Sebastian Vettel took home victory on Sunday at the 2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix to end a 14-year drought at the event's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve home.
Vettel started the race from pole and stayed in control through to the end to finish some 7.0 seconds clear of Mercedes-AMG's Valtteri Bottas, the second finisher. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen crossed the line 8.3 seconds after Vettel to claim the third spot on the podium.
The race started off with a first-lap collision between Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley and Williams' Lance Stroll, which brought out the safety car. When being passed by Hartley on the outside of a turn, Stroll lost control and came into contact with Hartley who was then sandwiched between Stroll and a wall.
The race was over for both drivers and Hartley was taken to hospital though fortunately was given the all clear from doctors. Stewards later determined the crash to be a racing incident.
The race resumed four laps later and from here Vettel, on a one-stop strategy, didn't have any issues so only had to manage his lead, the tires, the fuel consumption and pay particular attention to the backmarkers.
2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
The same couldn't be said for top rival Lewis Hamilton whose Mercedes was down on power throughout the race due to an ineffective cooling system caused by a faulty chassis component. Hamilton later said he was grateful his power unit held up to the end of the race. Despite the challenges, he still finished an impressive fifth, with only Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo able to pass to clinch fourth place.
Further back, Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly delivered a strong recovery drive to 11th, having started 19th following a grid penalty for an engine change, Meanwhile, McLaren's Fernando Alonso had to retire on his 300th Grand Prix after his team discovered an exhaust problem with his car.
Thanks to his strong performance, Vettel moves back into the lead spot in the 2018 Drivers' Championship with 121 points. Hamilton is only one point behind, however. In third place is Bottas with 86 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 206 points, Ferrari is second with 189 points and Red Bull is third with 134 points.
The next race is the French Grand Prix. To be held in a fortnight at Circuit Paul Ricard, it will be the first time in 10 years that France is holding an F1 race.
Hit the next page for the full results from the 2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
1) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG +7.376 seconds
3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +8.360 seconds
4) Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing +20.892 seconds
5) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG +21.559 seconds
6) Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari +27.184 seconds
7) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault +1 lap
8) Carlos Sainz, Renault +1 lap
9) Esteban Ocon, Force India +1 lap
10) Charles Leclerc, Sauber +1 lap
11) Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso +1 lap
12) Romain Grosjean, Haas +1 lap
13) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
14) Sergio Perez, Force India +1 lap
15) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber +2 lap
16) Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren +2 laps
17) Sergey Sirotkin, Williams +2 laps
Ret) Fernando Alonso, McLaren
Ret) Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
Ret) Lance Stroll, Williams
