Lewis Hamilton has won the Canadian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
It is Hamilton’s fourth victory at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve and never looked like losing the lead from team-mate Nico Rosberg who finished within two seconds of the race winner.
The start of the grand prix was relatively unspectacular as Hamilton led from Rosberg, Raikkonen and Bottas.
After their respective mechanical problems in qualifying, Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel made their way through the field. Massa opted to start on the prime tyre while Vettel started on the option tyre however pitted early on lap nine.
Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson produced a stunning defensive drive against Felipe Massa however the Brazilian pulled a fantastic manoeuvre at turn one, where both cars touched, allowing the Williams to pass.
Felipe Massa made light work of the underpowered Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo before overtaking Sergio Perez – whom he collided with at the end of last year’s race whilst fighting for fourth.
The first round of pit-stops took place on lap 28, Kimi Raikkonen was the first in however his efforts were in vain as he spun at the hairpin – which ultimately cost him a position to Bottas in third.
The Mercedes duo pitted on lap 29 and lap 30 respectively whilst Felipe Massa stopped on lap 39 for the super-soft tyres.
Throughout the race, both Mercedes driver were warned regarding their brake temperatures as both suffered issues during last season’s race in Canada.
Despite these issues, Lewis Hamilton came home to secure his fourth victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve ahead of team-mate Rosberg. Valtteri Bottas finished third to take Williams’ first podium of the season.
Raikkonen finished fourth ahead of Vettel and Massa who enjoyed fantastic recovery drives. Pastor Maldonado finished seventh – his first points finish of 2015.
Nico Hulkenberg, Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean rounded out the top ten. Both McLaren’s were forced to retire after suffering mechanical issues.
Images Courtesy of Mercedes AMG F1 Team
