Villeneuve praises Verstappen: "He is always at a hundred percent"

Max Verstappen was on top of things from start to finish at the Canadian Grand Prix. Local hero Jacques Villeneuve described the strong performance as 'standard Verstappen' and had nothing but praise for the reigning world champion, who kept Carlos Sainz behind him in the closing stages of the race.

"It was typical Max Verstappen. He is always at a hundred percent", Villeneuve stated on the F1 Nation-podcast. "There's never a dull moment with him, he is always in top form and doesn't make mistakes. He is a very difficult driver to beat because of that."

Praise for Verstappen and Red Bull

The Canadian saw Ferrari have the faster car and noted that particularly in the corners of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. However, he saw Sainz struggle at the hairpin, which provided Verstappen with just the gap he needed to maintain the lead. "Moreover, the Red Bull is so fast on the straight that the Ferrari with the DRS open cannot match its top speed," continued the 1997 world champion.

There was not much Sainz could have done, Villeneuve believes. He argues that the Spaniard could at most have dived into the hairpin, as he had no chance of getting through the corner behind Verstappen. The Ferrari driver didn't take that risk after all, and he could be relatively satisfied with second place after his strong performance in Canada.