© Getty ImagesThe Highs and Lows of MontrealTime to look back at how the Team has done on Notre Dame Island
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The Bulls have had success at the 14-turn track, but it’s not been a fortress for Oracle Red Bull Racing, there have been a few middling seasons where neither driver has been on the podium. So, it has been famine, but right now, it’s feast for the Team!
Here are some of the high, and low, points from the Team’s time in Montreal…
In 2008, David Coulthard manoeuvred his RB4 from P13 up to P3 on what was called a ‘disintegrating track’. It was only the Team’s third podium, and DC’s first since his heroic efforts at Monaco in 2006. But it is probably most remembered for DC having to sprint to the podium due to his car running out of fuel 50m from where he was meant to park.
In those early championship winning days, it took until 2013 for the Bulls to claim their first P1 in Canada courtesy of Sebastian Vettel. In 2011, Seb claimed a P2 with Mark Webber in P3 – a nice double podium.
Two years later, Seb dominated the race. He qualified on pole and only lost the lead three laps after he pitted. He took the lead back from Hamilton when the Mercedes driver entered the pits himself. It was Seb’s third win of the year and only a few before he went on his epic run of nine wins in a row.
The 2014 Canadian Grand Prix saw young Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo claim his first win for the Team after joining at the start of the season. He’d claimed two third-place finishes already, but this was the race he really began to shine.
He qualified in P6 and raced brilliantly, and by lap 66 he was up to P3. DR then overtook Sergio Pérez, who was driving for Force India, to take third and with just two laps remaining he powered past the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg to collect his maiden win.
That wasn’t his last podium in Canada for the team, he was also able to collect a third-place finish in 2017.
The 2022 Canadian Grand Prix was a real nail-biter.
Max took pole position on the Saturday with Fernando Alonso in second and Carlos Sainz in third. The race came to life on lap 49 when Yuki Tsunoda crashed calling for the Safety Car to be deployed. Max was in P2 behind Sainz, who pitted for fresh tyres. This gave Max the lead with Sainz just behind him. The Safety Car returned to the pits at the end of lap 54 and Max had to defend for the final 16 laps. Sainz on the fresher rubber was inside the DRS zone for almost all of the 16 laps.
The race is most fondly remembered for the radio transmissions between GP and Max. At the end of each lap GP could be heard radioing to his driver: “Gap point eight,” or “gap point six.” It was a tense hearing this every lap, but Max kept his cool for the win.
Max and Checo return to Canada this weekend where Max will be looking for this third win in a row there. If he does win, he’ll join Nelson Piquet as a driver to win it three times.
The weekend begins with Free Practice One at 13:30 track time (17:30UTC). Make sure you come back here for all the exclusive stories, videos, pictures and analysis you could wish for!