Verstappen drives to 6th win of season, holding off Sainz at Montreal Grand Prix

Max Verstappen maintained his hold on the Formula One championship fight by holding off a late challenge from Carlos Sainz Jr. to earn his sixth win of the season in an easy Sunday drive in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen won from the pole at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to extend his lead in the standings to 46 points over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who retired early with a gearbox issue

"It's still a very long way to go and I know the gap of course is quite big, but I also know that can switch around very quickly," the Dutchman said of his points lead. He noted he trailed Charles Leclerc by 46 points following the third race of the season.

Canada's Lance Stroll was 10th, while Toronto native Nicholas Latifi, who has admitted his seat at Williams is not secure, was 16th in his first career home grand prix.

"It's great to finally have my first home race and the support I felt from my family, friends and all the fans in the grandstands was amazing," said Latifi. "In terms of on track, we were lacking a lot of pace and we need to try to understand why. Regardless of the result, this weekend has been one to remember."

Verstappen had no trouble clearing Fernando Alonso, who earned his first front-row start in a decade then joked he'd attack Verstappen in the first turn to steal the victory.

But there was no challenge and by the time Sainz cleared Alonso for second on Lap 2, Verstappen had already built a lead of 2.4 seconds in his Red Bull. Sainz was able to close the gap over the final 10 laps and pressured the reigning F1 champion but faded on the last lap and finished .993 seconds behind in his Ferrari.

"It was good racing, it is always more enjoyable to be able to really push rather than just save your tires," said