WATCH LIVE: Canadian GP Race Day on NBCSN and Live Extra from 1:30pm ET, NBC from 2pm ET - MotorSportsTalk

The fight at the top of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg is set to rage on in Montreal on Sunday after the Mercedes teammates locked out the front row of the grid at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Bouncing back from his disappointing defeat in Monaco, Hamilton proved himself as the man to beat in qualifying by going three-tenths of a second faster than Rosberg in Q3 to secure his fourth pole position in Montreal.

More importantly for Hamilton – driver no. 44 – it was the 44th of his career at the site of his first pole and win back in 2007 for McLaren.

Eight years and two world titles later, the Briton is now looking to extend his advantage over Rosberg at the top of the championship standings with victory in the race on Sunday.

You can watch F1 Countdown for the Canadian Grand Prix live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 1:30pm, before switching over to NBC at 2pm ET for the race start. CLICK HERE to watch via live stream.

Hamilton’s record in Montreal is the most impressive on the grid, boasting more victories in Canada than any other active driver. However, as he learned last year, he will need a reliable car and the edge on Rosberg if he is to clinch a fourth victory in Montreal on Sunday.

Rosberg is currently riding the crest of a wave after scoring back-to-back wins for the first time in his F1 career. He could complete a hat-trick this weekend with victory and make more inroads on Hamilton’s championship lead, but the German will know that is far easier said than done.

Ferrari’s hopes of getting in the mix for the race win were dealt a big blow on Saturday when Sebastian Vettel suffered an engine failure, leaving him 18th on the grid after taking a penalty. Felipe Massa, Max Verstappen and Jenson Button are three other surprise names lurking at the back of the pack, suggesting we could be treated to a fight or two through the field in the race.

You can watch F1 Countdown for the Canadian Grand Prix live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 1:30pm, before switching over to NBC at 2pm ET for the race start. CLICK HERE to watch via live stream.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The first Indy 500 victory for Josef Newgarden also was the richest in race history from a record 2023 purse of just more than $17 million.

The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, who continued his celebration Monday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earned $3.666 million for winning the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The purse and winner’s share both are the largest in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Indy 500 purse set a record after the 2022 Indy 500 became the first to crack the $16 million mark (nearly doubling the 2021 purse that offered a purse of $8,854,565 after a crowd limited to 135,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The average payout for IndyCar drivers was $500,600 (exceeding last year’s average of $485,000).

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, whose team also fields Newgarden’s No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet, had made raising purses a priority since buying the track in 2020. But Penske but was unable to post big money purses until the race returned to full capacity grandstands last year.

The largest Indy 500 purse before this year was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500 won by Scott Dixon (whose share was $2,988,065). Ericsson’s haul made him the second Indy 500 winner to top $3 million (2009 winner Helio Castroneves won $3,048,005.

Runner-up Marcus Ericsson won $1.043 million after falling short by 0.0974 seconds in the fourth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

The 107th Indy 500 drew a crowd of at least 330,000 that was the largest since the sellout for the 100th running in 2016, and the second-largest in more than two decades, according to track officials.

“This is the greatest race in the world, and it was an especially monumental Month of May featuring packed grandstands and intense on-track action,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “Now, we have the best end card possible for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500: a record-breaking purse for the history books.”

Benjamin Pedersen was named the Indy 500 rookie of the year, earning a $50,000 bonus.

The race’s purse is determined through contingency and special awards from IMS and IndyCar. The awards were presented Monday night in the annual Indy 500 Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

The payouts for the 107th Indy 500:

1. Josef Newgarden, $3,666,000
2. Marcus Ericsson, $1,043,000
3. Santino Ferrucci, $481,800
4. Alex Palou, $801,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $574,000
6. Scott Dixon, $582,000
7. Takuma Sato, $217,300
8. Conor Daly, $512,000
9. Colton Herta, $506,500
10. Rinus VeeKay, $556,500
11. Ryan Hunter‐Reay, $145,500
12. Callum Ilott, $495,500
13. Devlin DeFrancesco, $482,000
14. Scott McLaughlin, $485,000
15. Helio Castroneves, $481,500
16. Tony Kanaan, $105,000
17. Marco Andretti, $102,000
18. Jack Harvey, $472,000
19. Christian Lundgaard, $467,500
20. Ed Carpenter, $102,000
21. Benjamin Pedersen (R), $215,300
22. Graham Rahal, $565,500*
23. Will Power, $488,000
24. Pato O’Ward, $516,500
25. Simon Pagenaud, $465,500
26. Agustín Canapino (R), $156,300
27. Felix Rosenqvist, $278,300
28. Kyle Kirkwood, $465,500
29. David Malukas, $462,000
30. Romain Grosjean, $462,000
31. Sting Ray Robb (R), $463,000
32. RC Enerson (R), $103,000
33. Katherine Legge, $102,000

*–Broken down between two teams, $460,000 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $105,500 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports