Sebastian Vettel registers first Canadian GP Victory

Sebastian Vettel, world's leading F1 racer has won its first Canadian Grand Prix victory in Montreal, finishing over 14 seconds clear of nearest challenger Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton finished in third place for Mercedes, followed by Mark Webber.

The top step at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has always eluded Sebastian and prior to this afternoon the closest he had come in four attempts was second place in 2011. That race was tinged with disappointment, however, as Seb conceded the lead on the final lap. However, from the moment the lights went out at the start of this afternoon’s edition there was never any doubt that he was about to erase the memory of that defeat. 

Sebastian started from the pole position, and easily kept hold of P1 when the lights went out. It comfortably beat front-row rival Lewis Hamilton into turn one. Then his pace advantage told almost immediately as he quickly built up a three-second lead over the Mercedes in as many laps. By the time his first stint was done and he had taken on new medium compound Pirelli tires, he was firmly in control of the race.

“It’s great to win today. I was pushing very hard, especially at the beginning of the race – I had a moment when I hit the wall, but I didn’t feel it; I was trying to get away from the field, as you don’t know what will happen towards the end,” he said. “It turned out that we could control things in the later stages, but you don’t know that, so I was just trying to push all the time and stay in the rhythm. It was good to see that we were quick in all conditions this weekend and had speed in the race. We had average tire wear, which hasn’t always been the case for us, so we have made a step forward there.” 

Having escaped his race’s minor incidents, Seb then proceeded serenely on his way to land his first Canadian GP win. It’s a victory that now leaves him with just the German, Hungarian and US GPs to conquer. Then the set will be complete. “It’s nice to win here, as it’s a very special race,” said Seb. “Not just the track, but the whole city enjoys the race and it’s a nice atmosphere.”