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Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Canadian Grand Prix. --------------- 14:02: Hamilton takes his place on pole position after the formation lap and patiently waits for the rest to filter in. Moments away from lights out... --- 14:00:Top ten on ultra-softs. Perez on softs, Button on super-softs.Haryanto and Sainz the only other men not on the super-soft tyre. Keep a firm eye on that man Perez, we know how good he is at making the tyres work here - he nearly won in 2014,don't forget. --- 13:55: 40 percent chance of rain forecast for the race. We saw how well that spiced up the action in Monaco, so here's hoping for a repeat here... --- 13:52: Eight minutes until the formation lap. ---
--- 13:50:The only change to the grid since qualifying is that Carlos Sainz drops five places for a gearbox change made after his collision with the Wall of Champions yesterday. That means the Toro Rosso driver will start 20th, just ahead of Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Magnussen. --- 13:45: Canadian national anthem rings out over the circuit, as military jets pass overhead. It's nearly race time. --- 13:42: Behind the Merc-Ferrari-RBR grid slots are Williams, who have looked fairly solid in that position. They may well be in a battle with Force India, who qualified ninth and eleventh, either side of the McLaren drivers. Honda has introduced an upgrade at this race which should help its power unit fuel efficiency and might mean the drivers do less fuel saving in the race. We'll see if it has any performance impact in the race itself. --- 13:40:Michael Douglas and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady among the big names in the paddock this weekend. Grandstands are packed as well. This is one of the best races on the calendar, without a doubt. --- 13:37: It is set to be a fascinating start out there. Hamilton pole, Rosberg second, those two guys racing down to Turn 1 again like they did in Spain. Vettel and Ricciardo ready to pounce on any mistakes from the world champions --- 13:35: A few spots of rain in the air but doesn't look like it will have a big impact on the race. It's pretty cold out there today - conditions Daniel Ricciardo predicted would suit Red Bull. He starts fourth today. --- |
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Lap 1 |
Great start from Vettel! He jumps into the lead and Hamilton has to go defensive, forcing Rosberg across the grass at Turn 1. Ferrari leads the grand prix and Rosberg is already down to ninth and still losing positions. |
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Lap 2 |
Big lock up from Hamilton as he approaches the final chicane but he's very close to Vettel coming into Turn 1. Rosberg all the way down in tenth! Disaster for the Mercedes man. Hamilton already seems to be hunting Vettel down and he's not far away from having the advantage of DRS as well. Curious to see the start again for that Hamilton/Rosberg moment. Replays show why Hamilton is so much closer to Vettel - he ran wide and went over the final chicane. Hulkenberg all over the back of Alonso but the McLaren driver holds firm into the final corner, but he can't stay ahead into Turn 1 on the next lap. |
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Lap 3 |
DRS enabled and Vettel has pulled out a bit more of a gap on Hamilton. Fascinating duel now we have three different cars making up the top three places. Rosberg all over the back of Alonso's McLaren but he can't close enough at the hairpin.. but he's able to blast past with DRS into the final chicane. That's up to ninth. |
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Lap 4 |
Fastest lap from Hamilton. Replay of the start again, Mercedes didn't get away poorly but Vettel absolutely rocketed off the line. That was just like his start in Melbourne. Don't think Hamilton did much wrong going into Turn 1, had to hold the inside line - but I'm sure Rosberg will have other ideas about that. |
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Lap 5 |
Replays show there was a slight touch between Hamilton and Rosberg before the German bailed out. That's what makes Turn 1 such a tricky corner, there's so little space for two guys. Replays also show Magnussen spinning Nasr round as the pair came through Turn 4. |
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Lap 6 |
Vettel not shaking Hamilton, who is still within a second of the Ferrari. Another fastest lap for Hamilton, a 1:17.400. Rosberg gaining on Hulkenberg in the battle for eighth position. He's got straight-line speed and will have DRS so it's going to have to be a patient waiting game for the championship leader. |
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Lap 7 |
Hamilton flying and sets another flying lap, a 1:17.326. Rosberg struggling to get past another Mercedes-powered car, he's still behind Hulkenberg. Seeing another replay of the first corner, Rosberg had committed himself to a very wide entry to Turn 1 and it seemed inevitable as soon as Hamilton refused to yield one of them wouldn't make it through Turn 2 cleanly. |
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Lap 8 |
Vettel creeps out of DRS range, pulling four tenths out on Hamilton on the last lap. Replays show Rosberg missing his braking zone and going over the final chicane. He's still ninth. |
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Lap 9 |
Button starting to get close to Alonso in the battle for 10th, the two men on very different strategies. Button, on super-softs, six tenths down on Alonso and his ultra-softs. Vettel leads by 1.3s now. |
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Lap 10 |
Personal best laps from Ricciardo and Bottas, which is followed up by Rosberg, who takes eight tenths out of Hulkenberg on the last lap. Definitely time for Mercedes to consider a different strategy for Rosberg. In all the chaos at the start, I omitted to mention that Verstappen had passed Ricciardo at the start. The Australian within DRS range of his teammate. |
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Lap 11 |
Red Bull asking Verstappen not to hold Ricciardo up... let's see how this one unfolds. Retirement for McLaren! Button has pulled over with fire coming from the back of his car. Oh dear oh dear. Virtual Safety Car deployed as Button hops out of his car. Replays showing his engine going bang as he powered away from the hairpin. Blow for McLaren. |
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Lap 12 |
Vettel pits from the lead just as the Virtual Safety Car period ends. Off come the ultra-soft tyres and on go the super-soft tyres. Two stop strategy now? Raikkonen also pits. Interestingly that Hamilton was still trailing down the pit straight when VSC period ended, so let's see who won and lost in that situation. Big lap for Hamilton and the Ferrari drivers. Ricciardo still behind Verstappen, who was just told not to hold up his teammate. |
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Lap 13 |
Hamilton stays out. One-stop strategy for Mercedes? Love it when there are different strategies at play and we'll see now who is on the right one. Fascinating to see how much Vettel gained from the VSC being in play as he entered the pit lane. So, Vettel and Ferrari sacrifices track position to go onto the two-stop strategy. Hamilton now 11 seconds up on the Ferrari driver. |
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Lap 14 |
Both Red Bulls have stayed out and currently running ahead of the Red Bulls. Verstappen still leading Ricciardo. |
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Lap 15 |
Hamilton still leads Vettel by 11.2s and the Ferrari driver now approaching two Red Bull drivers. Key point in the race this for Vettel. |
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Lap 16 |
This is one of the curious things about strategy these days. All well and good doing something different, but the man who has track position is still king. Vettel now faces the prospect of these two Red Bull's jeopardising his race strategy. Replays show Raikkonen moving up to 12th,passing Kvyat. |
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Lap 17 |
Vettel closes right up to Ricciardo with DRS down the back straight but not quite close enough for a pass. He is right behind again into Turn 1 but not close enough. Ricciardo looking left and right in his mirrors. This will be playing into Hamilton at the moment, as he's in clear air out in front. Vettel in desperate need to get past but this Ferrari upgrade looks to have produced a real boost. Vettel gets close enough at the hairpin and dives down the inside! Lovely move, locking up but making it stick. Very important he got past as quick as possible. |
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Lap 18 |
Grosjean, Alonso, Kvyat and Palmer pit. Vettel has already closed up behind Verstappen and the DRS makes it easy for the Ferrari to get alongside and pass the Red Bull driver before the final chicane. Great few laps from Vettel, he had to get past those guys as fast as possible and he got it done.
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Lap 19 |
Perez, still on the soft tyre he started the race on, right behind Raikkonen in ninth. Replays again showing Vettel's pass on Verstappen. Great drive from Vettel so far. |
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Lap 20 |
Vettel has pulled 1.2s and then 0.7s off Hamilton in the last two laps. Ferrari flying on the super-soft tyres. |
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Lap 21 |
Verstappen pits from third position. Soft tyres for Red Bull, so they're sticking to a one stop strategy. Palmer has retired from the race. |
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Lap 22 |
Ricciardo now pits for soft rubber and a few turns of front wing. Rosberg pits as well. Raikkonen has got ahead of Ricciardo in all those pit stops. It's all coming up Ferrari at the moment... I imagine Ricciardo will have some interesting things to say after the race one again... |
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Lap 23 |
Massa pits, a fairly quick looking stop from the Williams team who have been lightning fast all season. Vettel 5.9s behind Hamilton, who is yet to make his first stop, but the Ferrari man has to stop himself. Hamilton's lap times suggest his tyres are about ready to be taken off. |
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Lap 24 |
Fastest lap for Vettel, a 1:17.185. Mercedes will be working out where Hamilton will emerge if he pits because its counter-productive to pit and then end up in a trail of cars. Mercedes confirms Hamilton lost a bit of time running over the final chicane. Definitely the end of those tyres' life, pretty good stint on ultra-softs though. Fastest lap from Rosberg - a 1:16.868 on the soft tyres. |
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Lap 25 |
Hamilton pits and Vettel moves back into the lead of the grand prix. Soft tyres for the British driver so he's going to end on that set. Rosberg passes Perez for seventh into the final chicane. Rosberg finally starting to find a bit of pace on those soft tyres. |
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Lap 26 |
Looks like there is a plastic bag floating around down the backstraight. Hamilton is 13 seconds behind Vettel so now the battle is staying within range to get ahead of Vettel whenever he makes his pit stop. Looks like Hamilton has been let out in a big clear bit of track, which may explain why he was kept out for an extra lap than you would have expected. |
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Lap 27 |
Pace comparison at the front: Vettel 1:17.678 Hamilton 1:17.772 Imperative for Vettel that he opens up more of a gap with another pit stop hanging over his head. I don't think they made the right strategy call, myself, why not put Vettel on the soft tyre that early on? |
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Lap 28 |
Vettel only gaining a handful of tenths on Hamilton currently, he's 13.4s up on the world champion. Ricciardo has closed right up on Raikkonen, how will a Renault engine fare against Ferrari with some DRS? Perez the tyre master hasn't stopped yet - 28 laps on the soft tyre. He's eighth, so maybe not as high up as he would have hoped at this stage. |
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Lap 29 |
Hamilton now lapping faster than Vettel, gaining four tenths on the German on the last lap. Ricciardo can't get close enough to Vettel on that last lap. Is this another race getting away from the Australian? Following another car in modern F1 is not good for the tyres and this is bringing sixth-place Bottas in to play as well. |
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Lap 30 |
"Take it easy, take it easy Kimi," Dave Greenwood tells the Finn. "I cannot take it easy and keep two cars behind!" Raikkonen replies. Hamilton catching Vettel at a quick rate now, gaining seven tenths on that last lap. "Get this traffic out of the way!" Vettel complains. I miss his "blue flags"song from Malaysia last year... |
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Lap 31 |
Raikkonen has Ricciardo and Bottas closing right up behind him. This one could get a bit tasty. Vettel's chances of winning this one seem to be slipping slightly as Hamilton keeps slashing the lead, it's 11.5s now. Vettel needs to pit again. Perez pits finally, taking on super-soft tyres,and rejoins 12th. |
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Lap 32 |
Another fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:16.867. He's still in seventh but has now closed up to the Raikkonen train forming in the battle for fourth position. |
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Lap 33 |
All the FOM cameras focused on the battle for fourth. It's still as you were with no men able to get close enough to pass the man in front. It could all end in tears but some big points to be gained if people are willing to be brave. Things are now starting to fall away from Ferrari a bit, Hamilton 10.2s behind Vettel. |
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Lap 34 |
Raikkonen releases the train behind him and comes into the pits. A set of soft tyres for the Finn. Rosberg now right behind Bottas. |
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Lap 35 |
Rosberg still looking at the gearbox of Bottas, doesn't seem to be getting close enough through the middle sector for DRS to be effective. Plenty of laps left for the German yet, though. Vettel's lead 10.1s. When will Ferrari bring him in to pit? |
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Lap 36 |
Hamilton putting purple sectors in now, he's in very good shape on those soft tyres. Hate to say it, but this one is developing into another race Ferrari let get away from itself... Plenty of time to go, however. |
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Lap 37 |
Fastest lap Hamilton, a 1:16.791. He's now 9.6s behind. Bottas gets himself ahead of Ricciardo and away from the chasing Mercedes of Rosberg. |
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Lap 38 |
Vettel pits from the lead, soft tyres. Hamilton now leads the grand prix. Rosberg really close to Ricciardo but not close enough yet - he'll fare much better against Renault power, however. Replays show what happened to Ricciardo, running deep at the final chicane, with Bottas passing him as they crossed the finish line thanks to the speed differential. |
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Lap 39 |
Rosberg gets alongside Ricciardo with DRS and the Australian goes straight on at the chicane but this time straight into the pit lane. Sluggish pit stop for Ricciardo, looking a bit slow on the front right. So, two stop strategy for Red Bull as well. Is this going to be the way to go? A lot of laps left.... |
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Lap 40 |
Vettel's lap times now the ones lighting up the timing screens on those fresh soft tyres. Hamilton has to make his last for another 30 laps.... Vettel 7.3s behind the world champion. Massa has retired in the pit lane. |
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Lap 41 |
Key stat - Hamilton's tyres are 13 laps older than Vettel's. That will be of big importance later in the race. Things not over for Vettel and Ferrari yet but they still have to catch and pass the world champion. This should be a great finish... Looks like a few teams are switching from a one- to two-stop strategy as the track temperature continues to fall. That's not an option for Hamilton if he wants to win the race. Big strip appearing on Hamilton's front left... |
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Lap 42 |
Of course, we don't know if Hamilton has been saving anything for when Ferrari gets closer. Time will tell. Lock up from Vettel as he comes through the final hairpin, he's closing on Hamilton like Hamilton was closing on him not long ago. One of the Haas drivers has to bail out across the final chicane as they let Vettel through. |
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Lap 43 |
Rosberg now 0.8s behind Bottas' Williams. Rosberg struggled to find a way past another Mercedes powered car earlier when behind the Force India. |
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Lap 44 |
"Come on, what the hell is going on!?" asks a frustrated Vettel, referring again to the lack of blue flags. Small flat-spot in his right tyre. He's certainly picked up some of that fiery Italian spirit since joining Maranello... |
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Lap 45 |
Personal best lap from Hamilton but it's still slightly slower than Vettel's last lap. Rosberg gets another stab of DRS but not close enough to pass Bottas, who we know is very good at the defensive driving when he has a faster car behind. These must be some frustrating laps for the German driver... scratch that, frustrating race to follow a frustrating swing in momentum. |
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Lap 46 |
Another fastest lap from Vettel, a 1:16.605. "You've got to give me more information about the warnings on my steering wheel," Rosberg says. "Copy. The warnings are real," is the reply. More issues for the German? This Bottas-Rosberg battle getting close to Verstappen... |
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Lap 47 |
Bottas locks up into the final hairpin as Rosberg moves out of the racing line coming down the back straight when it looked like he might have been in DRS range. Brake problems for the German, maybe? He struggled with that in Monaco. |
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Lap 48 |
Verstappen pits to release Bottas into the final podium position. What a result that would be. Vettel now within six seconds of Hamilton. He's chipping away at the world champion's lead. Barbara says: "Surely the drivers know they have to move over if the leaders are coming through ?" They do, I'm sure what Vettel is complaining about is that those cars aren't getting the blue flags to signal they need to move over. Easy to forget those lapped cars are racing as well, not fair to expect them to just jump out of the way... |
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Lap 49 |
We saw replays of a big lock up for Grosjean. I haven't mentioned Haas much today, Gutierrez leads the Frenchman in 13th. Important for the Mexican driver to get a few wins in the intra-team battle after the start Grosjean had this year. At some stage, Vettel is going to have to pick up the pace as he won't catch Hamilton at this rate. And when he does, how much will Hamilton have in the tyres to respond? |
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Lap 50 |
And let's not forget, these cars struggle to follow each other, so when Vettel does start to get close he's going to start losing downforce compared to Hamilton. Fastest lap for Verstappen, a 1:16.319, after Vettel had just set a purple 1:16.429. |
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Lap 51 |
Ferrari egging Vettel on. "Very good lap Seb, very good lap." Tremendous drive this afternoon from the leading pair. This race another vindication of Pirelli's tweaked tyre rules, too, given how an extra compound opens up strategy options for the teams. Rosberg pushing again behind Bottas despite that earlier message about warnings on his dashboard. Hamilton still has plenty of pace in his tyres, clearly, as he goes purple through the middle sector. |
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Lap 52 |
Rosberg pits! "Slow right rear puncture," Mercedes tells the German. Just when it seemed like he was getting closer to the Williams in front of him. More soft tyres on, curiously. Looks like Rosberg has come out in seventh, so he's dropped behind Verstappen, Raikkonen and Ricciardo. Surely ultra- or super-soft made more sense with 17 laps left? |
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Lap 53 |
Ricciardo now closing on Raikkonen and he's got the Ferrari right in front of him, he's in DRS range. Rosberg a further two seconds down the road so Riccairdo will be keen to clear that Ferrari if he can and give himself some breathing room. |
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Lap 54 |
Vettel 4.6s behind Hamilton with 16 laps remaining. His last lap only a tenth quicker. Rosberg has closed right up to this battle in front of him and has the benefit of much fresher rubber. |
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Lap 55 |
Rosberg puts in a fastest lap, a 1:55.972. He gets a stab of DRS and that's enough to pass Ricciardo on the inside of the hairpin,albeit after some very defensive driving from Ricciardo. |
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Lap 56 |
Blue flags waving all over the place now, with Rosberg flying past Haas driver Grosjean. Grosjean weaving down the back straight after Rosberg's gone, showing the loss in temperature you can get from letting cars past. |
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Lap 57 |
Vettel locks up and clouts the final chicane! That will have cost him dearly, he was four seconds behind Hamilton and it's now gone up to 5.7s. How costly will that mistake be for Vettel? |
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Lap 58 |
Rosberg still not close enough to Raikkonen's Ferrari to pass him at Turn 1 but he's now almost close enough to reach out and touch the car himself .. ok, not quite, but you get the picture. DRS on this lap might be a lot. Should mention Carlos Sainz at this stage, as he has climbed from last to ninth in this race and looks on course for some mega points. Lovely move from Rosberg at the final chicane, edging closer with the DRS open and then braking so, so late to pass on the inside. Important move that as Rosberg looks to limit the damage in the championship. |
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Lap 59 |
Vettel still 5.7s behind with 11 laps left. Unless he's saving something for a late push, this one looks like its gone away from him. |
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Lap 60 |
Hamilton's tyres in fine shape, the world champion posting a personal best lap out in front, a 1:16.493. |
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Lap 61 |
Another fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:15.843. Early drive of the day chat - Bottas and Sainz are very good candidates, along with Mr Vettel. Vettel locks up again into that hairpin as Wehrlein dives out of the way in the Manor. Hamilton's lead still 5.5s. |
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Lap 62 |
Rosberg now two seconds behind Verstappen. Vettel runs wide at the chicane again and loses more time. Curious that he's struggling on those softer tyres. Got to give credit to the world champion. Raikkonen follows Vettel's example and locks up over the final chicane. |
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Lap 63 |
Verstappen now has a Rosberg-shaped object all over his mirrors as the championship leader closes in for fourth. Mercedes power clearly still has an edge over Renault down the straights. |
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Lap 64 |
With those mistakes, is it fair to blame Vettel as much as Ferrari for not winning this one? Certainly hasn't seemed to make the most of the advantage of fresh rubber in this third stint. Rosberg opens up the DRS but Verstappen forces him to go around the outside and refuses to yield to Rosberg through the final chicane. Rosberg tries again into Turn 1 and Verstappen slams the door shut into Turn 1! Great driving from the teenager and that might have wrapped up a podium position for Bottas. |
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Lap 65 |
Alonso, in 12th, asking if he can retire. McLaren says it wants to stay out in case of retirements in front and he groans in frustration. |
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Lap 66 |
Verstappen still refusing to yield to Rosberg again through the final chicane and through Turn 1. This is excellent driving from the Red Bull driver. DRS opens again for Rosberg but he's not close enough and he locks up on entry to the chicane. |
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Lap 67 |
Rosberg has dropped to a second behind. Solid defence from Verstappen, great to see. The Red Bull driver has himself a bit of breathing space now. As it stands, Rosberg will lead Hamilton by just nine points in the championship. Personal best lap from Vettel but it has all come a little too late for the Ferrari man. Hamilton well clear. |
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Lap 68 |
Hamilton seven seconds clear now. "What the [censored] is this Manor doing?" Raikkonen asks while a Manor slips and slides through Turn 1 and 2 in front of him. Questionable calls elsewhere, but this race has been won as well by another very impressive and long final stint for Hamilton - something he did in Monaco on the ultra-soft tyres. |
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Lap 69 |
Hamilton begins his penultimate lap. Rosberg has moved right back behind Verstappen for a final attempt at passing the teen sensation. Some traffic up the road which might help his plight... |
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Lap 70 |
Hamilton begins his final lap. Rosberg not close enough down the hairpin but he looks much, much closer. Verstappen forces him to go on the outside again and Rosberg spins! He got the car past the Red Bull driver and spun off the chicane. He gets the car going again but that's not how Rosberg would have wanted this race to end. Meanwhile, Hamilton WINS the Canadian Grand Prix! He pumps his fist in delight. Vettel finishes second, while Bottas claims a super podium for Williams. "Get in there pal!" says Peter Bonnington. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! That was for Muhammad guys, that was for Ali," the world champion says. Bottas laughs on the radio. "YES!" "Brilliant job all weekend," the team tells him. Great job from the Finn and about time we saw him back on the podium. |
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Interesting exchanges before the podium ceremony. Hamilton says he understeered across the first corner after a terrible start. Also says he enjoyed chasing Vettel down. Vettel replies, "I enjoyed chasing you down, too." |
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