Sebastian Vettel insists he was always “under control” during a near-dominant drive at the Canadian Grand Prix as he sealed his third victory of the season in Montreal.
The German led away from a fourth pole position of 2018 in a lights-to-flag victory, instantly pulling a comfortable gap to nearest challenger Valtteri Bottas during the early phase of the grand prix.
Although the Mercedes closed while Vettel negotiated his way through traffic, the four-time world champion regained his composure to secure Ferrari’s first win on Canadian soil since 2004.
Asked if he felt there was a moment where the race could have been lost, Vettel said: “Not really, I think I was under control.
“I managed the gap to Valtteri. During the first stint I tried to build up a little bit of a cushion. I had one lock up when I lost of a bit of time, but after that I think it was fairly well managed.
“It wasn’t easy with the traffic and so on, but in the end, I was just praying that we don’t run into a problem which can always happen. So I tried to save the car a little bit, just stay away from the kerbs, and just bring it home.”
Vettel lauded Ferrari’s “team effort” as they responded to a challenging Friday in practice to turn around its weekend with pole and a race win.
“It’s been a really good weekend. Yesterday was perfect, Friday was difficult, but we bounced back,” Vettel added.
“With the improvements we made for this weekend, mostly on the power unit, introducing a new engine helped us around this track probably a bit more than other tracks, but it was a team effort. It goes hand in hand.”
Vettel’s 50th career win also sees him move back to top of the drivers’ championship just one point ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
