Toto Wolff was right. The Mercedes team principal warned that the Canadian Grand Prix would favour their rivals (i.e. Ferrari). The bookmakers seemed to agree with that sentiment as both Ferrari drivers’ Canadian Grand Prix 2019 odds to win were very close to the Silver Arrows’.
The Prancing Horse certainly lived up to the hype as both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc placed on the podium for the first time this season.
However, the Scuderia were cruelly denied their first win of the season in controversial circumstances after Vettel was given a five-second penalty which cost him the victory.
As a result, Lewis Hamilton was handed his fifth victory of the season (third in a row) and Mercedes’ seventh in seven races.
Highlights of the game
The drama in Canada began in qualifying when Vettel pipped Hamilton for pole by two-tenths of a second. It was the German’s fifth pole in Canada, second only to Hamilton’s record of six. Vettel claiming pole was crucial considering the last four polesitters had won in Canada. That includes Vettel himself last season.
Charles Leclerc was right behind the two world champions in third. Meanwhile, the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, who has been so good in qualifying this season, was surprisingly down in the third row of the grid in sixth.
There would be even more drama just prior to the race as Mercedes discovered a hydraulic leak on Hamilton’s car. But they managed to remedy the situation without Hamilton having to incur any penalty. (More on penalties later.)
When the race finally began, Vettel wasted no time in setting the pace and building a lead on Hamilton within the first dozen laps. Meanwhile, his team-mate Leclerc was making Canadian Grand Prix 2019 highlights of his own as he went out and set a couple of fastest laps.
Hamilton gradually cut a chunk of Vettel’s advantage and eventually took over the race lead when the Ferrari driver went into the pits on lap 27. That lead didn’t last long, though, as Hamilton himself made his stop just a few laps later.
But once again, the Brit slowly clawed his way back and was already within less than a second of Vettel by lap 40.
Then, the big turning point of the entire race came on lap 48. Vettel went wide but managed to retain his place from Hamilton. But in returning to the track, he pushed Hamilton against the wall, which caught the stewards’ attention.
The two continued their heated battle for the next 10 laps when it was announced that Vettel has been given a five-second time penalty for “unsafe re-entry and forcing another driver off the track.”
Vettel was recently the beneficiary of a five-second penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix as he went up to second after Max Verstappen’s violation dropped him to fourth. But this time, the German found himself on the receiving end.
The penalty put even more pressure on Vettel to extend his lead on Hamilton in order to preserve the win. And while Hamilton no longer needed to overtake Vettel to get the win, he still pushed hard to take the place.
Hamilton was ultimately unable to do so as Vettel was the first to cross the chequered flag. But he and Mercedes still claimed the vital victory, which was all that mattered.
Key statistics
Hamilton made some history with his win in Canada. He tied the great Michael Schumacher’s record of seven Canadian Grand Prix victories. Moreover, the Canadian GP is now the race he’s won the most in his storied career.
With five victories in seven races in 2019, Hamilton has made his best-ever start to a Formula 1 season.
Hamilton’s team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, finished fourth, the first time he’d failed to make the podium in Canada since 2014.
While Vettel didn’t get the win, he and team-mate Leclerc did make the podium, the first time Ferrari had both cars in the top-three in Montreal since 2005.
What’s next?
Next up on the Formula One calendar is the French Grand Prix on June 23. The race made its triumphant return on the F1 calendar last year after a decade-long absence.
Hamilton wasted no time including the Circuit Paul Ricard to his collection of tracks he’s won in as he took the race by seven seconds from Max Verstappen.
And despite a good deal of good fortune in Hamilton’s win in Canada, the SBOBET odds will most likely have him installed as the favourite to claim a second straight French GP title.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FORMULA 1 STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
