CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

VERSTAPPEN & GASLY SCORE POINTS IN MONTREAL

MONTREAL

• Date: Sunday 9 June, 2019
• Number of laps: 70
• Circuit length: 4.361km
• Race distance: 305.270km

RESULTS

• Max Verstappen, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing:  Started 9^th / Finished: 5^th
• Pierre Gasly, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing:  Started 5^th  / Finished: 8^th

It wasn’t the result that Aston Martin Red Bull Racing had been hoping for, but they still leave Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a double-points finish. This report reviews Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Canadian Grand Prix…

The sun was shining on Montreal as Formula One arrived at the famous power-sensitive Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which this year featured a new pit and paddock complex that hauled the venue into the 21^st Century.  Aston Martin Red Bull Racing were buzzing following an encouraging weekend in Monaco, which saw Verstappen take a podium and continue his run of finishing in the top four in every race since the 2018 Russian GP.

When the cars hit the track on Friday, the RB15, powered by Esso Synergy race fuel and lubricated by Mobil 1 engine oil, looked solid across the three practice sessions, raising hopes of a strong performance in qualifying. Pierre Gasly made it into Q3 and qualified a superb fifth on the grid, but Verstappen had to abort his final lap in the second session when Kevin Magnussen crashed heavily.

Verstappen ended the session 11^th, but that became ninth on the grid courtesy of penalties for Magnussen and the McLaren of Carlos Sainz. Gasly showed strong pace in the opening stint, but was forced into a reasonably early stop as he had started the race on the softest and least durable tyre and that dropped him down the order. Verstappen, in contrast, had free choice and he could use a harder compound to run much deeper into the race before having to make a pit stop. Combined with a series of great overtakes, he recovered to finish fifth, while Gasly crossed the line eighth.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton clinched victory, following a penalty for Sebastian Vettel that demoted the Ferrari driver to second, to extend his championship lead to 30 points after seven races.

Verstappen remains fourth in the drivers’ standings, with Gasly eighth, while Aston Martin Red Bull Racing consolidated their position in third in the constructors’ championship, behind Mercedes and Ferrari.

Ahead of the weekend, Verstappen and Gasly went head-to-head with fans and local Red Bull athletes Erik Guay and Sebastien Toutant at a local Esso media event that featured the Red Bull Pit Stop Finals challenge at the Casino de Montreal. The winners, who set a time of 3.95s to change a tyre, won a year’s supply of Esso Synergy fuel and a rare opportunity to participate in pit stop practice with the team during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Verstappen and Gasly plus Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat also donned lumberjack kit and headed to the Canadian woods to learn the art of axe throwing and woodcutting with former Canadian Football League linebacker and now leading logger sports competitor Shea Emery.

Meanwhile at trackside, ExxonMobil Technical Advisors Dario Izzo and Sean Dunnett carried out a series of interviews with media regarding the teams’ successful partnership with Honda this year.

Formula One now heads to France, with the next Grand Prix taking place at Paul Ricard on 21^st-23^rd June.

MAX VERSTAPPEN, DRIVER, ASTON MARTIN RED BULL RACING:

“It was a controlled drive today. We stayed out of trouble at the beginning of the race and there was not much more I could do in the closing stages. I did a very long first stint which worked quite well to clear the traffic and once we pitted I quickly cleared the Renault’s. From there I pulled away and was able to focus on my own race but we were not quick enough to catch the leaders. It was at least fun doing a bit of overtaking and we scored good points again but I think realistically fifth was where we expected to finish. It was not our weekend and I would of course like more but we have to work hard now to try and close the gap at the next race.”

PIERRE GASLY, DRIVER, ASTON MARTIN RED BULL RACING:

“It was a pretty difficult day but the car actually felt quite good so it is disappointing to finish where we did. We expected to be stronger than this. We struggled with traffic and had to save the brakes, which compromised us a bit, and I of course wanted to finish better than this. We need to analyse everything and see what we can improve but I also need to work hard before the next race. I hope we can find more pace and come back stronger for my home race.”

CHRISTIAN HORNER, TEAM PRINCIPAL, ASTON MARTIN RED BULL RACING:

“Another strong race and a good recovery drive for Max today progressing from ninth to fifth. He lost quite a bit of time in the early laps clearing traffic but running long on the hard tyre was a strategy that worked well. He managed a small brake issue in the last few laps but finished the race comfortably in P5. With Pierre we tried to get the undercut on Daniel during the pit stop, we nearly made it, but he unfortunately got stuck behind Stroll which pretty much ended his race, allowing Hulkenberg to sneak ahead. Fifth and eighth were not the results we were looking for but heads down and the focus is on Paul Ricard.”

Disclaimer: This race report is written by a Formula One^TM journalist and features quotes provided by Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. It does not necessarily reflect the view/s of Exxon Mobil Corporation or any of its subsidiaries Imagery: Any Aston Martin Red Bull Racing imagery used by Authorized ExxonMobil Distributors must feature the official ExxonMobil and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Technology Partner logo. Materials will also require team approval – please email nicola.tonna@marketingminds.co.uk

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