Seventh heaven for Lewisposted in F110 | 06 | 2012
SEVEN RACES, SEVEN DIFFERENT winners: Lewis Hamilton made history when he delivered a stunning final final 21 laps to claim his first win of the year. Bathgate's Paul di Resta had to content himself with 11th.
Hamilton though was back to his impressive best as he wrestled his McLaren to an impressive victory, five years after he won the first grand prix of his F1 career, ironically on the same Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Hamilton made his second stop for new Pirelli tyres on lap 49 of the scheduled 70, on the 2.7-mile circuit, from the lead. He rejoined the circuit third, 13secs behind the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull.
Undaunted, the former world champ rattled off a series of searing laps to rapidly close the gap on the two leaders who attempted to do the race on just one stop.
First he cruised past Vettel —who then made a late pitstop and finished fourth, having started from pole — before romping past Alonso in the closing laps.
To further compound Alonso's misery, he was also passed by the Lotus-Renault of Romain Grosjean, who finished second, and the Sauber of Sergio Perez. The Mexican completed the podium line-up, while Alonso was relegated to fifth.
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After celebrating with his team, Hamilton, who now leads the championship by two points from Alonso, with Vettel a further point adrift, admitted a one-stop strategy was no a viable option for him.
"What a feeling," a delighted Hamilton, who win was his third in Canada, beamed. "This is where I won my first grand prix. I knew it would be tough, but I loved ever single minute and I am really grateful.
"It was one of the most enjoyable races I have had and I was just thinking today to finish at the front, as I did with my first win here, would be very, very special for me.
"I could not believe it when I crossed the line. The feeling inside was like an explosion, that is what I like about racing.
"I think the team did a great job with the pitstops and the strategy. I was very, very surprised that I was able to look after the tyres and push at the times I needed to push.
"I was surprised in the first stint. I knew Fernando was the one to beat. He has generally great pace on long runs.
"I was not able to do one stop, I think I would have fallen back, so I think a two-stop was just right.
"We went into the race knowing we would be doing two stops and when the guys were behind me I had a feeling that Fernando would be doing one stop.
"I knew I had to make a gap while looking after the tyres, even though Fernando was picking his pace up. It was one of the best stints I had."
Canadian Grand Prix — Result (Provisional):
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h32:29.586;
2. Grosjean Lotus-Renault +2.513;
3. Perez Sauber-Ferrari +5.260;
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault +7.295;
5. Alonso Ferrari +13.411;
6. Rosberg Mercedes +13.842;
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault +15.085;
8. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault +15.567;
9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +24.432;
10. Massa Ferrari +25.272;
11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes +37.693;
12. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes +46.236;
13. Maldonado Williams-Renault +47.052;
14. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1:04.475;
15. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap;
16. Button McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap;
17. Senna Williams-Renault +1 lap;
18. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault +1 lap;
19. Petrov Caterham-Renault +1 lap;
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps.
Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:15.752
Not classified/retirements:
Glock Marussia-Cosworth 57
Schumacher Mercedes 34
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 25
Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 23
World Championship standings (After 7 of 20 grands prix):
Drivers:
1. Hamilton 88
2. Alonso 86
3. Vettel 85
4. Webber 79
5. Rosberg 67
6. Raikkonen 55
7. Grosjean 53
8. Button 45
9. Perez 37
10. Maldonado 29
11. Kobayashi 21
12. Di Resta 21
13. Senna 15
14. Massa 11
15. Hulkenberg 7
16. Vergne 4
17. Schumacher 2
18. Ricciardo 2
Constructors:
1. Red Bull-Renault 164
2. McLaren-Mercedes 133
3. Lotus-Renault 108
4. Ferrari 97
5. Mercedes 69
6. Sauber-Ferrari 58
7. Williams-Renault 44
8. Force India-Mercedes 28
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
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Jim McGill