A delighted Lewis Hamilton made it a magnificent record seven different winners in seven races this year on Sunday when he drove with flawless speed and control to win the Canadian Grand Prix.
The 28-year-old Briton produced a magnificently judged performance in a race that passed off smoothly despite a weekend of student protests and police action resulting in about 60 arrests in the city, to seize his first win of the year.
Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Lotus came home second after an equally well-judged race to finish ahead of third-placed Mexican Sergio Perez of Sauber.
Photo: EPA
Hamilton’s triumph came five years to the day after he had claimed his maiden F1 victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and was his third win at what must be one of his favorite circuits.
It was his 18th career victory and it hoisted him back into serious contention for the drivers’ title in this year of unexpected results and unpredictable racing. Hamilton, who now leads with 88 points, said: “I knew today would be a tough, tough race.”
“I loved every single minute of it and I’m really very, very grateful. I never had a doubt in mind that there would not be a possibility to win,” he said. “But right now, it’s still sinking in. It’s been five years since I first won here, but it feels just as good. I’m massively proud of the team for continuing to push. It feels great to finally be here on the top step. It feels like one of best races I’ve had for a very long time.”
Photo: AFP
“I was thinking they [Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso] were falling behind and I assumed they were doing a one-stop so I decided to keep pushing. We had a couple of problems during the stops, they may have been my fault I don’t know, but otherwise it was a great race,” he added.
Hamilton, still wearing his helmet, celebrated by embracing his girlfriend, former Pussycat Dolls pop singer Nicole Scherzinger, and soaking McLaren team chief Martin Whitmarsh in champagne on the podium.
Grosjean was delighted with his best-ever F1 result and said: “”We thought about going for one stop and seeing what happened. Then suddenly I went past Fernando Alonso, who was slowing, and I was second. It was a crazy race. The team did a fantastic job in giving me a car that was good on its tires. We knew with the heat today we would be better. It’s fantastic.”
Perez said: “When you start 15th, you don’t expect to get a podium finish, but we went off very aggressively and I managed to overtake a few cars — the tire degradation was not bad for me and I managed to keep moving up the field so this is a great boost for the team.”
Defending German double-world champion Vettel of Red Bull finished fourth after a late-second pit stop ahead of two-time champion Alonso of Ferrari and sixth-placed Nico Rosberg of Mercedes.
Australian Mark Webber was seventh in the second Red Bull ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 champion, in the second Lotus, and Japanese Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber and Felipe Massa for Ferrari.
“Winner, winner! Well done you guys, thank you, thank you,” Hamilton said on team radio during his slowing down lap after finishing clear of Grosjean by more than 2.5 seconds.
Hamilton’s McLaren teammate, 2009 champion Jenson Button, endured another troubled race and finished 16th, while seven-time champion Michael Schumacher was forced into early retirement by mechanical problems with his Mercedes.
On another hot day in Montreal, police reported the arrests of about 30 protesters in the hours before the race as Canadian students rallying for months over tuition hikes used the Formula One showpiece to highlight their cause.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS