Unseasonably cool temperatures, changing weather conditions, and gusty winds added to the unforgiving nature of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend. As fans braved race day temperature in the mid 50s, pole sitter Lewis Hamilton and runner up Nico Rosberg lost out to Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari at the start as Vettel overtook both drivers on the main straight before turn 1. The Mercedes teammates came together briefly, bumping wheels as Hamilton forced Rosberg onto the chicane’s runoff, where he rejoined the race in 9th.
After several collisions with the wall and even more near misses earlier in the weekend, it was pit strategy that played a key role as the cooler weather today made lap 25 an optimum choice according to Pirelli for ultra and regular soft tires on a one stop strategy. Vettel’s two stop strategy was revealed on lap 11 as the virtual safety car was called due an engine failure on Jenson Button’s McLaren-Honda on lap 9. Lewis was able to retake the lead, setting fastest sector times around the circuit, eventually changing his ultra soft tires in on lap 24 for regular softs. Without looking back, Lewis held the lead to take his second win this season.
Williams F1 Team’s Valtteri Bottas, who was also on a one stop strategy, started from seventh on the grid, working his way through the field to finish third behind Hamilton and Vettel.
Hamilton has now narrowed the gap to Rosberg’s lead at 116-107 as the season heads back to Europe for the Summer.
