Max Verstappen credits himself for Red Bull’s victory in F1 Canadian GP: “If I wasn't here, obviously it would have been very different”

Max Verstappen cheekily credited himself for Red Bull's victory at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP, claiming that things might have been different for the team if not for his stellar performance. The Dutchman won the race from pole position, while his teammate Sergio Perez was nowhere in contention.

Perez was unable to find pace all weekend long in Montreal and failed to make it into Q3. Meanwhile, his teammate Verstappen stormed off to another pole position in the rain, showing his prowess in the wet conditions. While Perez recovered decently well in the race - finishing P6 - his teammate was once again the clear class of the field, gifting Red Bull their 100th win in the sport.

Speaking about his team's performance on the whole in Canada, Max Verstappen told the press:

"Well, if I wasn't here today, obviously it would have been very different for the team. That's one way of looking at things."

Perez's title hopes seem to have faded as the Mexican is now 69 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' standings. There was a point in the season, especially after the 2023 Azerbaijan GP, when many wondered if Perez could take the fight to Verstappen.

One area where Max Verstappen is better than Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as per F1 pundit

F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham, meanwhile, has claimed that Verstappen does not overthink like Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz do, and is generally better at compartmentalizing things in 2023.

Pinkham pointed out that while both Ferrari drivers experience more instances of poor luck compared to the Dutchman, Max Verstappen has been able to move on from bad experiences relatively quickly. She told the F1 Nation podcast:

"Do you know what? I think both drivers are emotionally intelligent as well. They do feel it when things go wrong. One of the things that Max is able to do is compartmentalize, he draws a line under the things and moves forwards. I think he doesn't overthink things the way that perhaps Charles and Carlos do. That's the way they're made up."

Ferrari enjoyed a relatively stronger weekend in Canada, owing to the nature of the track and a half-decent strategy from the team. Charles Leclerc finished in fourth place while his teammate Carlos Sainz finished behind him in P5.

However, with both drivers outside Red Bull's reach so far, it is unclear if there will be a challenger to Max Verstappen in 2023.