Hamilton wins 6th career Canadian Grand Prix as Vettel´s lead is halved

Lewis Hamilton’s sensational record at the Canadian Grand Prix continued as he took a huge bite out of Sebastian Vettel’s lead in the Formula One drivers’ standings.

Montreal provided the setting for Hamilton’s first victory in his debut season in 2007 and he topped the podium there for the sixth time in his career on Sunday, and third in succession, making it his most successful circuit.

It was a wire-to-wire victory for the Brit, who this weekend equalled his idol Ayrton Senna’s record of 65 pole positions, which closed the gap on championship leader Vettel – who came home fourth – to 12 points.

Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas followed Hamilton home for the team’s first one-two of the season, while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was on the bottom step of the podium for the third straight race.

Vettel’s day hit a snag at the very first turn when he was clipped as the Red Bull of Max Verstappen flew down the outside and he was forced to pit after part of his front wing flew off.

The German produced a late surge to move past Force India duo Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, who paid the price for failing to adhere to team orders, limiting the damage to the strong lead he built with victory in Monaco, where Hamilton finished seventh.

Pole
Win
Led every lap
Fastest lap

It’s a 4th #F1 Grand Slam for @LewisHamilton, and 2nd of the season #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/YDCtoIBrzZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 11, 2017

FORCE INDIA LET VETTEL OFF HOOK

In the final laps Vettel’s lead looked set to be cut to eight points, but he was handed a lifeline by Force India. Ocon was proving faster than Perez but the Mexican refused when asked to allow the Mercedes development driver past for a pop at Daniel Ricciardo in third, pleading for the team to “let us race”. Vettel, who at one point found himself 18th, took full advantage, closing in on Ocon and passing him on the home straight before venturing down the inside of Perez to claim points that could prove huge in the title race.
BATTERY FAILS VERSTAPPEN

Verstappen qualified fifth but found himself second out of turn two after a sensational start in which he charged down the outside of Vettel, Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen. He tried to pass Hamilton after a safety car deployed on the first lap went in, but he could not make the move stick. The Dutchman looked primed for a positive afternoon until his car lost power for no reason on lap 11, with a battery failure the reported reason for his failure to finish.
MORE WOE FOR ALONSO AFTER INDY CAR VENTURE

Fernando Alonso sat out the Monaco Grand Prix to take part in the Indy 500 with the McLaren-Honda-Andretti entry. His return to F1 was met with the same old problems, though, as another engine failure means he has only passed the chequered flag in one of his six race weekends this season.
FIRST LAP CARNAGE

Carlos Sainz guided his Toro Rosso to sixth in Monaco for his best finish of the campaign. However, an ill-advised move on Sebastian Grosjean in the opening lap sent him careening into the wall, spinning across track and taking Felipe Massa out of the race with him. The incident is subject to a post-race investigation by the stewards. Grosjean was livid, but he came off better and was able to finish 10th.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:33:05.154
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +19.783s
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) +35.297s
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +35.907s
5. Sergio Perez (Force India) +40.476s
6. Esteban Ocon (Force India) +40.716s
7. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +58.632s
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) +60.374s
9. Lane Stroll (Williams) +1 lap
10. Romain Grosjean (Haas) +1 lap

DRIVER STANDINGS

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) – 141
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 129
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 93
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) – 73
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) – 67

CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS

1. Mercedes – 222
2. Ferrari – 214
3. Red Bull – 112
4. Force India – 71
5. Toro Rosso – 29

NEXT UP
The drivers get two weeks before the start of the European season, with a return to the streets of Baku in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix their next challenge.

GRO [LAP 1]: “What the… What a mental guy! What the…”

ALO [LAP 1]: “What are they doing?!? They need to calm down”#CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/wldbFqkxvF

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 11, 2017