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Formula 1 is headed to North America for the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix at the famous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Having won three races on the bounce, Max Verstappen currently sits at the top of the Drivers’ Championship with 170 points. His nearest rival is his Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez, who has 117 points to his name.
Verstappen won this race last year and will need to fend off Perez, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Alpine to make it back-to-back wins in Montreal.
This weekend will be the 42nd time that Circuit Gilles Villeneuve hosts the Canadian GP. This will make the Montreal circuit the venue that has held the fifth-most World Championship races in Formula 1, overtaking the Nurburgring.
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On that note, here are five milestones that can be achieved at the 2023 Canadian GP:
#1 The march of the Bulls
If Red Bull Racing win the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix, it will be their 100th victory in Formula 1, making them only the fifth team to reach a century of Grand Prix wins.
Red Bull's longest win streak stands at nine, achieved twice — between the 2013 Belgian GP and Brazilian GP, and between the 2022 French GP and Mexican GP. If they win in Canada this weekend, they will equal their longest winning streak in F1. Interestingly, it will be only the eighth time a team has achieved a win streak of nine (or more) in F1.
Having won the opening seven races in 2023, victory in Canada will see Red Bull become only the third team to have won the opening eight races of a season. McLaren in 1988 and Mercedes in 2019 are the two teams who have achieved this feat.
#2 Can Verstappen emulate Schumacher and Vettel?
Max Verstappen has been in dominant form this season. Having won the last two races by over 20 seconds, if he manages to win in Canada with a similar margin, he'll be the first driver since Michael Schumacher (1994 Pacific GP to Monaco GP) to win three consecutive races by over 20 seconds.
During his wins in Monaco and Spain, Verstappen led every lap. If he manages to repeat that in Canada, he will become the first driver since Sebastian Vettel in 2012 (Japanese GP to Indian GP) to lead three consecutive races from start to end.
It would also make him only the sixth driver to lead every lap in three consecutive races.
#3 Rising in the charts
Verstappen has led all of the last 154 laps in F1. If he leads all 70 laps in Canada, he’ll go fifth in the list of most consecutive laps led in the sport. This would also be the longest streak since Nigel Mansell (235 laps) in 1992.
If the two-time F1 champion wins this weekend, it will be his 41st victory in F1. he'll go level with Ayrton Senna for fifth place on the list of most F1 wins.
If Verstappen secures pole position and wins the race, he will become the fifth F1 driver to register 20 wins from pole position. If he doesn't take pole position but manages to win, he will equal Sebastian Vettel (22) for the fourth-most wins without starting from pole.
A top-10 finish in Canada for Verstappen will be his 27th consecutive point-scoring race, which will put him third in the list of the longest points streaks in F1.
#3 Alonso's familiarity with Canada
If Fernando Alonso races this weekend, it will be his 18th appearance at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. This will see him equal Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello for the most Canadian GP starts.
Should the Spaniard finish on the podium, it will be his 104th podium finish, which will see him overtake Kimi Raikkonen for fifth on the list of most podium finishes in F1.
#4 Hamilton eyes Canadian history
A win this weekend will be Lewis Hamilton's eighth at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, equalling the record for most victories at a single circuit.
If Hamilton leads 46 laps, he will have led 400 laps in Canada, making it only the eighth time a driver has led as many laps at a single circuit.
#5 Something to look forward to for Perez, Stroll, Sargeant, and Ocon
If Sergio Perez emerges victorious at the Canadian GP, 2023 will go down as his most successful F1 season yet. He has registered wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan already.
Lance Stroll can become the Canadian driver with the most points in F1, overtaking Jacques Villeneuve, if he manages to score seven or more points this weekend.
If Esteban Ocon scores three or more points in Canada, he’ll become the French driver with the second most points in the sport, overtaking Romain Grosjean.
