Sebastian Vettel scored his 29th Grand Prix victory in Formula 1 with a dominant performance at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

It was his first win in Canada and Red Bull Racing’s 37th victory in the sport.

Vettel’s latest triumph means he stretches the lead in the world championship to 36 points over Fernando Alonso.

The triple world champion was on a different zone to his rivals throughout the race.

He converted his pole position advantage to a two-second lead over Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes by the end of opening lap.

That lead built to twenty seconds before Vettel receiving team advice to cool his pace, though along the way he still had a brush with the Turn 4 wall and a trip across the grass at Turn 1.

Vettel’s victory was the Milton Keynes-based team’s first ever in Canada, and by the end of the race he had lapped all bar the top five.

Fernando Alonso clawed his way from sixth on the grid to second for Ferrari.

In the first half of the race he joined a battle for third with Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber, having passed qualifying star Valtteri Bottas early on.

The Williams had dropped from third to fifth behind the Mercedes and Red Bull off the line.

Rosberg was unable to keep his tyres alive as well as those pressuring him. After some very close calls, Webber got ahead on lap 30, with Alonso following on the next straight.

Webber then seemed able to keep Alonso at bay until Giedo van der Garde turned in on him at the hairpin while being lapped, taking a chunk from the Red Bull’s front wing.

The race stewards deemed Van der Garde was at fault for ignoring blue flag and so the Caterham driver was given a ten-second stop-go penalty.

With damage to his front wing, Webber’s pace slowed and that allowed Alonso to pass him before setting off after second-placed Hamilton.

Another long and close tussle ensued, and the pair spent much of lap 63 side by side before Alonso made it ahead.

Hamilton stayed within DRS range and tried to retaliate on the next lap, but the move failed and he had to settle for third ahead of Webber and Rosberg.

Jean-Eric Vergne drove a strong race to a career-best sixth for Toro Rosso, dropping away from the leading pack while keeping the rest of the field covered.

Paul di Resta converted P17 on the grid to seventh, not making a pitstop until lap 57.

His Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil survived a spin while trying to pass Bottas, a punt from Pastor Maldonado, and a penalty for ignoring blue flags to take tenth.

The Force Indias were split by the battling Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

McLaren simply did not have the pace to score, as Sergio Perez and Jenson Button struggled to P11 and P12 respectively.

This race result ends McLaren’s run of 64 consecutive point-scoring finishes and on the day the team won its first race back in 1968.

Romain Grosjean also tried a one-stop but ultimately had to pit again, dropping him from potential points to P13.

After the highs of qualifying, the race was a different story for Bottas, as he slumped to P14. Williams have yet to score points this season.

So a fantastic result for Sebastian Vettel. His third win of the 2013 season and this victory extends his lead in the world championship.

The British Grand Prix follows and it will be fascinating to see anyone can halt the triple world champion’s progress to another Formula 1 title.

Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after 70 laps:

1.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault           1h32:09.143
2.  Alonso         Ferrari                    +14.408
3.  Hamilton       Mercedes                   +15.942
4.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault           +25.731
5.  Rosberg        Mercedes                   +1:09.725
6.  Vergne         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +1 lap
7.  Di Resta       Force India-Mercedes       +1 lap
8.  Massa          Ferrari                    +1 lap
9.  Raikkonen      Lotus-Renault              +1 lap
10.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes       +1 lap
11.  Perez          McLaren-Mercedes           +1 lap
12.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes           +1 lap
13.  Grosjean       Lotus-Renault              +1 lap
14.  Bottas         Williams-Renault           +1 lap
15.  Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +2 laps
16.  Maldonado      Williams-Renault           +2 laps
17.  Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth          +2 laps
18.  Pic            Caterham-Renault           +2 laps
19.  Chilton        Marussia-Cosworth          +3 laps
20.  Gutierrez      Sauber-Ferrari             +7 laps

Fastest lap: Webber 1:16.182

Not classified/retirements:

Hulkenberg     Sauber-Ferrari               46 laps
van der Garde  Caterham-Renault             44 laps

World Championship standings, round 7:

Drivers:
1.  Vettel        132
2.  Alonso         96
3.  Raikkonen      88
4.  Hamilton       77
5.  Webber         69
6.  Rosberg        57
7.  Massa          49
8.  Di Resta       34
9.  Grosjean       26
10.  Button         25
11.  Sutil          17
12.  Vergne         13
13.  Perez          12
14.  Ricciardo       7
15.  Hulkenberg      5

Constructors:
1.  Red Bull-Renault          201
2.  Ferrari                   145
3.  Mercedes                  134
4.  Lotus-Renault             114
5.  Force India-Mercedes       51
6.  McLaren-Mercedes           37
7.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         20
8.  Sauber-Ferrari              5

Next race: British Grand Prix, Silverstone. June 28-30.

Sebastian Vettel achieved his 39th career pole position in Formula 1 by beating Lewis Hamilton at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in a wet qualifying session.

And yet the star of qualifying was Valtteri Bottas. The Finnish driver produced a fantastic job for Williams with third.

The amount of rain played a significant part throughout each segment, and in the all-important Q3, the best opportunity for pole position came in the opening moments before the track conditions deteriorated further.

Vettel judged it to perfection and recorded a time of one minute, 25.425 seconds to take the top spot for Red Bull Racing.

Despite that lap time from the world champion, it was still beatable with his rivals going quicker in the first two sectors.

But with the rain becoming heavier especially at the final sector, a lack of grip made it difficult for the others to beat Vettel’s pole time.

Hamilton tried his utmost to continue the Silver Arrows pole streak but fell 0.087 seconds short, sliding over the chicane on a dramatic final bid.

Bottas was the hero of qualifying. Williams had not made it into Q3 at all this season until Canada, where the Finnish rookie flew throughout the session.

He beat Nico Rosberg, dominant in qualifying for Mercedes for the last three races, to third place.

Friday practice pacesetter Fernando Alonso could only manage sixth for Ferrari, behind Mark Webber’s Red Bull.

Toro Rosso managed to get both cars into Q3 with Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo claiming seventh and tenth, split by Adrian Sutil’s Force India and Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus.

As for Felipe Massa, he will start down in P16 after spinning into the Turn 3 barriers in Q2 and causing a red flag.

That triggered a two-minute dash on an improving track to try to secure the final Q3 places.

It was Sutil and Ricciardo who succeeded, but it proved painful for McLaren, winner of the last three Canadian Grands Prix.

Jenson Button was outside the cut at the time and mistimed his attempt to find clear track position, not making it past the chequered flag in time.

That left him P14, while team-mate Sergio Perez’s failure to improve meant he was pushed back to P14, alongside the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg.

Pastor Maldonado’s Williams and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez were the other Q2 casualties.

While Paul di Resta and Romain Grosjean did not even get that far as both were eliminated when the rain intensified in the closing minutes of Q1.

Grosjean, who already faces a ten-place grid penalty for running into Ricciardo in Monaco, had made a mistake on an earlier run, while di Resta lost time in the garage with gearbox issues.

Charles Pic looked like he might just replicate Caterham team-mate Giedo van der Garde’s Q2 heroics from Monaco as he sat P11 near the end of Q1. But after a spin at Turn 6, he slipped down to P18.

So a fantastic result for Sebastian Vettel. His hat-trick of pole positions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Can Red Bull Racing break that non-victory in North America on race day? We shall find out on Sunday in Montreal.

Qualifying positions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve:

1. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m25.425s
2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes             1m25.512s
3. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault     1m25.897s
4. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m26.008s
5. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m26.208s
6. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m26.504s
7. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m26.543s
8. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m27.348s
9. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari       1m29.435s
10. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m27.432s*
11. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m27.946s*
12. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes     1m29.761s
13. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m29.917s
14. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m30.068s
15. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari       1m30.315s
16. Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m30.354s
17. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m24.908s
18. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault     1m25.626s
20. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth    1m26.508s
21. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth    1m27.062s
22. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault     1m27.110s
22. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m25.716s**

107 per cent time: 1m28.080s

*Two place grid penalty for failing to leave the pits in the order they arrived at the pit exit during Q2.
**Ten-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo.

Nico Rosberg scored his second career victory in Formula 1 by winning the glamorous Monaco Grand Prix in the Mercedes.

This was the team’s first win of the season thanks to Rosberg’s superb driving. He controlled the race from the front with ease despite two safety cars and a red flag.

Mercedes was unable to repeat its qualifying one-two, as Lewis Hamilton fell to fourth behind the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Rosberg held his lead at the start and was able to maintain an advantage of around two seconds for the majority of the race, whether in tyre conservation mode or showing his true pace.

Hamilton lost ground when the safety car came out amid the first scheduled pitstops.

Felipe Massa repeated his qualifying crash at Sainte Devote, prompting the interruption and sending the Ferrari driver to hospital for checks.

As all those yet to pit immediately dived in to do so, Hamilton had to queue behind team-mate Rosberg and emerged behind the two Red Bulls.

Hamilton then spent the rest of the race mounting attacks on Webber for third, getting alongside through Rascasse at one point but never making it ahead.

Rosberg was unfazed by a mid-race stoppage, caused when contact between Max Chilton’s Marussia and Pastor Maldonado’s Williams sent the latter flying violently into the Tabac barriers.

Maldonado was unhurt in the incident, for which the race stewards punished Chilton with a drive-through penalty.

While Rosberg cruised to victory ahead of the Vettel, Webber and Hamilton train, which only spread out in the final moments, the rest of the pack engaged in some spectacular and wild racing.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil pulled off brave passes on Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso into Fairmont Hotel hairpin.

He then benefited when contact between Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez at the chicane late on left the Lotus with a puncture and caused damage that would ultimately force Perez to park.

Button came through to sixth position, having earlier had a spat with his McLaren team-mate Perez when the Mexican cut the chicane to hold him off.

Perez was ordered to let Button past, but overtook him cleanly at the same place later on.

The Mexican then had another chicane incident with Fernando Alonso, and this time it was the Ferrari asked to move aside having cut the corner.

Raikkonen was next on Perez’s list, but on that occasion the chicane move ended in contact.

Alonso lost out to Button in the traffic jam behind Perez’s wounded car and finished in seventh position with Jean-Eric Vergne chased the Ferrari driver in eighth.

Paul di Resta converted P17 on the grid to ninth position, thanks to pitting as early as lap nine and making his tyres last to the end.

Raikkonen’s recovery drive ultimately earned him a championship point, as he overtook Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber on the final lap.

The other major incident came when Romain Grosjean ploughed into the back of Daniel Ricciardo at the chicane, causing the final safety car.

Jules Bianchi also crashed, slewing into the Sainte Devote barriers, having earlier sustained damage on debris from the Chilton/Maldonado crash.

So a fantastic weekend by Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes. Quick in practice, grabbed pole position in qualifying and now race victory. He matches his father Keke’s 30-year achievement by winning the legendary street circuit.

The result puts Vettel further ahead in the world championship chase with 107 points to Raikkonen’s 86. Alonso’s 78, Hamilton’s 62, Webber’s 57 and Rosberg’s 47. In the constructors’ stakes, Red Bull have 164 to Ferrari’s 123, Lotus’s 112 and Mercedes’ 109, with Force India on 44 from McLaren’s 37.

A slight cloud hangs over Mercedes’ triumph, however, as prior to the race Red Bull and Ferrari lodged a protest concerning a three-day Pirelli tyre test which Mercedes took part in following the Spanish Grand Prix.

Monaco Grand Prix, race result after 78 laps:

1.  Rosberg        Mercedes      2:17:52.056
2.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault    +3.888
3.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault   +6.314
4.  Hamilton       Mercedes       +13.894
5.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes   +21.477
6.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes    +23.103
7.  Alonso         Ferrari     +26.734
8.  Vergne         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    +27.223
9.  Di Resta       Force India-Mercedes   +27.608
10.  Raikkonen      Lotus-Renault    +36.582
11.  Hulkenberg     Sauber-Ferrari    +42.572
12.  Bottas         Williams-Renault   +42.691
13.  Gutierrez      Sauber-Ferrari    +43.212
14.  Chilton        Marussia-Cosworth   +49.885
15.  Van der Garde  Caterham-Renault    +1:02.590

Not classified/retirement:

Perez          McLaren-Mercedes   72 laps
Grosjean       Lotus-Renault      63 laps
Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   61 laps
Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth    58 laps
Maldonado      Williams-Renault     44 laps
Massa          Ferrari      28 laps
Pic            Caterham-Renault    7 laps

World Championship standings, round 6:

Drivers:
1.  Vettel        107
2.  Raikkonen      86
3.  Alonso         78
4.  Hamilton       62
5.  Webber         57
6.  Rosberg        47
7.  Massa          45
8.  Di Resta       28
9.  Grosjean       26
10.  Button         25
11.  Sutil          16
12.  Perez          12
13.  Ricciardo       7
14.  Hulkenberg      5
15.  Vergne          5

Constructors:
1.  Red Bull-Renault          164
2.  Ferrari                   123
3.  Lotus-Renault             112
4.  Mercedes                  109
5.  Force India-Mercedes       44
6.  McLaren-Mercedes           37
7.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         12
8.  Sauber-Ferrari              5

Next race: Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. June 7-9.

Nico Rosberg achieved his hat trick of pole positions in Formula 1 with a brilliant lap around the tight and twisty Monaco circuit.

The Mercedes driver fended off the challenges from Red Bull Racing to take the top spot, edging out his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the process too.

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were initially first and second following the first Q3 runs, and with the rain appearing set to increase, it looked like Red Bull Racing might have the front row sealed.

But Mercedes found extra pace in the final moments of Q3, with Lewis Hamilton first leaping to the front with a time of one minute, 13.967 seconds, until Rosberg pipping him by 0.091 seconds with a pole position time of one minute, 13.876 seconds.

Vettel was 0.013 seconds down on Hamilton as he denied Webber third place. Kimi Raikkonen took fifth for Lotus, while Ferrari had a tough qualifying session.

Fernando Alonso could only manage sixth, while his team-mate Felipe Massa was unable to take part at all following his practice three crash. The team couldn’t repair the car in time for Q1.

McLaren’s Sergio Perez and Jenson Button were seventh and eighth, split by Adrian Sutil’s Force India.

Jean-Eric Vergne completed the top ten with a strong performance for Toro Rosso.

There was an element of lottery in getting into the top ten as Q2 came to a frenetic end, with everyone opted for slick tyres in the final four minutes and then trying to get the best out of an ever-quicker track.

Romain Grosjean was among those to lose out. His P13 was an anti-climax after a star Q1 performance, when he had shot to the front briefly on the single flying lap he had time for once Lotus had repaired his practice crash damage.

The other big story of Q2 was Giedo van der Garde’s effort. The Dutchman got Caterham through Q1 for the first time this season and was a top ten contender in Q2.

He eventually ended up P15, beating Q1 pacesetter Pastor Maldonado’s Williams. Maldonado was two positions behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Also out in Q2 were Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo, who share row six.

Paul di Resta was left enraged with Force India’s tactics as he missed the Q1 cut and ended up P17. Esteban Gutierrez was also knocked out and will start behind Charles Pic in P19.

Jules Bianchi will join Massa on the back row, having parked on his out-lap with a fire in his Marussia’s airbox.

So an exciting qualifying session. Mercedes have locked-out the front row yet again but with overtaking so damn difficult around Monaco, we could see the Silver Arrows taking the race victory.

Qualifying times from Monte Carlo:

1. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m13.876s
2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes              1m13.967s
3. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m13.980s
4. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m14.181s
5. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m14.822s
6. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m14.824s
7. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes      1m15.138s
8. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1m15.383s
9. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m15.647s
10. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m15.703s
11. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari        1m18.331s
12. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m18.344s
13. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m18.603s
14. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault      1m19.077s
15. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault      1m19.408s
16. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m21.688s
17. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes     1m26.322s
18. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault      1m26.633s
19. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari        1m26.917s
20. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth     1m27.303s
21. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth     No time
22. Felipe Massa          Ferrari     No time

107 per cent time: 1m29.293s