2018 Canadian Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel retook the lead in the drivers’ championship after cruising to an easy victory in the Canadian Grand Prix—a fitting win in a circuit named after one of the Scuderia greats, Gilles Villeneuve.
The German ace was dominant throughout and converted his pole position to a win, while his top rival Lewis Hamilton failed to get a podium finish and even ended up one place down from his starting position.
Moreover, there was also a bizarre ending in what was a largely straightforward race after model Winnie Harlow waved the chequered flag one lap before the actual finish!
Highlights of the game
The Canadian Grand Prix results were never in doubt the moment Vettel edged Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas at the first corner.
A collision between Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley and Williams’ Lance Stroll at the start of the race prompted a safety car, but Vettel remained in front and started to build his lead after the restart. By Lap 6, the 30-year-old Ferrari star was 1.7 seconds ahead and even increased his advantage by more than four seconds nine laps later.
The race was virtually over then as Vettel controlled the proceedings. He eventually finished with a 7.3-second lead, though the race ended prematurely after Winnie Harlow waved the flag at 68 laps.
As a result of the mistake, the 70-lap battle was officially declared as 68 laps long, erasing the final two frames of the event.
On the other hand, Bottas never had a legitimate chance of overtaking Vettel and was left clinging on second, fending off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who had a late charge upon seeing the second-placed Finn struggling to manage his fuel shortage.
Fortunately for Mercedes, Bottas survived the scare and crossed the finish line 0.9 seconds ahead of the 20-year-old Dutchman.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, continued to struggle with his car and dropped from fourth to fifth as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo took his spot.
The British driver encountered problems with his engine temperature which forced him to take an unplanned pit stop. The Mercedes team installed new tyres to help cool the car, but that early break paved the way for Ricciardo to move in front of the reigning F1 champion.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen threatened Hamilton’s fifth place midway through the contest, but the four-time world champion survived the nervy moment.
Despite his poor finish, Hamilton admitted he’s just happy to finish the race: “From the start I was down on power, the engine was over temperature and I thought it was going to fail. I could have lost a lot more points today.”
Key statistics
Ferrari had not won in Canada since Michael Schumacher in 2004, so the victory 14 years later undoubtedly delighted Vettel.
Not to mention that it marked his 50th Grand Prix win—40 years after Gilles Villeneuve won the event for his first GP trophy for the Prancing Horse.
“It means a lot to me. A great weekend for us and 40 years after Gilles’ victory here to have Ferrari win again and for a long time since Michael. I would never have dreamt to be the first after him. But this year there are so many races to come, we enjoy the victory and take the points but there is a long way to go,” Vettel added.
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s fifth place is his lowest finish this season, a surprising result considering that Canadian Grand Prix betting odds had him as the easy pick to dominate.
It’s also the second time this year that he failed to get onto the podium, the other one in the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai where he ended up fourth.
Moreover, the defeat meant that Hamilton’s quest for a record-tying seventh title in Montreal went in vain. Ironically, it was Ferrari that stopped him from equalling the record of one of their legends.
Vettel now leads the driver standings with 121 points, while Hamilton is just a point behind. Mercedes still lead the constructor battle by a huge margin with 206 to Ferrari’s 189.
What’s next?
The French Grand Prix returns for the first time after a decade of absence in the Formula One scene!
Ferrari are the winningest team in the competition and it’s worth noting that they dominated the last race ten years ago, with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen bagging a one-two finish for the Scuderia.
It remains to be seen if they can replicate their success in the tournament, but Ferrari will be brimming with confidence knowing for a fact that their engines proved reliable enough in the Canada speed fight.
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