Mercedes AMG driver Lewis Hamilton closed the gap to championship rival Sebastian Vettel to just 12 points as the British driver secured a comfortable win at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s win was guaranteed in the opening laps when Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stormed past Vettel’s Ferrari at the start, placing his car in second place, behind Hamilton and ahead of his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas. What looked to be an exciting contest between Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari never did materialise as Verstappen retired on lap 11 due to electrical issues and Vettel fell to the back of the pack after picking up front wing damage on the opening lap.
With a Mercedes one-two secured, racing action could be seen happening behind the Silver Arrows as a four-way scrap ensued for third place. Daniel Ricciardo in the surviving Red Bull had to defend his third position from the faster Force India cars as both Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon had the measure to take the position from the Australian driver.
However, in-fighting between the two Force India drivers allowed Ricciardo to remain ahead. Instead, it was a hard charging Vettel who came through the field and passed the two Pink Panthers on fresher tyres to secure a well deserved fourth place.
As it stands, Sebastian Vettel still leads the Driver’s Championship by 12 points from Lewis Hamilton while Mercedes AMG lead the Constructor’s Championship by just 8 points from Ferrari.