Canada – Race: Lewis Hamilton’s show of strength

On the occasion of this first race of the year in North America, the weather was not ideal, with strong winds that could destabilize the drivers and lead them to make mistakes. The issue is even more significant as the wind is very irregular, with many changes in direction.

On the grid, the Mercedes and Ferraris occupied the first two rows, with pole position for Lewis Hamilton. It’s worth noting that there were only 19 drivers on the grid since Pascal Wehrlein was forced to undergo numerous repairs on his car following his off-track excursion during qualifying. The Sauber’s German driver thus started from the pit lane.

Daniil Kvyat also experienced a mishap as his Toro Rosso did not start during the formation lap. He remained stationary for many seconds before finally getting going. He was able to recover his place on the grid but not in time. As a result, he was penalized with a drive-through penalty.

At the lights out, Sebastian Vettel did not have the best start while Max Verstappen surged from the third row. The Dutchman was able to take second place as Valtteri Bottas also slipped ahead of the Ferrari driver.

If the first corner went relatively well, the first chicane was much more complicated as Carlos Sainz’s Toro Rosso lost control under braking and hit Felipe Massa’s Williams, after an initial collision with Romain Grosjean’s Haas. This necessitated the deployment of the safety car.

After three laps behind the safety car, the race was restarted. Max Verstappen was aggressive but missed the penultimate corner. However, a part came loose on Sebastian Vettel’s front wing, forcing the championship leader to return to the pits after only five laps, relegating him to the back of the pack.

LAP 6/70: Damage to VET’s front wing after a chaotic start in Montreal

He returns to the pits for repairs and emerges P18 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/0o63BkN0pd

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 11, 2017

The surprises don’t stop as, on the 12th lap, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull came to a halt on the track after a sudden engine stop. While it was poorly positioned on the inside of the track, the stewards decided to deploy the virtual safety car instead of a real safety car.

This left the two Mercedes in the first two positions, but the gap between the two teammates had already reached nine seconds. Lewis Hamilton was never threatened since the Briton stayed on track much longer than his direct competitors. He only stopped on the 32nd lap to switch to supersoft tires, just like Esteban Ocon, who was in second place and keeping Valtteri Bottas, who had switched to soft tires, at bay.

The French driver from Force India then set off between the two Ferraris, between Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel. The German was not able to catch up quickly as the floor of his car was damaged, likely due to his initial problem.

On the 42nd lap, Kimi Räikkönen was the first to make a second stop, to put on ultra-softs. This still allowed Sebastian Vettel to catch up to Esteban Ocon’s exhaust. A train was thus formed between Daniel Ricciardo (on softs), Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon, and Sebastian Vettel.

The Ferrari driver then decided to imitate his teammate on the 50th lap and switch back to the ultra-softs. He was then able to set the fastest laps in the race to catch up with the Force Indias. The Silverstone team then attempted a strategy by asking Sergio Perez to let the Frenchman have a go at Daniel Ricciardo. However, the Mexican refused to comply.

With nine laps remaining, Kimi Räikkönen encountered technical problems, which allowed Sebastian Vettel to gain an additional position. The German then caught up with the Force India cars, as had been planned by the Italian strategists. Three laps from the end, Esteban Ocon attempted to gain an advantage over his teammate, but the maneuver failed, and Sebastian Vettel took advantage.

The German even managed to break through Sergio Perez’s defense. The Mexican defended until the end of the race, which did not fail to provoke the anger of Esteban Ocon.

The next round, another disappointment for Fernando Alonso, once again forced to retire while he was in the points for the first time this year.

But Lewis Hamilton was far from his considerations and is in a position to secure his sixth victory on the Canadian circuit. The Canadian public was able to rejoice for the local hero, Lance Stroll, who scores his first points in F1 with the two points from ninth place. The young driver finishes between the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg and the Haas of Romain Grosjean.

This is therefore the first Mercedes double of the Hamilton-Bottas era. The Briton takes the opportunity to come within just twelve points of Sebastian Vettel while Mercedes regains the lead in the Constructors’ standings.