Hamilton wins Canadian GP from pole

Lewis Hamilton led McLaren's second straight one-two finish ahead of Jenson Button in which high tire wear played a pivotal role for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished third, and the floundering Red Bull had to settle for fourth and fifth – Sebastian Vettel nursing a car problem (like he always has because like Mario Andretti, he is fast but very hard on a car), and Mark Webber losing the lead when his tire strategy failed to pay off.

Nico Rosberg took sixth for Mercedes, ahead of Renault's Robert Kubica, who had a wheel-banging battle with Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton has taken the lead of the 2010 world championship and on Sunday won convincingly at the end of an exciting and close race on Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton admitted that Red Bull's RB6 is probably still the quickest at more conventional circuits.

"We are doing everything we can to close gap to them," he said.

It means Hamilton now leads the championship by three points from Button, with McLaren also ahead of Red Bull for the constructors' title.

Quotes

McLaren-Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (1st): "It was an incredibly challenging afternoon, especially in the last 20 laps, when I was trying to look after my tires while also keeping Jenson and Fernando [Alonso] behind me. It wasn't easy, I can tell you that! This track is unique – you can never be too confident, because you really have to look after your tires, and it's so hard to know how long you can make them last. Fernando put a lot of pressure on me. We had a really good battle, but, although he was pressing me hard, I was able to pull out a small gap and then maintain it. It was such a sensational feeling to cross the line. In terms of pure pace, I still think the Red Bull car is still a little bit faster than ours. But, as a whole, I think our package is now stronger. So, going forward, we need to build on the progress we've made recently, and we're going to do just that; we'll now knuckle down and make a really big effort to increase that gap. We've got good momentum now, so I hope we can continue our winning run through to Valencia in two weeks' time. The feeling and atmosphere within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is better than ever. The contribution that Jenson has brought is the best I've ever witnessed from a team-mate. He did another great job today to come from fourth to second – he's doing his part and I'm doing mine. The team is happier than ever. This has been a truly fantastic day."

Jenson Button (2nd): "Turn One was a bit too exciting for me – I got hit by Felipe [Massa], and I feared I'd damaged the car, but fortunately it was just rear graining that I felt, not a puncture. Then, when I got onto the Prime tire, the car started working really well. But it's so difficult around here – you've really got to look after the tires, even the Prime, which was also liable to graining. But I looked after my tires carefully, and in traffic I was able to pull out five seconds on Sebastian [Vettel]. After that, I decided to focus on driving flat-out to catch Fernando. And it worked: when we both hit further traffic, I was able to pounce and make my move. After that, I began trying my best to reel in Lewis, but I'd taken so much out of my tires while chasing Fernando that I couldn't get any closer to Lewis than about two seconds. Overall, then, this has been a great weekend for us. Lewis did a phenomenal job in qualifying – I couldn't touch him – but it feels good to have finished second in the race just behind him. Hopefully, next time the order will be reversed!"

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: "I'm told I sometimes over-use the phrase 'fantastic job' when describing the performances of Lewis and Jenson, but I make no apology whatsoever for using that phrase again today. This afternoon's race was extremely exciting from a spectacle point of view and decidedly challenging from a strategy point of view, and I think our engineers rose to that challenge supremely well. But, yes, Lewis and Jenson did indeed do a fantastic job here in Montreal this afternoon. They drove with controlled aggression when it was needed, tempered by patience and discipline when those qualities were required. I firmly believe that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has the two best racing drivers in the world today. Now, we leave North America and head back to Europe, in first place in the constructors' world championship, and in first place and second place in the drivers' world championship. We never under-estimate our competitors, who are working every bit as hard to win grands prix and world championships as we are. There's a long way to go yet, but I can say without fear of contradiction that every single person at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is working as hard as he or she possibly can to maintain our positions at the top of both championship tables from here on in through to Abu Dhabi in November."

Mercedes GP

Nico Rosberg (6th): "Sixth place was probably the best result that we could have achieved today so I'm pretty happy. It's been a difficult weekend with a poor qualifying performance yesterday due to the tires not working properly and I was unlucky on the first lap today to lose so many places from the chaos in front of me. But from there, I was able to do some good overtaking and push to make up the positions and our pace was quick. We had a great strategy but it was really difficult to manage the tires. I drove smoothly to control the graining but every time I looked in my mirrors, it was getting worse. Thankfully the primes held after my second stop so we were able to finish with sixth place and get some decent points moving me up to sixth in the Drivers' Championship."

Michael Schumacher (11th): "At the start, everything went great and we made up places as we had been hoping for. The first stop was perfectly timed so it was looking quite promising. Then I had a puncture on the front right tire after my first pit stop, after I got together with Kubica, and that obviously decided my race. From there, I was stuck in traffic and there was nothing more to do because today our weapons were not very sharp. Towards the end, I was trying as hard as I could to defend myself but it was only possible to a certain degree and my tires were just ruined after having done more than half the race distance. I was fighting cars with a good top speed which was quite tough. Otherwise I would have been in a good position I think so we have something to take away to the next races."

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "We had a messy start to the race which unfortunately is what happens when you start in the midfield. Nico was blocked and Michael was hit which broke part of his front wing. Nico then had a very good race to recover up to sixth place. We called the tires perfectly, Nico was fast where he needed to be, looked after the car when required and generally had an excellent race. Michael was looking strong in the first phase of the race and was very well-placed. Unfortunately the incident with Kubica punctured the right front tire and coming in for the extra stop meant we were out of phase with where we wanted to be with the tires. With hindsight, it was over-ambitious to try and get the option to last as long as we did and Michael really struggled towards the end. We've come away with some points from the weekend but not as many as we would have hoped."

Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport Director: "It was a great race today and fantastic for the sport and of course the spectators here in Montreal and worldwide in front of their televisions. Our speed looked much better today than in qualifying and it seemed like we were in for a good race with Michael as high as third place in the early phase of the race. Without the puncture, Michael could certainly have achieved a respectable result. For Nico, sixth place was a good result and posting the third fastest race lap shows that our speed compared to our competitors was better than yesterday in qualifying. However we need to improve our car further and we will. Congratulations to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes on their second one-two victory in a row. The victory marks the 72nd win powered by Mercedes-Benz in 224 races since 1997 which is an impressive score. Well done to McLaren and our committed engine guys in Brixworth and Stuttgart."

Red Bull-Renault

Sebastian Vettel (4th): "I was surprised that I came in for my first pit-stop as the leader, but came out in fourth. I think everything we predicted to happen from our side was the case. The others came in early for new tires, as we expected. Usually though, their race would then be over because they should come out in traffic, but that wasn't what happened. When we came out from our pit stop, they were ahead of us, so we need to understand what happened there. Otherwise, I had a gearbox problem from around halfway through the race, which meant I had to slow down. Also, due to lapped cars, I lost six seconds to Jenson in two laps, so I was unable to fight for the podium. But, it's good that we got these final positions. Coming into the weekend we were not the favorites, but actually we had very good pace and we surprised some people with that. We couldn't really show our real pace during the race, due to the way it unfolded, but it's promising. It's a close battle at the top of the table and, as we have seen, things can change very quickly. There is no reason to panic from our side, we have a very good car and we're looking ahead to Valencia."

Mark Webber (5th): "Tires played a huge role in the race today and, in the end, we did the best we could. I have mixed emotions after the penalty this morning (Mark took a five place grid penalty due to a gear box change). I had a good first few laps at the start, but that took its toll on the first set of tires, so I needed to pit a little earlier than I would have liked. In the second stint I was ahead and was monitoring the gap to Lewis. I was moving away a bit at the start, as he was pacing to get to the finish. I was trying to keep my pace constant, but in the end the tires didn't want that pace and they go away from you. It's virtually impossible to keep the tires from degrading here, no matter how slow you drive. In the end it wasn't really a surprise to come back out from my second pit stop in fifth, as I knew people in front had been packed up tightly behind Lewis. We then turned the car down to save it for the next race. We expected this to be a tough event and in the end we were closer than we thought. I wanted to get some champagne today, it didn't happen, but we'll be back."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "It was an interesting race this afternoon. We tried something different strategically with the hard tire, but despite managing to get our cars into a one-two position, we didn't have the pace to pull away on the hard tire. We adopted different strategies for the two cars in the middle part of the race, putting Sebastian onto the soft tire while putting Mark onto the hard. Unfortunately, halfway through the race, Sebastian had a gear box related issue, which we had to manage to ensure the car got to the finish. Mark finished just behind him after starting seventh on the grid. We shouldn't be disappointed with fourth and fifth, they are still valuable points in both Championships and they have been gained at a circuit that we always knew we would be exposed at."

Fabrice Lom, Renault: "In terms of the result, it wasn't such a great weekend. We scored some points, but not as many as we expected after yesterday's qualifying result. Having said that, this track is very hard for engines and the positive thing is that we had a trouble free weekend, which is encouraging."

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso (3rd): "It's great to be back on the podium and especially to be able to fight for the top places once again. Today, we could have won but we did not manage it because, on a few occasions, we paid a heavy price for the traffic. These things can happen to anyone in a race and this time it was our turn. If we want to reach our objective, we must try and always finish on the podium and this result is a great motivation for a team that today did a great job, in terms of strategy and handling the pit stops. It was difficult to manage the tires: the softs at the start suffered from degradation very quickly, but even the hard ones had a different problem with graining. Luckily, our car is reasonably kind to the tires. From what we had seen in Turkey, we had not really expected to have this level of performance. Now we have a lot of updates coming for the next Grand Prix in Valencia: I really hope they will allow us to be competitive on all types of track. I have never finished on the podium in my second home race, after the one in Barcelona and I would love to do that in two weeks time."

Felipe Massa (15th): "This was a horrible race, in which everything happened to me. At the first corner, I had an accident that put me out of the game in terms of fighting for a top place finish. I got a very good start, but I found myself sandwiched between Button and Liuzzi, who touched me and you all saw how it ended up. A shame, but these things happen. The car was very good today, as is usually the case in the races when compared to qualifying. After that, I was always in a lot of traffic and when I had at least managed to get back into the points, there was another collision, this time with Michael and that put an end to even that slight chance of points. I expect to do better in Valencia because there will be updates on the F10 and I hope to be in the fight for the top places."

Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: "This result is very regrettable as it does not match up to the potential we had shown this weekend. Fernando, who drove a great race, could have won, but a few incidents did not work in his favor: these things can happen in racing, but that does not make it any less disappointing. Felipe seems to be particularly unlucky here in Montreal, given that something always happens : it doesn't happen often that a driver has to change his nose twice because of incidents that were not his fault. A shame, as he too showed the car's potential. Indeed, that is the most comforting aspect of this weekend in that we are back fighting for the top places. The fact we came here with a car virtually identical to the one we had in Turkey where we were definitely not competitive, is cause for thought: it only takes a few elements – circuit characteristics, tires – to change the picture. Now we must push as hard as possible on the development of the F10: in Valencia in a fortnight's time, we will have some significant updates, but then we must continue to improve the car to be in the fight right to the end. The Drivers' championship is very open and if the Constructors' one looks a bit trickier, the situation can change really quickly."

Chris Dyer: "On the one hand, there is satisfaction with the performance level we showed today, but on the other there is the disappointment with a result that did not live up to our expectations. We had everything in place to win: the speed of the car, the best strategic choice in terms of tires, the quality of the work of the team at the pit stops. Unfortunately, a handful of unfavorable moments cost us the win. Felipe had a very unlucky race: here, the first corner is always very risky and he was caught up in a collision that was not his fault. Then, when he had at least looked like picking up a small number of points, important for the championship, there was the other incident with Schumacher. It is regrettable, because we should have left Montreal with many more points to our name."

Williams-Cosworth

Nico Hulkenberg (13th): "Although the race started well – I was up to p8 on the first lap – the rest of my afternoon didn't go as well. The first problem occurred when I was fighting with Sutil and I damaged my front wing, which meant that I had to make an unscheduled stop on lap 6. Then unfortunately on my second stop I broke the speed limit, which meant a drive- through penalty. All of these incidents cost a lot of time and we didn't achieve a points finish which was clearly possible today. In summary, I think we had a much-improved car here and I am sorry that I did not manage to capitalize on all the hard work the team put in this weekend."

Rubens Barrichello (14th): "We were there today with our pace to bank some points, but it became a very busy race. I had a problem on the grid, so I had to make up some places. I passed Alguersuari, but he came across me to cover his line too late as I was already there. He hit me with a big, 2g impact. The damage blocked my front left brake duct and when the temperatures climbed, I lost the pedal and had to let cars by until I could pit. Even after the stop, it took three laps for the brake pedal to come back, so the incident really destroyed our race and it is frustrating for the whole team as we certainly had a car capable of a good finish today."

Sam Michael, Technical Director: "We had lots of issues during the race today. On Rubens car, we had an anti-stall at the race start, from which he made a reasonable recovery; however he then lost some positions at turn 2 because of an accident in front of him. Shortly after his first pit stop for prime tires, he came together with another car and had to pit again for a front wing change. Nico had a good first lap, then ran into the back of another car on lap 6, forcing him to pit for a spare front wing. He made reasonable progress then, but had to take a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane."

Renault

Robert Kubica (7th): "The six points I got this afternoon were my toughest points of the year. We chose to qualify on the prime tire yesterday and hoped it would be an advantage in the first part of the race, but unfortunately it didn't work out. I had a lot of rear degradation in the first stint, which meant I pitted early, then the rear tires went off in the second stint as well. But it was an action-packed race: I had a close battle with Michael after my first stop, and then with Sutil before my second one. I was racing him on my in-lap and we were side by side before the last corner. I was on the right, so I backed off and pulled behind him to take my line for the pits, but he braked very early and hard: I had to go round him to avoid causing an accident. At the end of the race, I did a short stint on the option tire and I was pushing to close down the gap to Rosberg, but I ran out of laps even though I was catching him quickly. It was a tough race for me but I think we must be optimistic for Valencia: the circuit should suit our car, and we will have more new developments to help us improve our basic pace."

Vitaly Petrov (17th): "My race was almost over at the start when I spun. I was trying to overtake on the right hand side when I got pushed out onto the grass and lost the car, which put me at the back of the field. I was lucky that I only damaged the front wing, which we changed at the stop. Then I had the drive-through penalties, which dropped me further behind. So it's not really a race to remember for me, but it's still good experience because I finished the race and I learned a lot about the track, which will help me next year."

Eric Boullier, Team Principal: "It was obviously a tough race for the team in terms of strategy and, particularly, tire management. Robert had a good first lap and gained some positions, but he suffered high degradation in his first and second stints, and that ultimately allowed Rosberg to gain position on us. His points were very hard-earned. As for Vitaly, there is not too much to say – he jumped the start, had an incident at the start and was penalized for both. We changed his strategy and hoped for a Safety Car that would allow him to gain positions but, for once in Canada, it never came. This wasn't our best weekend of the year but we didn't lose much ground to Mercedes in the championship and the basic pace of the car during qualifying was strong. We will hope to bounce back strongly in Valencia."

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: "This afternoon's race was all about tire degradation. We had hoped that our decision to qualify on the prime tire with Robert would pay off, but we saw more degradation than expected in the first two stints, and that ultimately cost him position to Rosberg – even though we ran in front of him for much of the race. As for Vitaly, he had a character-building afternoon after receiving two drive-through penalties that put him out of contention early on. Although it's frustrating not to have made the most of the car's performance this weekend, the next circuit in Valencia should play to the strengths of our car, and we have more good developments in the pipeline."

Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "It was a pretty difficult afternoon for the team. We were feeling optimistic after Robert made up places at the first corner, but then struggled to keep pace in the opening stints, which ultimately cost us a better finish. Even so, Robert finished seventh after starting eighth, so we cannot be too despondent. On the engine side, we had a trouble-free race and were able to push to the limit throughout. Now, we need to carry on working like we have done so far this year because we know we're heading in the right direction."

Force India-Mercedes

Vitantonio Liuzzi (9th): "It was a tough race and I drove every lap pushing so hard. The team deserved to get a good result after the hard work they have done this weekend and in the past weeks on the developments. We should ultimately have had more points than we got in the end, but it's always OK to get another few points on board, particularly after the last race when they seemed so far away. Unfortunately we lost a big part of the race as the door was closed on me in the first corner by Felipe [Massa]. It was a race accident as Jenson was on the other side and there wasn't anything I could do – I was on the inside and holding my line. We lost the front wing and had to change the strategy then and there, but in the end we still got some points. The team is pushing like hell and we want to confirm the progress we've made with more results. Today showed we're strongly in the top 10 and – more importantly – we will never give up."

Adrian Sutil (10th): "Like Tonio, it was a pretty hard race. At the start I was racing Kubica and it seemed we could have got into the top five again, but then we touched and I got a puncture. Unfortunately it was at the first corner so I had to drive the whole lap back to the pits. I lost a lot of time like this and dropped out of the top ten, and then had to fight my way past Hulkenberg and then Schumacher to get back in the points. At the end of the race we knew Michael had some problems with his tires so I really pushed to close the gap and I just got past him on the last corner to get the final point. Of course I'm disappointed as I think we could have got some serious points here today but I think I drove well, the car was good and we were fast the whole race."

Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal: "Another double points finish for the team is a very positive result, but given our outstanding qualifying performance yesterday I think in my heart of hearts I would have hoped for more. Both drivers got caught in unfortunate accidents and dropped back but they drove excellently to salvage three points, which, given the circumstances of the race, is very good. We also picked up significant damage on both cars in the incidents and to still show that level of performance is very encouraging. What we have learnt this weekend is that we've got a very strong car that's capable of fighting with the top four teams entirely on merit and we have two top line drivers who are functioning at their best. We're really looking forward to Valencia now."

Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Sebastien Buemi (8th): "I am super happy to have scored four points because we did not expect that much. The team did an excellent job, especially during the pit stops and also the strategy was spot on. I enjoyed some fights, including passing Schumacher which was difficult because, even though we were on the same tires, with his being older than mine, he is a real fighter. Generally it was a tough afternoon, because there was a lot of degradation which is why we planned to make three pit stops; something we are not used to. The other worry I had was a broken exhaust from quite early on. I also enjoyed leading the race for a lap, which was a nice feeling. I hope this means my season will really kick off now, because I have not had much luck and the team has been working really hard. It feels so much better to have had a "normal" race today. Eighth place, leading the race and passing Michael. What a day!"

Jaime Alguersuari (12th): "On the positive side, I finished the race. It was a tough afternoon which did not go so well for me, even if I was involved in a lot of exciting incidents and moves. The best point for me is that the team once again gave me a reliable car with which I could finish the race and gain more valuable experience. So now, I'm already looking forward to Valencia, another race on Spanish soil."

Franz Tost, Team Principal: "I like coming to Montreal because Toro Rosso always seems to pick up points here and today we did it again, with the added pleasure of seeing one of our cars lead the race, albeit briefly. It was an exciting race for us, not entirely for the right reasons, as with forty laps to go, we saw that the exhaust was broken on Buemi's car and we were concerned that he might not finish the race. Sebastien did a fantastic job, as did the entire team, because the engineers produced a good set-up on both cars and our strategy was absolutely correct. The four points Sebastien brought home today are very important for us as it means we move ahead of Williams in the Constructors' championship even if we are equal on points and they are also important for him, as he has had some bad luck so far this season and hopefully from now on he can deliver more good results. This was the first time here for both our drivers. Congratulations to the team here at the track, at the factory in Faenza and the wind tunnel in Bicester for their excellent work which has delivered this result."

Lotus-Cosworth

Heikki Kovalainen (16th): "It's been a great weekend, and I'm really pleased for the whole team with the result today. We finished ahead of Petrov and lapped the other new guys, and although it was hard work managing the tires, it's still great to show what we can do. The race itself was tough, but it's all about the result – I didn't have any technical problems with the car, but the rear wasn't working quite as I'd have liked, and I think that was down to the tire wear."

Jarno Trulli (DNF, Brakes): "It's such a shame I had to pull over – I had a great start and then I was really flying during the race. We got the strategy right on the tires, and my pace was good – I was keeping up with the boys in front, and I was overtaking our other rivals. But then I felt a vibration that caused a problem with the braking system and I had to pull over. Still – we have to move on. It's another learning curve for the team and I think it's great to see that in the race I could really push and was putting in some very good lap times."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I'm very happy with the result today, and the whole weekend's work. We got 42 laps from Jarno and Heikki drove an absolute cracker – beating a Renault was great, and Heikki did really well to hold him off, but the main aim for us is to get both cars home, and we'll keep working on that back at the factory and at the track. Now we go to Valencia where we'll be celebrating the 500th F1‚¥¢ race Lotus has competed in, and the ninth for Lotus Racing."

Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director: "I think overall we can be very happy with the race, and the whole weekend. The one disappointment was obviously Jarno's problem – we will have to look at it in more detail, but it looks as though the vibration put paid to his race. Before he pulled over he was absolutely flying and the strategy would have really paid out for him, so that's a plus. Heikki drove a fantastic race, fighting all the way with the guys in front, and kept it up right to the end to keep Petrov behind him. I think this weekend has been a massive step forward for the whole team. Rather than being just one of the new teams, we actually got stuck in and raced the teams ahead, which is what we wanted to do, so congratulations and thank you to the whole team for getting us to this position. In the end we lapped both of the other new teams, so it was a great effort, and again, well done!"

HRT-Cosworth

Karun Chandhok (18th): "Obviously I didn't drive at all yesterday and it was a good race under these circumstances. We were racing both Virgins and I was eight seconds ahead of Timo Glock even before he stopped in the end. I am quite pleased, at the end realistically we were only racing those three cars and we were ahead of them. It was a tough race with the traffic and everybody was struggling with the tires. The team did a great job today and the guys did good pit stops under pressure today. The car was reliable, which is what we were struggling with this weekend."

Bruno Senna (DNF, Gearbox): "We had a gearbox failure apparently. The second gear was lost and there was no way to finish the race without it on this track. So, we decided to retire which is really disappointing as it could have been a good race for us. Now, we have to make the best of this weekend and focus on the next race in Valencia."

Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "Today, we really could race with other teams and were fighting hard for good positions with the other teams. We were on a two-stop-strategy like the top six drivers. On one side it was a good race because we could beat Virgin on track. But on the other hand I think that we could have had a better result. Bruno unfortunately had a gear box problem and this is why he had to stop the race."

BMW Sauber-Ferrari

Pedro de la Rosa (DNF, Engine): "To be left empty handed certainly is deeply disappointing. On the first lap of the race Vitaly Petrov spun in front of me on the straight, and hit my car when he came back from the grass. The front wing was broken and I pitted for a new nose. Also the rear wing had some damage, but it wasn't too bad. I then continued and the car was quite good. We anticipated my pit stop because suddenly the rear tires went. After this pit stop it seemed all okay but then on lap 31 I felt a sudden loss of top speed on the straight and knew immediately it was a serious problem."

Kamui Kobayashi (DNF, Accident): "This should not have happened. I had made a very good start from 18th and on the first lap was fighting with Nico Hulkenberg down the back straight for ninth. In front of us was Michael Schumacher, apparently having some troubles with braking before the chicane. All three of us were braking late and then I suddenly had nowhere to go. I hit the curb, the car jumped and I had damaged it so badly that I had to stop."

Peter Sauber, Team Principal: "As is often the case in Canada, it was easy to score championship points today, however, we didn’t collect them. We lost one car which was in tenth at the end of lap one through an overoptimistic move, and the second one through an engine failure."

James Key, Technical Director: "All in all it was a really difficult weekend and a shame not to get to the end. Pedro had a collision in the mix of the first corner, which damaged his rear right tire and front wing, so he had to come straight in. Kamui made an excellent start. He took advantage of the situation in front of him and got up to tenth. But then in the last corner he spun off – that was the end of his race. There was too much damage to the car to continue, which was a real shame because there was potential to score some points. When Pedro went out after his early pit stop his pace was extremely good, and he caught up to the people ahead of him. He then came in for a second stop because of the tires degrading. We hoped he would make it to the end but then he had an engine problem which we need to diagnose. That was a pointless end to a difficult weekend, so we have to do better in the next race."

Virgin-Cosworth

Lucas di Grassi (19th): "The beginning of the race for me was very positive. I got a good start and then got by Timo and Bruno Senna and we were catching the Lotus of Jarno Trulli. The first stint was very strong and we were running in P10 for a while – our first time in a points-scoring position. Unfortunately, towards the end of the race we had a loss of hydraulic pressure and I had to stop shifting to conserve the car. A disappointing end but it was good that we were able to keep going and get the car home."

Timo Glock (DNF, Power Steering): "A really crazy race all round. I had an okay start but then in turn eight Bruno Senna crashed into the back of my car, which destroyed the rear of the car and cost me a lot of downforce, as well as pushing me off the track which put me last. I tried to catch up but the problems we anticipated with the tires started early on and our main focus was preserving the tires. The pit stops were very quick – all five of them! – and the team did a great job. But then I had a steering rack leak ten laps before the end and my race was over. Generally, as great as it is to be back racing in Canada, it has been a tough weekend here for us and we hope for better things in Valencia in two weeks' time."

John Booth, Team Principal: "Our debut Canadian Grand Prix has been a challenging one, but we have enjoyed the experience and learned a lot from it. Today the team executed an incredible eight pit stops to cope with the tire issues we were experiencing and each one was slick and fast, so congratulations to our pit stop crew who have now had enough practice for this race and the next! With Timo's race over, Lucas did a great job to nurse his car to the checkered flag to ensure we were able to take away some reward from a tough weekend. So it's onwards and upwards now as we head back to Europe for the second half of the season."

Nick Wirth, Technical Director: "For us, the worse-case tire degradation that we planned for occurred, and the team did an unprecedented eight pit stops, all very smoothly. We came out of the first lap in reasonable shape but unfortunately Timo had been hit from behind which cost him over 10% of his downforce, mainly at the rear. With rear tire degradation as the dominant factor, his possibility of being competitive was effectively over and he had to do a number of very short stints and cope with this issue. Lucas had a smoother run and did a great job running the low-downforce setup. We had a steering rack leak that stopped Timo and we saw a drop in hydraulic pressure on Lucas's car with about 10 laps to go, so we elected to cruise to the end to ensure that we leave Montreal finishing one car like the other two new teams. The rack leak is unfortunate but easy to remedy and we'll set about solving Lucas's issue once it's been identified. The whole Canadian GP experience has been very enlightening and gives us a lot of useful information for the other lower downforce races to come. Meanwhile, we're all looking forward to deploying some significant performance upgrades during the next two GP's whilst we continue to improve our reliability."

Results

Pos	Driver	Team	Behind
1.	Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	+ 0.000s
2.	Button	McLaren-Mercedes	+ 2.254
3.	Alonso	Ferrari	+ 9.214
4.	Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	+37.817
5.	Webber	Red Bull-Renault	+39.291
6.	Rosberg	Mercedes	+56.084
7.	Kubica	Renault	+57.300
8.	Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	+ 1 lap
9.	Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	+ 1 lap
10.	Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	+ 1 lap
11.	Schumacher	Mercedes	+ 1 lap
12.	Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	+ 1 lap
13.	Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	+ 1 lap
14.	Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	+ 1 lap
15.	Massa	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
16.	Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	+2 laps
17.	Petrov	Renault	+2 laps
18.	Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	+4 laps
19.	Di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	+5 laps
20.	Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	DNF on Lap 50
21.	Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	DNF on Lap 43
22.	De la Rosa	Sauber-Ferrari	DNF on Lap 31
23.	Senna	HRT-Cosworth	DNF on Lap 14
24.	Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	DNF on Lap 2

Fastest lap: Kubica, 1:16.972