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.
Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel has commented that this win shows tyre gripes was justified. Autosport.com has the news story.
Sebastian Vettel says his dominant win in the Canadian Grand Prix shows Red Bull’s complaints about this year’s Formula 1 tyres were perfectly justified.
The German driver cruised to his third victory of the season in Montreal, winning by over 14 seconds from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
His victory extended Vettel’s lead in the championship to 36 points over the Spaniard.
Red Bull and Vettel had been one of the most vocal in calling for Pirelli to introduce its modified tyres on safety grounds.
The world champion believes his commanding performance in Canada with the original tyres proved those who reckoned Red Bull wanted changes because it was struggling with tyre performance wrong.
“It is pretty simple. The criticism I expressed was not based on performance, it was based on safety,” said Vettel. “And sure if you ask other drivers maybe they were not that strong in the press and maybe they think they have an advantage.
“We had some occasions where a tyre delaminate and rubber came off for some reasons, maybe debris, but there are always pieces on a track.
“It’s not possible to have a clean track this season, and that has been the criteria.
“Every time I complain about the balance and behaviour, every time with people I said on that day there were others doing a better job. It is in fashion to take what you like instead of publishing all we say.”
Despite his commanding win and healthy championship lead, the Red Bull driver admitted he is still not thinking of the title, as he is aware that things can change quickly.
“The championship is still long and I was in a different position last year at this time and was able to catch up at the end,” said Vettel.
“There are so many things that can happen. At this stage of the championship I am happy to focus on race wins.”
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso hails ‘intelligent’ rivals while racing in the Canadian Grand Prix compared to the previous race in Monaco. Autosport.com has the details.
Fernando Alonso said it was a relief to race with “intelligent drivers” in the Canadian Grand Prix after his Monaco experience.
The Ferrari driver came through from sixth on the grid to second in Montreal, enjoying very close battles with Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and in particular Lewis Hamilton along the way.
In Monaco Alonso had been passed by Sergio Perez and Adrian Sutil, and he said he had been much more comfortable with the Canada dices.
“It was nice to have these battles, a big race with some talented drivers,” he said.
“Intelligent drivers that you fight wheel-to-wheel with at 320km/h and you feel safe.
“This is real racing so I am very happy to see this back after Monaco, which was a little bit different.”
Although title battle Sebastian Vettel took the win, Alonso said he could not be downcast having qualified further back and struggling the previous race.
“This second place has a victory taste because we scored some good points after a difficult weekend,” he said.
The Spaniard was also calm about the 36-point lead Vettel has now opened out over him.
“When we are 85 points behind that will be a critical situation,” he said. “In the last six years people have been recovering 30-40 points [deficits].”
Despite finishing third in the Canadian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton admits braking affected his race pace. Autosport.com has the story.
Lewis Hamilton says his struggles with the Mercedes remain a work in progress despite a strong showing in the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Briton admitted he does not feel confident enough with the braking of his car, and is still trying to find a solution that allows him to extract the best from it.
Hamilton finished in third place in Montreal, clearly ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg.
The 2008 champion insisted, however, that he still has not solved his issues.
“It has just been a work in progress,” said Hamilton, who lost out in his battle with Fernando Alonso. “We haven’t cured anything. It has been a long period of time since Barcelona where there was big trouble there.
“We have picked up a couple of techniques and worked on it, which helps.
“We still need to improve [the braking] and that is where Fernando was catching me everywhere.
“He was massively quick and difficult to keep behind. I tried my best and got closer once he got behind me, but he was too quick.”
Apart from the problems with the braking, Hamilton admitted his car felt like it was lacking grip during the race.
“I guess it was just grip, as the car was pretty fantastic,” he said.
“I am assuming those guys were better with that. Fernando seemed to be quicker in the lower speed corners.”
McLaren’s Jenson Button laments ‘painful’ race in Canada and thereby ending the team’s run of 64 consecutive points finishes. Autosport.com has the story.
Jenson Button described the Canadian Grand Prix as a “painful” experience for McLaren and one that underlined the depth of its plight.
At a circuit where the team had won for the past three seasons, McLaren failed to score a point.
Sergio Perez and Button finished a lap down in 11th and 12th, halting McLaren’s run of 64 consecutive points finishes.
The two drivers opted for alternate strategies, but Button said their finishing position proved that no tactical masterstroke could have made up for the car’s lack of speed.
“It was quite painful out there today. We’ve got a long way to go,” he said.
“I think we proved today that it didn’t matter what we did in terms of strategy.
“I’ve never been so pleased to get out of a car. It wasn’t the best race for us as a team.
“We got easily lapped and it was like we were in a different category.”
Button also questioned McLaren’s handling of the race, suggesting it had stipulated too slow a target lap-time when he rejoined after his sole pitstop.
“We tried to settle in to a pace on the prime tyre in the second stint that was way too slow,” he said.
“We’ve got to look into why we thought that lap-time was quick enough.
“We’ve just got to get our act together and improve.”
Giedo van der Garde has been given a five-place grid penalty for the British Grand Prix for an incident with Nico Hulkenberg in Canada.
Caterham driver van der Garde had already received a drive-through penalty during the Montreal race for turning in on Mark Webber’s Red Bull as the Australian lapped him.
He then got involved in another incident while being lapped by Hulkenberg’s Sauber.
The two cars made contact going into the final chicane, causing damage that would put both out.
The stewards said van der Garde’s punishment for both for the clash and for impeding Hulkenberg through the lap.
“Car #21 [van der Garde] was given blue flags for a full lap,” said the officials’ statement. “Car #11 [Hulkenberg] had to use DRS and full KERS in order to overtake a lapped car.”
The Caterham team was also fined €2000 for personnel crossing the pitlane as Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso was coming in.
Source: Autosport.com
Force India driver Adrian Sutil was feeling very angry at the ‘inconsistent’ penalties during the Canadian Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the details.
Adrian Sutil will approach FIA race director Charlie Whiting about what he feels is an inconsistent application of Formula 1’s blue flag rules.
Sutil was given a drive-through penalty for disregarding blue flags when the drivers battling for second place came up to lap him.
But the German vehemently disagreed with the officials’ call.
“I can’t understand it and I’m not accepting this,” Sutil said.
“I think I let them by within one lap. They lost maybe one second, which is absolutely normal for what you lose when you lap a car.
“I’ve brought it up many times in the drivers’ meetings. I was stuck behind the slow backmarkers, the Marussias, the Caterhams, and they wouldn’t move and you had to overtake them into a corner. No penalty.
“I don’t think Lewis [Hamilton] lost a position because I was holding him up. That all happened in the next few laps.
“It’s really a shame but I was eighth and fighting hard for this position, and they took it away like that.
“I just want a real clear clarification. What do you do when you’re in front and someone is lapping you? How many corners do you have to let them by?
“Charlie says normally that you have to find a way through if you’re behind lapped cars.
“I had no clear instruction and it’s really, really disappointing that they’re inconsistent in their decisions.”
Asked by AUTOSPORT if he wanted to take the matter further, Sutil confirmed that he would seek talks with Whiting before the next race at Silverstone and raise it in the drivers’ briefing there.
“I’d just like clear rules,” he said.
“We have 1000 different rules here but on this kind of thing there is no clear clarification.
“When they see it on TV, they give a penalty. When they don’t see it, they don’t give a penalty.”
Despite the penalty, and spinning when trying to pass Valtteri Bottas then being hit by Pastor Maldonado shortly afterwards, Sutil still finished 10th in Montreal.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber slams van der Garde for not paying attention when being lapped. Autosport.com has the news story.
Mark Webber slammed Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde as “a pay driver with no mirrors” after the pair’s collision during the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Australian, speaking immediately after the race, blamed the Dutchman for turning in on him at the hairpin while being lapped.
The stewards hit van der Garde with a 10-second stop/go penalty for the incident, with the Dutchman later being given a five-place grid penalty for the British GP after clashing with Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber.
The incident happened on lap 37, shortly after Webber had passed Lewis Hamilton to run in the clear air he needed, and the Australian believes it handed Fernando Alonso the initiative in the battle for third.
“We finally got past him [Hamilton] and the car was happy then, everything started to cool down and we could get into a rhythm until we caught a pay driver with no mirrors and then lost the front wing,” said Webber.
“The car was very damaged after that. You can’t have a bleeding car with Fernando around you.
“They [backmarkers] are doing their own race as well, I’ve been there in a Minardi but you need to look in your mirrors.”
Van der Garde believes that the stop/go penalty was harsh and that Webber made his move from too far back.
“From my view, he was quite far behind me for the hairpin,” van der Garde told AUTOSPORT. “I turned in and he hit me.
“Before the braking zone, I saw him and [decided] I would let him past on the next straight.
“It is tough, but I am one of the fairest drivers out there and I don’t hit anybody.
“I will learn from the mistakes but I think the penalties are a bit harsh.
“I feel a bit sorry for Mark – it was not my intention to hit him.”
When Webber’s comments about him being a pay driver who does not use his mirrors were put to him by AUTOSPORT, van der Garde said he thought Webber was being “hard”.
“He got a little damage, but I think you have to be a little more patient because there was quite a big gap when I looked in my mirrors before braking.
“After that, there was a long straight and both of us would not lose a lot.
“It’s a hard comment but all I can say is sorry [it happened].”
Pastor Maldonado believes his drive-through penalty for colliding with Adrian Sutil during the Canadian Grand Prix was undeserved.
The Williams driver hit the back of the Force India under braking for the Turn 10 hairpin during the early stages of the race.
He expressed his mystification regarding the matter and suggests it was unfair that he was penalised. Both cars sustained minor damage but did not need to pit for repairs.
“I locked up in my braking point,” said Maldonado. “I think the [penalty] decision was wrong because he didn’t lose a position, but I lost a place.
“It was not a mistake. It was normal racing contact – I didn’t push him off the track or whatever.”
Asked if he felt the stewards had been harder on him because of his reputation for incidents, Maldonado replied: “I don’t know. It’s difficult to say.”
Sutil said the incident had little bearing on his race.
“He missed his braking point and damaged my rear,” said the German. “I lost a little bit of downforce at the rear. It was a bit difficult under braking but I gained top speed, so I still had a decent pace.”
Source: Autosport.com