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Max Verstappen is excited for F1's return to Canada after a 2-year hiatus following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dutch driver comes to the track on the back of Red Bull's third 1-2 finish of the season at Baku, the others being Imola and Barcelona.
When questioned what his thoughts were on returning to Canada after a gap of two years, the reigning world champion claimed to be happy and was hoping to bring home another 1-2 finish for the team. Verstappen said:
“I always look forward to going to Montréal, it’s really a beautiful city and now that I arrive in Baku after a 1-2, it would be great to leave Canada with the same result.”
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There are still question marks around the track as this will be the first time the new generation of cars will run on this circuit. Not only that, it remains to be seen how the track surface will interact with the cars after a two-year gap since F1 last raced here.
Verstappen also touched upon these variables as he admitted that there were still unanswered questions heading into the race while hoping that Red Bull will be strong at the track. He said:
“We haven’t been to Montréal for a while so it’s exciting to get back there and see what the track is like. It has a pretty unique layout and it will be interesting to see what the tarmac is like now. Hopefully, our car will work well this weekend.”
There is still a long way to go in the championship: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen currently leads the drivers' championship by 21 points over his teammate Sergio Perez. More importantly, he's got a 34-point lead over his main rival Charles Leclerc.
While the lead might look comfortable, Verstappen is not taking the foot off the gas right now. The Dutchman admitted that the season is very long and anything can happen in the upcoming races. Egging his team on to continue pushing forward and try to score the maximum points possible, he said:
“It is of course great that we are leading the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship, but there is still a long way to go. We have to keep pushing as a team and score as many points as possible.”
Verstappen's best result at the Canadian GP was a P3 in 2018. He will be looking to improve on that this weekend.
