Canadian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton triumphs to close gap on Sebastian Vettel, who finishes fourth, to 12 points

Canadian Grand Prix: Top three

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes GP 1hr 33mins 05.154secs
2. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes GP 1:33:24.937
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:33:40.451 

4th-10th: Vettel, Perez, Ocon, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Grosjean 

Scroll down for full race result and updated standings

Race report

Lewis Hamilton led home a Mercedes one-two at the Canadian Grand Prix as he closed to within 12 points of championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who finished a battling fourth having battled back from 18th after sustaining early damage to his front wing.

On the 10th anniversary of his very first victory in the sport here, the British driver took the chequered flag at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the sixth time in his career and for the third year in a row. Only Michael Schumacher has won this race more with seven.

His 56th Grand Prix triumph could have seen him leap to the head of the standings had Vettel not produced such a stunning comeback but that won't sour his delight too much.

Vettel's afternoon was scuppered by a first-corner incident with Max Verstappen which forced him to stop for a new front wing, and with it, fall to the back of the field.

The Ferrari driver recovered brilliantly to ensure he stayed top of the standings while Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas crossed the line in second to complete Mercedes' first one-two finish of the season as Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo claimed the final spot on the podium. 

Hamilton, still fresh from sealing the 65th pole position of his career which drew him level with the tally of his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna, said: "It has been an incredible weekend and I couldn't be happier.

"The team came away from Monaco scratching their hands, but everyone just wanted to work and pull together, which we did.

"I don't think in the five years at this team, they have pulled together so well, really work towards the same cause, and to understand the car.

"To come here and to deliver what we have delivered is a great blow to the Ferraris.

"It is kind of crazy to think I had my first pole position and grand prix win here 10 years ago. It felt very reminiscent of 2007 in terms of how the race went.

"I did not do a great restart after the safety car went in, but once I got on to the main straight it was all under control from there. It is a long race, particularly when you are out there on your own. You are hoping the car held together, and it did."

This victory was the perfect retort from Hamilton after he toiled to only seventh at the Monaco Grand Prix a fortnight ago.

Hamilton's afternoon stroll was made all that much easier when Vettel, who started alongside the Mercedes man on the front row, was left fighting for fourth on the short dash to turn one.

Vettel was not particularly slow out of the blocks, but as Bottas dived underneath the German, and Verstappen raced around the outside, the driver who had finished either first or second at every round of the season so far, was suddenly on the back foot.

Matters got worse at the end of lap five, when Vettel was hauled into the pits for repairs to his front wing. TV replays showed that the fast-starting Verstappen had nicked the nose of the Ferrari at Turn One, but the stewards took no action.

The incident capped a manic first lap in which Romain Grosjean's tangle with Carlos Sainz sent the Spaniard into an uncontrollable, and high-speed spin, which resulted in him swiping out Felipe Massa. Sainz thudded into the wall at Turn Three, while Massa was also out of the race. Grosjean limped on.

The safety car was deployed to deal with Sainz's stricken Toro Rosso, with Hamilton leading from Verstappen and Bottas.

Verstappen, who had started from fifth, was at least doing his part to keep Hamilton honest when the pack was released on lap five. But the Dutchman was soon out of the race when his car ground to a halt at the exit of Turn Two.

The pain was evident, both in the Red Bull cockpit - as Verstappen angrily gesticulated with both hands - and the Red Bull pit wall with boss Christian Horner grimacing and Helmut Marko shaking his head.

Verstappen's pain was Hamilton's gain as it made his task all that much easier.

The same could not be said for his rival Vettel. Plum last in the pack, the championship leader began picking off his opponents and by lap 22 he was up to eighth after passing Lance Stroll, the first Canadian racing in these parts since 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve 11 years ago, and then Kevin Magnussen. Fernando Alonso would be the next victim for Vettel to leave him in seventh place.

The four-time champion pitted for fresh rubber at the end of lap 49, and with 20 laps remaining began to hunt down Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen, in sixth, who in turn was chasing the trio of Ricciardo and the impressive Force India pair of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon.

A technical glitch for Raikkonen promoted Vettel to sixth before he took fifth position after Ocon ran off the road at Turn One with four laps remaining. Vettel then passed Perez on the penultimate lap to take fourth.

Hamilton crossed the line 20 seconds clear of Bottas on an utterly dominant afternoon. He will head to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a fortnight's time with his championship charge now firmly back on track.

Meanwhile, Alonso's miserable season took another sorry twist after his engine expired with two laps left, while running in 10th place. McLaren remain the only team yet to score a point this season.

Canadian Grand Prix: Race result (after 70 laps)

1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1hr 33mins 05.154secs
2. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:33:24.937
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:33:40.451
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:33:4161
5. Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:33:45.630
6. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:33:45.870
7. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:34:03.786
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:34:05.528
9. Lance Stroll (Can) Williams + 1 laps
10. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 + 1 laps
11. Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault + 1 laps
12. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 + 1 laps
13. Marcus Ericsson  (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari + 1 laps
14. Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren + 1 laps
15. Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps
16. Fernando Alonso  (Spa) McLaren - DNF - lap 66
17. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso - DNF - lap 54
18. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull - DNF - lap 10
19. Felipe Massa  (Bra) Williams - DNF - lap 0
20. Carolos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso DNF - lap 0

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton 1:14.551

Click here for full qualifying times

Formula One Driver Standings 2017

After Canadian Grand Prix

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 141pts
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 129
3 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 93
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 73
5 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 67
6 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 45
7 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 44
8 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 27
9 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 25
10 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 20
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 18
12 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 10
13 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 5
14 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 4
15 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 4
16 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 2
17 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 0
18 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 0
19 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 0
20 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Sauber-Ferrari 0
21 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 0
22 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 0 

Formula One Constructors Standings 2017

1 Mercedes GP 222pts
2 Ferrari 214
3 Red Bull 112
4 Force India 71
5 Scuderia Toro Rosso 29
6 Williams 22
7 Renault 18
8 Haas F1 15
9 Sauber-Ferrari 4
10 McLaren 0

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2017 FORMULA ONE SEASON GUIDE  

Formula One 2017: Grand Prix schedule & results

March 26: Australia (Melbourne)
1st Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari
2nd Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP
3rd Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP
Click here for full report & times

April 9: China (Shanghai)
1st Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP
2nd Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari
3rd Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull
Click here for full report & times

April 16: Bahrain (Sakhir)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP
3 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP
Click here for full report & times

April 30: Russia (Sochi)
1 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
Click here for full report & times

May 14: Spain (Barcelona)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari
3 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull
Click here for full report & times

May 28: Monaco (Monte Carlo)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
3 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull
Click here for full report & times

June 11: Canada (Montreal)
1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes
3 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull

June 25: Azerbaijan (Baku)

July 9: Austria (Spielberg)

July 16: Britain (Silverstone)

July 30: Hungary (Budapest)

August 27: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)

September 3: Italy (Monza)

September 17: Singapore (Marina Bay)

October 1: Malaysia (Sepang)

October 8: Japan (Suzuka)

October 22: USA (Austin)

October 29: Mexico (Mexico City)

November 12: Brazil (Sao Paulo)