Hamilton dominates in Canada

Lewis Hamilton on an easy Sunday drive in Montreal after Verstappen took Vettel out of any chance to win by taking his front wing off

A day after equaling Ayrton Senna's 65 Formula One career poles, Lewis Hamilton earned his sixth win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with a dominating, flag-to-flag victory in the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton's Mercedes AMG Petronas teammate Valtteri Bottas was second, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo rounding out the podium in third.

It was a difficult day for Ferrari, as Sebastian Vettel incurred contact on the opening lap with Max Verstappen. The four-time World Champion was forced to pit early for a new front wing, ending any hope of the Scuderia competing with Mercedes for the victory. Vettel did however, manage to come home fourth after being last, passing Sergio Perez with three laps remaining. Perez would finish fifth with Force-India teammate Esteban Ocon 6th.

The Force-India pair made for one of the more dramatic storylines to come out of the somewhat processional race. With Ocon having pit before Perez and turning lap times faster than the Mexican the two came on Ricciardo in the closing laps. A clearly slower Perez refused to yield and let the young Frenchman attack the Red Bull. Ultimately, the Force-Indias would fall back into the clutches of a closing Vettel, who would manage to get both Ocon and Perez before the checkered flag.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was second to Hamilton after an impressive start. However, the 19-year-old Dutch sensation's TAG Heuer power unit reportedly had a battery issue. Verstappen retired on lap 11.

It would turn out to be a banner day for the other teenager in the field, hometown boy Lance Stroll. The 18-year-old Montreal native drive his best Formula One race bringing his Williams home 9th, earning his first World Championship points.

Speaking of points, the win means Hamilton is now only 12 back of Vettel in the championship. Bottas sits 49 points behind Vettel in third. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes is now 8 points ahead of Ferrari.

QUOTES

Mercedes GP

Lewis Hamilton (1st): "It's been such an incredible weekend. I just couldn't be happier with how it's gone and I'm so grateful for this result. We came away from Monaco and we were scratching our heads, but we pulled together and look what we achieved. We came here with a much better understanding of the car and we delivered a real blow to the Ferraris. Valtteri did a fantastic job too and this is our first one-two finish together. We've scored a big load of solid points and it's well deserved. It's crazy to think I had my first pole and win here 10 years ago. The race actually felt very reminiscent of 2007, in terms of how it unfolded. It's a long race here, especially when you're out there on your own, but I knew the car would hold together and it did perfectly."

Valtteri Bottas (2nd): "I'm so happy for us as a team to bounce back the way we did this weekend. It's so impressive to see how the team has reacted in the last two weeks – how it's worked and improved. I've never seen a group of people so determined to win and to get back on top, so to get the one-two finish today, it's amazing. I tried my best to be aggressive and to get ahead of the Ferraris off the start and it worked, but I had a bit of a lock-up there which compromised my first stint. I lost some time behind the Red Bull and then the Force India after the stop, so we went for the Soft tire for the second stint, but I didn't quite have the pace. But I brought the car home for some great points."

James Allison, Technical Director: "Not every Grand Prix win can deliver the same breathless cut and thrust of the race we saw one month ago in Barcelona – but this is nonetheless an extremely satisfying team result after the disappointment of Monaco a fortnight ago. We came racing back on all cylinders here and made important headway in both championships. It's our first one-two finish of this season and will allow us to approach the next race in Baku with a spring in our step."

Toto Wolff: "That feels absolutely great. We have finally taken a 1-2 finish and done so at a track that we expected would be difficult for us – and which certainly was for us last year. Lewis delivered a stellar performance this weekend: a pole lap that was almost scary when you watch the onboard, then a totally dominant race. Likewise, Valtteri struggled with the car yesterday but he got everything right today to complete a perfect day for our team. Ever since Monaco, the guys and girls in the factory have been flat out. There was no weekend and people working 24/7 to better understand our problems – credit goes to so many people. So to bounce back in this way shows the caliber of the group that we have in the team. But the secret to this weekend was to keep the ball flat, stay calm, analyze our problems and come up with solutions. So this is the time to keep our feet on the ground, keep working hard and take it one race at a time. We saw some encouraging signs today but we need to working in just the same way to translate them into more success in Baku."

Red Bull-Tag Heuer

Daniel Ricciardo (3rd): "It was tough out there today. When we put the softs on I thought it's a good thing to do to get to the end. (Sergio) Perez was on me for a bit and then there were a few laps when I was able to pull away. It looked like he was struggling but maybe he was just having a breather and then he had a second attack. I couldn't afford any mistakes, especially in the last sector, because if they get the DRS and get a run it's hard to keep them behind. I had to be close to perfect in terms of not making any errors but it wasn't easy as the grip was low and the wind was crazy out there. Not the easiest third place but when I saw the checkered flag I was like: yes I can finally breathe. I had zero intention of doing a shoey again, but the crowd was chanting and then Sir Patrick (Stewart) got involved so I thought: alright, we might be on here. I think it turned out pretty good."

Verstappen continued to drive with his head up his arse by going around the outside of Vettel at the start and chopping across his right front wing and destroying it

Max Verstappen (DNF, Engine store): "The way the race ended for me was very frustrating after such a good start. I think a podium was possible but once again we come away with nothing. The start was really good, straight away I felt no wheel spin and could just put the power down and make some places. I had a little bit of contact with Seb (Vettel) on the first corner, running wide there means it can sometimes happen. From there on the pace felt good and I was looking after the tires and brakes as we had no chance of catching Lewis. I was just concentrating on doing my own race when I suddenly lost all power and everything shut down. I have had a lot of disappointments recently, I guess that's racing but sometimes you get tired of it."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "An excellent podium for Daniel today, who really didn't make any mistakes, despite huge pressures from Force Indias and Ferrari behind. We banked track position early on with the soft tire with the intention of going to the end of the race and that worked out well today. It was a great shame for us to lose Max after 11 laps. He had an unbelievable start which propelled him into second place by turn two, and then after an audacious move to take the lead at the restart he was looking competitive for second place when a suspected energy store failure caused an instantaneous retirement. Very tough on Max but I'm sure his time will come soon. Leaving Montreal and one of our more challenging tracks on the calendar with a podium is a positive result and good to see Sir Patrick Stewart having fun on the podium."

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel (4th): "I think my start was not particularly good but at the same time not that bad either. The car was good, I think it was clear that today we could have been better than fourth, but that's how we finished and what is done is done. Overall, we know we have a strong car. Looking back at the start, Bottas and I were trying to go from the inside when Max came around but these things can happen. Then, with the safety car on track I did not realize that the damage to the front wing was as bad as it actually was, we only noticed it at full speed. There was also some additional damage to other parts of the bodywork, hard to say what they cost me in terms of laptime, but the car did not feel as the one I had driven in the past two days. Yet the pace was there and I would have liked some more laps to finish on the podium, the trophy here looked nice… That was my target and I missed it. But we are growing up as a team."

Kimi Raikkonen (7th): "At the start I got wheelspin off the line and obviously we lost quite a few places. From that moment it was not an easy race: I struggled in the first few laps, it was difficult to get past. We decided to switch our tactics to two stops to create a speed difference with fresh tires. We had a very good pace again and we were nicely going back close to the guys in front. Unfortunately, we had the issue with the brakes and we could not really use our speed. In the last ten laps I had hardly no brakes; it's a pity but at least we could bring the car back and get some points. It was not an easy day for the team but this is how it goes sometimes. If this is our bad day, then we have to take it and go forward."

Maurizio Arrivabene, Team Principal: "Unfortunately, our race was compromised right from the start, when Seb's car was damaged so he was no longer able to give it his best shot. Initially, our data showed the damage was not too serious. It was only in the following laps that the wing broke, causing further damage to the turning vanes and the floor. As for Kimi, towards the end he had a problem with the braking system control. Right from tomorrow in Maranello we will carry out a detailed analysis of the race, making the most of the data gathered as we prepare as well as possible for the next round in Baku."

Force India-Mercedes

Sergio Perez (5th): "I'm pleased to come away with fifth place because it was a very intense afternoon. For nearly the whole race I was running close behind Riccardo in his DRS window and waiting for my opportunity to overtake. I could see he was struggling in certain areas and, as we started to come through the lapped traffic, I thought I deserved the chance to try and overtake him. I tried my best and really pushed hard, but it just wasn't possible to make the move. It was the same situation with Esteban behind me for almost half the race, but it was only on the final lap that he got really close to me when we were lapping Ericsson. I knew Esteban had better tire life because my engineers made me aware of the situation and I replied by asking the team to simply let us race. I think the team was fair and respected my view. The team always comes first and we raced hard, but fair. I always give my best and I'm very happy we could come away with so many points from this race."

Esteban Ocon (6th): "As a team we scored really important points today, but I am a bit frustrated by this result because I feel a podium may have been possible. This is the way racing goes and we have to look at the positives: we had a great car that allowed us to take the fight to Ferrari and Red Bull and that is quite impressive. I am confident it won't be the last time we will fight at this level and it was an awesome feeling – a really enjoyable race. The team as a whole did a great job today – they gave me such a fast car and we can be proud of our work and of the points we have gained."

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: "A fantastic performance and result by the team. The car has been competitive all weekend and it's very satisfying to see us convert our potential into a good bunch of points. The battle between Sergio and Esteban was one of the stories of the race and showed how closely-matched they are as teammates. We clearly had the quicker car compared to the Red Bull of Ricciardo, but overtaking in Montreal is never easy and we spent almost the entire race in his wheel tracks. After the pit stops, Esteban was right behind Sergio and had a pace advantage thanks to his fresher tires. We advised both drivers of the situation and considered switching them around, but ultimately we chose to let them race. They were tough with each other on the track, but it was a fair fight. Sadly we couldn't contain Vettel, but picking up 18 points extends our points advantage in the championship. We now have scored more than twice the points of the fifth placed team. We also saw really competitive car pace this weekend and that's encouraging for the races to come, especially Baku in two weeks' time."

Williams-Mercedes

Lance Stroll (9th): "I am just happy for myself, for the team, for everyone. The balance of the car was good all race. I was in a flow. I knew we had good straight line speed in the Williams. I chose my overtakes at the right times, sometimes I could have done them a lap earlier, but it was a bit risky so I did it a lap later and stayed patient. James, my engineer, was giving me good communications throughout the whole race about what was happening around us. We just stayed cool headed and took it to the end and P9. It was about things falling into place and getting everything to work with no issues and being able to do the pace we know how to do. It means the world to me being able to finish a race in the points and be able to see those Canadian flags up in the air at my race."

Felipe Massa (DNF, Accident): "I'm so disappointed to be out after just three corners. I was a complete passenger in the collision. I think Carlos was hit by somebody, but I was the only car that he hit. It's a shame to finish the race like that, especially when the car has been so competitive all weekend and we could have scored a good amount of points."

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: "A huge congratulations to Lance. He's the first Canadian in Formula One since Jacques Villeneuve, and now he's scored his first points at his home race. It's a great story. Given the difficult start Lance has had to his Formula One career, this feels like a race win to us. It was an incredible drive. He showed some fantastic race-craft, great overtaking and he really earned those points today. From 17th on the grid up to ninth, including a battle with a double world champion, which he took in his stride. I think today's result will boost his confidence going forward and will give him some real momentum. On the other side of the garage, Felipe had an unfortunate race. He actually had a good start, but then lost a few places as a result of the jostling that normally takes place at Turns 1 and 2 at this race. He was then collected by Carlos, through no fault of his own. With the pace of the car this weekend it's very unfortunate. We could have scored some very good points. We're now looking ahead to Azerbaijan. The car should be reasonably strong there so we'll give it another go."

McLaren-Honda

Stoffel Vandoorne (14th): "It was a difficult race. I think we more or less knew that before the start. We found it tough on the straights, and also the amount of fuel saving we had to do today really hurt us. The closing speed of the other cars was really impressive, so we were a bit of a sitting duck. In the end, we made it to the finish, but it's not the result we were hoping for. It's incredibly difficult to stay with the group ahead, and when we can stay with the group we are vulnerable and don't have the power to defend, so we have to invent some tricks to keep the other cars behind, and then it all starts to become very challenging. There's no point moaning about it – I'm just trying to get on with my job – but I just hope there will be improvements soon so we can actually start racing with the others."

Fernando Alonso (16th, Engine): "We were in the points with a couple of laps to the end but my engine gave up. I am frustrated, of course, but it's not only about losing a point today, of course. As a driver, we try to come here and drive as fast as we can, so missing on that point is disappointing especially for the guys, who have been working so much day and night, preparing the car, preparing the strategy and taking care of every single detail. Our chassis feels quite strong in the corners, but we are being overtaken by everyone in the middle on the straights. It's tough times. The support we have from the fans in Canada is great, so when my car stopped I thought we should give something back, and I went up the grandstand to give my gloves to the people who had been cheering me on."

Eric Boullier, Racing Director: "For the first time this season, running in 10th place within spitting distance of the flag, we dared to hope. OK, what we were daring to hope for were hardly rich pickings: a solitary world championship point for Fernando, who had driven superbly all afternoon, as he's driven superbly every race-day afternoon for the past two-and-a-half years. But, after so much toil and heartache, even that single point would have felt like a victory. And then came yet another gut-wrenching failure. It's difficult to find the right words to express our disappointment, our frustration and, yes, our sadness. So I'll say only this: it's simply, and absolutely, not good enough."

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda: "Today was especially disappointing as Fernando was on course to score our first point of the 2017 season. Of course, it is not our aim to score the occasional point, but it would have at least been a step forward and a reward for all of the team's hard work these past few races. After avoiding the first-lap incident, Fernando managed his race well and had consistent pace throughout. The team also did a great job with the strategy keeping him ahead of his closest rivals. Unfortunately, with just a couple of laps remaining, Fernando's PU lost oil pressure due to a mechanical issue. We won't know the exact cause until we get the power unit back to Sakura for a full investigation. Stoffel had a great start to his race, but lost out during the Safety Car periods. Despite this, it was a step in the right direction for him today, and positive that he finished the race. There is still a gap between us and our competitors, and we must continue to improve our reliability. We cannot stay in our current position and we will maintain our tireless development in order to close the gap."

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Renault

Daniil Kvyat (DNF, Retired): "A very disappointing day. Our problems already started during the formation lap – my engine stalled, so I had to catch all the cars before the Safety Car line, which I didn't manage to do so I got a penalty for it… But we were still going for P9 as the pace was mega good today! Unfortunately, during my pit-stop we had a problem and then we retired… It was too late to do anything after losing so much time in the pits anyway. I did everything I could do today but what's annoying is that every time we have very good pace something happens or goes wrong… It's very frustrating, we deserved a reward today."

Carlos Sainz (DNF, Accident): "What a tough start to the race – I had a good start and was in P12, trying to overtake Fernando around the outside of Turn 2… He got better traction than me out of there so I focused on positioning myself to try and attack him into Turn 3 and, all of a sudden, I touched with a Haas that was on my right-hand side… I have to say I never saw the car there, it's simply a dead angle in my mirrors so I never knew he was there. If I had realized I was there, of course I would've been more careful and left some space. Once we collided I was just a passenger, crashed into the wall and that was the end of my race unfortunately. I'd like to say sorry, especially to Felipe, who received a touch from me… I just couldn't do anything to avoid it. It was a big crash, but I'm fine. Unfortunately, the whole weekend has been a bit difficult for us, starting with not being able to run in FP1, then yesterday's qualifying and today's accident… It's now time to focus on Baku; luckily we have 20 Formula 1 races so we can forget this weekend!"

Franz Tost, Team Principal: "Our Canadian GP race weekend has been a difficult one – it all already started in yesterday's qualifying session, where we didn't manage to get the cars into Q3. We started the race from P11 with Daniil and P13 with Carlos. Unfortunately, Daniil's engine stalled at the start of the formation lap – we need to investigate how this happened, because there's no excuse; an engine should never stall and there must be a technical solution to avoid this from happening. The regulation allows the driver to catch-up until the first Safety Car line but as all the drivers use the complete width of the track to warm-up their tires, it was difficult for Daniil to overtake them in order to get back to his position without taking any risks. Therefore, he just missed overtaking Alonso before the Safety Car line – it was also too late for him to go into the pit-lane – so he got penalized for this. Daniil did a very good race and was very competitive, putting in some really good lap times. We then had to call him in for his pit-stop and for him to serve a ten-second penalty that was in addition to the drive through he had already been given, but we suffered a problem with the rear-right wheel-nut. Therefore, we decided to retire the car because, at this stage, we were two laps behind. Regarding Carlos, he had a reasonable start but then collided with Grosjean at Turn 3 and this was the end of his race. Unfortunately we leave Canada without scoring any points and with a bag full of work to do for next race in Baku."

Haas-Ferrari

Romain Grosjean (10th): "Well, our race started very badly with the front wing change on the first lap. Then we knew the only way to get a decent strategy was to stay out and make those tires last for 69 laps, which is pretty good for supersofts. We got there. I am very unhappy with Carlos' (Sainz) maneuver at the start – what he did to me going into turn three. It was very, very dangerous. I'm glad the car didn't have too much damage. We changed the front wing and got going again. It was a tough race. We needed a bit of luck at the end, which we got with Alonso retiring, and we managed to get a point. It's great for the team, but we missed a bit of speed today."

Kevin Magnussen (12th): "With regard to the penalty, I went on power anticipating the end of the Virtual Safety Car, and I thought I'd probably passed him (Vandoorne) before it ended. I wasn't sure, but I let him past anyway before passing him again at the next corner. Normally, when you give back the position, that's fine. I gave it back, and then overtook him straight away. He was in front and he had every chance to be in the position he was before the Virtual Safety Car. I feel it's very unfair the judgement from the stewards. These things happen. My shot at points was over. I fought very hard and had a good start. The opposite strategy didn't work, but we were still there. It hasn't been my weekend but, hopefully, it will turn soon."

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "It was a very exciting race for us. It didn't start well with Romain being hit by Sainz at the beginning and dropping down to last after having to come in for a wing change. Normally, your race is done then, but everybody kept on fighting and Romain did a fantastic job to get the car home with 69 laps on one set of tires. That's astonishing – very well done. Kevin was up there in the points as well. But then he got a penalty for overtaking under the Virtual Safety Car. He gave the position back, but it was decided he needed to get the penalty. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the weekend. As much as it looks like we didn't do what we should be doing, we got a point, meaning we've scored points now in five out of seven races this year – and in one of those we had a DNF (Did Not Finish). I think if we're always around there, we can always score points. That's what we'll try to do. If the challenge is high, we keep on fighting."

Renault

Nico Hulkenberg (8th):

Jolyon Palmer (11th):

Alan Permane, Sporting Director:

Nick Chester, Technical Director:

Sauber-Ferrari

Marcus Ericsson (13th): "Overall it has been a tough weekend, but I got the maximum out of the car in the race. We made a step forward with our tire management throughout the race. The pace that I had was similar to our direct competitors for most parts of the race. Now we have to build on that and take those insights with us to Baku."

Pascal Wehrlein (15th): "It was a difficult weekend – for one because of the crash in the qualifying, and also because I could not keep up with the lap times of the competition. We have to make sure that we understand the reason for that. For now we are focusing on the upcoming weekend in Baku."

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: "Even though we anticipated that this would be a difficult race weekend, the result is still disappointing. Despite the challenging conditions, Marcus put in a good, consistent and dedicated performance. Pascal wasn't able to fully manage the tires, and we are still in the process of analyzing the causes for that, especially regarding the changes in the aerodynamic configuration which we had to undertake before the race due to yesterday's incident."

Results

Pos	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Gap
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	1:33'05.153
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Mercedes	19.783
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	TAG	35.297
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Ferrari	35.907
5	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes	40.476
6	Esteban Ocon	Force India	Mercedes	40.716
7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari	58.632
8	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	Renault	1'00.374
9	Lance Stroll	Williams	Mercedes	1 lap
10	Romain Grosjean	Haas	Ferrari	1 lap
11	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	Renault	1 lap
12	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	Ferrari	1 lap
13	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	Ferrari	1 lap
14	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	Honda	1 lap
15	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	Ferrari	2 laps
16	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	Honda	—
NC	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	Renault	—
NC	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	TAG	—
NC	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes	—
NC	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Toro Rosso	Renault	—