The circuit on the Ile Notre-Dame has 14 corners and is named after late Ferrari great Gilles Villeneuve. Mosport and Mont Tremblant have also hosted Canadian Grands Prix.
McLaren have won 13 times in Canada, Ferrari 12 (11 in Montreal).
The rain-hit Canadian Grand Prix of 2011 was Formula 1's longest race, lasting four hours, four minutes and 39.537 seconds. The safety car was deployed six times, another record.
The circuit is tough on brakes. The wall at the exit to the final corner has been 'The Wall of Champions' since 1999 when Damon Hill, Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve crashed there.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll is the sole Canadian F1 driver. The last Canadian to stand on a home podium was Jacques Villeneuve in 1996.
CHAMPIONSHIP
McLaren's Oscar Piastri leads the drivers' championship by 10 points from teammate Lando Norris. Verstappen is 49 points behind Piastri.
Leaders and champions McLaren are 197 points clear of Ferrari, with Mercedes a further six adrift.
RACE WINS
Piastri has won five of nine races this season, Verstappen and Norris two each.
Seven-times world champion Hamilton has a record 105 career victories from 365 starts. Verstappen has won 65 grands prix and is third on the all-time list after Schumacher on 91.
Piastri has seven career wins to Norris' six and is only the third Australian to win five in a season. The others, Jack Brabham (1960) and Alan Jones (1980), were both champions.
POLE POSITION
Piastri has been on pole four times this season, Verstappen three and Norris twice.
Norris has started on the front row in five of nine.
PODIUM
Both McLaren drivers have finished on the podium eight times in 2025, Piastri eight times in a row.
Charles Leclerc's second place in Monaco was Ferrari's best of the season so far.
POINTS
Only Piastri, Norris and Verstappen have scored in every race this season.
Piastri has scored for 35 races in a row, the third-longest scoring streak.
Two rookies have yet to score - Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine's Franco Colapinto, who replaced Jack Doohan after six races.
MILESTONE
Canada will be Haas's 200th grand prix.
This will be the 100th grand prix for Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, although only his 97th start.
- Reuters

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