Sebastian Vettel extended his lead in the Formula One world championship as Red Bull finally broke their duck on this circuit.

It was the team’s first win anywhere on the north American continent. Vettel was in complete control of the race from start to finish and by the time he made his second pit stop, with 20 laps remaining, he enjoyed a comfortable lead over the rest of the field.

“I love Canada, the car was fantastic,” he shouted as he crossed the wining line. It was the third win of the season for the German and the 29th of his career. And with Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus having a bad day it means that Vettel has taken a strong hold on the title race with a lead of 36 points after seven rounds.

After his disappointment in Monaco, there was a strong run from Fernando Alonso, who came second, overtaking a frustrated looking Lewis Hamilton seven laps from the end, although the Mercedes then came back to threaten the Ferrari driver towards the finish.

Under instructions
At one point Hamilton sounded like Raikkonen when, under instructions from his Mercedes team regarding traction metrics, he said: "Please just let me drive man." But, as in qualifying, at least Hamilton finished ahead of his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who had dominated him in the past three races. Hamilton held on to third place, ahead of Mark Webber and Rosberg.

Vettel made a sure start but Valtteri Bottas’s dream Saturday soon turned into a very difficult Sunday. He was passed, almost immediately, by Webber, and despite some dogged driving by the Finn he found himself in seventh place after as many laps.

Vettel wasted no time in extending is advantage. He put in the fastest lap on the second circuit to widen his lead to 2.8 seconds over Hamilton.

The vast majority of cars put on their faster, super-soft rubber at the start and produced some aggressive racing.
Guardian Service