Blind optimism might compel us to describe Sunday night’s Canadian Grand Prix as the perfect plot-thickener for this year’s championship, with Sebastian Vettel producing a dominant gun-to-tape victory to edge ahead of arch-rival Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
But Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ perfectionist team principal, offered rather a different view. Maddened by Ferrari’s irresistible pace here in Montreal, the Austrian said: “It is a s--- result for us ‒ I can only put it like that. The only feeling I have is that we have to wake up.”
After a race devoid of any wheel-to-wheel skirmishes at the front, it fell to Wolff to provide the fireworks with his words. Since 2014, Mercedes have been unanswerably dominant in F1, and yet the sheer ease with which Vettel swept to his 50th win suggested that the threat from Ferrari had seldom been stronger.
This was not an idea that filled Wolff with joy. Asked if he could draw any comfort from Valtteri Bottas finishing second here, with Hamilton fifth, he shot back: “We have fallen behind in every aspect. This is a track where we should have maximised points. It was not about performing damage limitation.” Pressed on whether the result would have “consequences” back at the team base, he said: “That’s necessary. We will look at that internally.”
Mercedes’ failure to bring any engine updates to Canada hurt them grievously, with Hamilton struggling all weekend both in his cornering and straight-line speed. The effect was severe: where the reigning world champion had arrived at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a 14-point lead, he left it trailing by one. On this occasion, Vettel was supreme in achieving his 50th win. From the moment he surged away from Bottas off the start line, the outcome looked settled.
Traditionally, Canada has hosted many of F1’s finest dramas, from Hamilton’s maiden win in 2007 to Jenson Button’s improbable, rain-lashed triumph from last on the grid four years later. This latest instalment was not a contender, alas, to join the classics. A conspicuous absence of overtaking made for a one-dimensional procession. It was fitting, in a way, that model Winnie Harlow decided to wave the chequered flag a lap early, as if she, like everyone else, had seen quite enough.
At least Hamilton put up a fight against the ennui of it all as he tried to chase down Daniel Ricciardo over the final laps. “Do you want us to turn down the engine?” Mercedes asked him, with all the cars stubbornly holding station. “No,” he said, emphatically. “I want to race.”
A race worth the name was what the occasion sorely lacked. As a setting for F1, Montreal brought every ingredient: picture-perfect weather, the stunning vista of the downtown skyline and St Lawrence Seaway, not to mention hordes of Canadian Ferrari disciples who rivalled the Monza tifosi in their passionate celebration of Vettel’s performance. The action, however, was grimly static.
With a third of the season gone, the tussle between Hamilton and Vettel, fierce adversaries throughout last year, could not be more delicately poised. “I’m proud to be a part of the Ferrari story, and this was a great grand prix to win,” Vettel said.
A significant one, too, given that he restored his ascendancy in the face-off with Hamilton. He is seldom too expansive in his post-race emotions, but Vettel was not shy of describing how much the day meant to him. Not only was this his 50th appearance on the top step of the podium, but he made it on the 40th anniversary of the late Gilles Villeneuve’s 1978 triumph. To this day, Villeneuve is the only Canadian to have won his home race. “We showed here that Ferrari were still alive, still racing,” the German said.
While Hamilton was chasing his fourth consecutive win in Montreal, and a seventh overall to equal Michael Schumacher’s record, his struggles were self-evident early as he reported drop-outs of power. It was a weakness that did not go unnoticed by Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull behind. “Looks like Lewis is vulnerable,” he said via the in-car radio. “Understood, let’s get him,” Simon Rennie, his race engineer, replied.
As it turned out, the Australian did not need to attempt any audacious pass, instead vaulting past Hamilton after the first round of pit-stops as Red Bull pulled off the over-cut. “It’s Hammer Time,” said Pete Bonnington, normally the most soothing voice in the Mercedes garage. “I’m giving it everything I can,” his driver shouted, clearly exasperated.
Further down the order, the drama was more incendiary. Local idol Lance Stroll, of Williams, ran Brendon Hartley into the wall after a flat-out, opening-lap drag race, the New Zealander’s Toro Rosso almost flipping over in an explosion of sparks and carbon-fibre debris. The timing was inauspicious for Hartley, whose position in F1 has already come under threat, but the blame rested squarely with Stroll, who left the Kiwi nowhere to go.
A safety-car deployment ensued, fleetingly halting Vettel’s surge. But he was equally impressive at the re-start, leaving Bottas for dead and never relinquishing the momentum thanks to a sequence of lightning laps. In the stands, many Ferrari fans were celebrating.
The Montreal officials, though, went into party mode even sooner, unfurling the chequered flag for Vettel after 69 laps rather than the allotted 70. For such a professionalised sport, it was a bizarrely amateurish mistake, calling a premature end to the grand prix and even depriving Ricciardo of the fastest lap time. Not that Vettel was of much of a mind to complain. The grin on his face told you everything about the magnitude of his win, even if the manner of it left much to be desired.
Time to sign off an uneventful Canadian Grand Prix
Unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype. We have issues with marginal one-stop races, it seems, and this one was a repeat of Monaco two weeks ago. Still, the last few laps were the most exciting of the race. But that is not saying much.
Sebastian Vettel won't mind, though. He did not put a foot wrong from start to finish. Just when it looked like Bottas might try a late charge he ran wide in the first and second turns after lapping Carlos Sainz's Renault and dropped seven seconds behind. Verstappen drove a decent race to take third. Hamilton struggled after the first pit stops and didn't have the pace to take fourth from Ricciardo. He'll be disappointed to lose the championship lead but it's a long season and one point is the difference. A small gap.
Hulkenberg won the B-class race, finishing in P7 and Charles Leclerc took another point for Sauber. His third points finish in four races.
We will return in two weeks' time for the first-ever F1 triple-header, which starts in France at Paul Ricard. Three races in three weeks. A crucial period. Thanks for joining us.
But before we go...he's an interesting thing. The chequered flag was waved earlier. Two laps early, in fact. Therefore the race has to be classified after 68 laps. Not the full 70 laps. Thankfully it didn't make a difference to the classification but it could have.
Vettel reacts
Perfect is a good way to describe it. I said yesterday how much this place means for Ferrari. To have a race like we had today is unbelievable. Yeah. I'm sure [the fans] will have a blast tonight. I'm just happy. It's still a long way but for sure it's a good side effect. It's a day to remember the great Gilles Villeneuve.
SEBASTIAN VETTEL WINS THE 2018 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX!
The chequered flag comes out a lap early! Vettel knows it's not supposed to be out. He's alert. He slides through the final chicane with ease to win his first race since Bahrain! Bottas comes home in second ahead of Verstappen in third. Ricciardo keeps his cool to finish ahead of Hamilton.
SEBASTIAN VETTEL REGAINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD. BY A POINT.
Lap 55 of 70 - Bottas makes a mistake lapping Sainz
Bottas loses a while chunk of time trying to get past Sainz. Sainz lets him past but he fails to stamp on the brakes enough to slow it down into turn one and goes onto the grass...
He loses 1.8s to Vettel in the first sector alone and still has to get past both Renault cars. Ouch. Is that the race for Vettel?
Raikkonen pits...
A reasonable one? Not good enough though! He comes out behind Hamilton! Hamilton was fighting to lap Sirotkin but it didn't cost him. It's Hammer time, says Pete Bonnington. He doesn't sound enthused...
Getting out ahead of Raikkonen is probably the best thing that's happened for him today.
I don't want to be a killjoy but it seems everyone is trying to eke out their tyres again...
Lap 28 of 70 - Vettel leads from Bottas
Bottas goes quickest of anyone in the final sector to reduce Vettel's lead to 3.2s. Hamilton has fallen a bit further behind Ricciardo now, 2.7s. Grosjean running nicely in the points now and Ocon has fought back well, aiming to get back into the fight with the Renaults. He needs to get past Grosjean first, mind.
Lap 7 of 70 - Vettel leads from Bottas
"Sainz should be black flagged, really" is what Perez thinks about that incident with Sainz. A bit harsh but he may well pick up a penalty of some kind. I reckon a five second time penalty. Hamilton complains about drop outs of power. Hmmm. That doesn't sound good.
Lap 5 of 70 - SAFETY CAR IN - RACE RESTARTS
Verstappen gets very close to Bottas at the restart but Vettel leaps forward at the start and has over a second lead from Bottas. Perez gets contact from Sainz and slides across the grass at turn one. He slips down to 13th! Lucky not to collect any other cars there.
The incident between Hartley and Stroll is under investigation, as is the one between Sainz and Perez.
The end of the Hartley/Stroll incident
Hartley was going around the outside there and was launched into the air. That could have been a lot worse. The Kiwi will be disappointed with that after yesterday's qualifying. Stroll will also be disappointed, obviously.
The Safety Car is out on track. Who will this work out best for?
THE 2018 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX IS GO!
Vettel and Verstappen point their cars aggressively.
LIGHTS OUT! Great start by Verstappen who beats Bottas to the first turn but the Finn fights back into second place! Vettel still leads comfortably.
AND THAT'S A BIG CRASH FOR HARTLEY! HE COLLECTS LANCE STROLL. They are both out. That was a big one. Safety Car time? Safety car time.
Bottas on his chances
"There will be many opportunities. The first one is the start. If not then there's 70 laps to go and we will find away," he tells Sky Sports F1. He's been unlucky in 2018. He should have won at least one of China or Azerbaijan. A great effort to beat Hamilton in qualifying yesterday, too.
Watch out: Brundle's about
"It's a long race," says Lance Stroll to Brundle. It might well be for him.
Fernando Alonso is targeting points, of course. He wants action in front of him into the first couple of turns.
"We have to do the best with what we have. It's no good to complain," says Sergey Sirotkin. He has a lot to complain about, in fairness.
Williams struggles in 2018 continue
Here's their raw pace performance relative to the quickest time of the weekend. Not much progress is being made.
Nigel Mansell used to say that driving at the British Grand Prix was worth a second a lap to him. Lance Stroll will need a bit more than that if he's going to take any points today.
A few things to look out for in today's race
- The Red Bulls, particularly at the start. They chose a contrary tyre strategy yesterday, opting for the softer, less durable hypersofts in Q2 and that is the compound the will start the race on. Verstappen begins in P3 and Ricciardo in P6, so making up ground and time in the first stint will be critical to their chances. They have, though, tended to be less harsh on the softer compound tyres here and generally so they may be able to make them last longer than expected.
- Daniel Ricciardo could be one to try a daring two-stop strategy. His overtaking and late braking - key around here - are probably second to none in F1 at the moment and he has the skill to make it work. An outside bet for the podium? Or even better?
- How long will Hamilton run on his used set of ultrasofts? His final run included a lock-up into the hairpin. Will that affect his durability. He could be the first to pit.
Vettel offers qualifying masterclass
Any flying lap of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a crucible of speed encircled by the St Lawrence Seaway, demands that a driver must thread the needle, launching the car out of the gnarly corners like a slingshot and veering as close to the notorious ‘Wall of Champions’ as he dares.
Sebastian Vettel offered a masterclass in the art on Saturday, tearing around this man-made island with a blistering intensity to record his 54th pole position. Any comfort that Lewis Hamilton felt at his 14-point championship lead vanished in a little under 71 seconds, as his Ferrari rival catapulted himself back to the front.
Hello/bon soir! Welcome to our coverage of the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix from Montreal
Yesterday's qualifying session was quite a thriller. Possibly even the best of the season. Then again we have been spoiled in 2018. Unusually, this year we have arrived to most races unsure of who has the quickest package and of even who is the favourite to take pole position. The same was true in Canada.
Many thought it would have been the master of Montreal and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Lewis Hamilton. But it was not the case. He was even out-qualified by his team-mate for only the second time in 11 years. The current champion has some way to go if he's to match Michael Schumacher's seven wins in Montreal.
The quickest man in final qualifying was Sebastian Vettel, who beat Valtteri Bottas by less than 0.1 seconds. Had Mercedes brought their planned engine upgrade here then it could be the Finn on pole. They didn't and it wasn't and Vettel again found the pace to take his fourth pole of 2018.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen put in an excellent lap to place third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen ruined his second flying lap a matter of seconds into it, as he ran onto the grass on the exit of turn two. Oops. Hamilton struggled uncharacteristically yesterday, failing to put together three consecutive quick sectors. The final section of the track was his downfall as he locked up going into the tight hairpin several times.
Elsewhere, there was more misery for two of the sport's most successful teams: Williams and McLaren. McLaren could only manage 14th and 15th - behind one Toro Rosso and one Sauber - and Williams were 17th and 18th. At least they managed to win the traditional post-qualifying raft race.
We'll give you a few pointers shortly in what to look out for in today's race but it could once more be an interesting one for strategy, with how long each driver can make the hypersoft and ultrasoft tyres last a critical aspect. The The Red Bulls will be the ones to look out for at the start. Unlike Monaco, this could be a good one for overtaking. It's often the best race of the year.
I'll be here for the next few hours to bring you all the build-up, live updates and analysis and reaction from the Canadian Grand Prix.