Lewis Hamilton becomes the 7th winner in as many races to take the chequered flag at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday following an exciting end to the 70 lap race. McLaren had a two-stop strategy which worked to perfection.
This is one of Hamilton’s favorite races as he has won in Canada three times in only five seasons. The young English driver is now the leader of the 2012 Championship from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Sergio Perez driving the Sauber came home in third place which is his second time on the podium this season. The Mexican had a bad run which included three eleventh places, although he converted his 15th place on the grid. The key to his success was, once again, making the softer compound Pirellis last longer than most of his rivals, running to lap 41.
After the race he said “It was a great race for the whole team because, after such a disappointing qualifying that we had yesterday, with so little pace as well, we had to fight in a different way with the strategy. It’s been a great result for the whole team. We have been so unlucky since Malaysia. It’s great to come back into the points with another podium."
Hamilton went on to say: “That was one of the most enjoyable races I’ve had until now. I was just thinking that to finish at the front, as I did five years ago, would be very, very special for me - and it has been. I couldn't believe it when I crossed the line - a feeling inside like an explosion. It was really just incredible. That’s what I love about racing, and if I continue to have this feeling for many, many years, then hopefully I'll be here for a long, long time.”
Hamilton overtook his former team mate and arch rival Alonso, whose tyres had badly worn. The Spanish driver later finished fifth behind Lotus Romain Grosjean, Perez and Vettel.
Hamilton’s McLaren team mate Button had a difficult race and a bad result, he is now trailing Hamilton by 43 points, Button said: “It was a terrible race, I've never had one like it, and they seem to get worse and worse. I’m pushing the car to its limits and yet I’m so far off the leaders. It's a little bit confusing. Every time you jump in the car you’re confident and excited it's going to go well, and every time you make changes you think you are going to improve. But it's not happening.”
Behind the Ferrari driver Alonso, Mercedes Nico Rosberg was sixth, followed by Mark Webber in the Red Bull, Lotus Kimi Raikkonen, Kamui Kobayashi in his Sauber and Ferrari of Felipe Massa, with Force India's Paul di Resta 11th.
