Former four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel re-ignited his quest for a fifth title with victory in the Canadian Grand Prix that helped him regain the lead in the drivers' world championship.
Despite an opening lap collision involving Williams-Mercedes's Lance Stroll who lost control of his car and took out Toro Rosso-Honda's Brendon Hartley and – at times – a spirited fight from Mercedes AMG F1's Valtteri Bottas, Vettel converted pole position into his third win of the season and the 50th of his career.
The win took his points tally after seven races to 121 points, just one more than that of Mercedes' defending champion Lewis Hamilton who could do no better than fifth place on Sunday's 70-lap race around the 4.361km Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. A celebrity being tasked with waving the chequered flag and doing so a lap earlier than scheduled, however, meant that the results of the race were based on those at the end of lap 68.
Force India-Mercedes' Sergio Perez's pass for 14th was the only change in position between that point and the end of the 70th lap.
Hamilton had been looking to add a record-equalling seventh Canadian GP win (a record currently held by Michael Schumacher) to his list of accolades, but instead it was Vettel who gave Ferrari their first win at the venue since 2004, when Schumacher won. Hamilton had taken his first career win at the circuit in 2007 and had won the last three editions, but this year, with the balance in the world championship shifting almost every round between Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull-Renault, it was Vettel who came out on top.
Despite his driving being under scrutiny due to frequent collisions, which prompted a very testy response to questions from the media, Max Verstappen was able to finish on the podium for the second time this year after doing so at the Spanish Grand Prix.
His teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, was unable to repeat his Monaco Grand Prix victory and settled for fourth place. The Australian now drops to fourth place in the drivers' championship with Bottas' second place finish taking him to third by just two points. Bottas' points tally is, however, just 86 as compared to teammate Hamilton's 120. The Finn suffered a late-race puncture through no fault of his own during the riveting finish to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix earlier this year while on course to win the race. Had he scored those 25 points he would have been in the lead of the championship.
With all the drivers from the top three teams making it to the finish line, Kimi Raikkonen was sixth ahead of Renault F1's Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz. Force India's Esteban Ocon took ninth place while Alfa Romeo Sauber-Ferrari's Charles Leclerc continued to impress in his rookie season by taking the unfancied C37 to tenth place for his third points scoring finish of the season.
Fernando Alonso's second straight retirement of the season in what was his 300th F1 race start means that Hulkenberg is now level with him on 32 points in the drivers' championship.
Mercedes continue to lead the constructors' championship with a tally of 206 points ahead of Ferrari who are on 189. Red Bull-Renault are third with 134 points while Renault are fourth with 56 points ahead of McLaren-Renault who are on 40. Last year's fourth place finishers in the constructors' championship Force India-Mercedes are sixth with 28 points with both Toro Rosso-Honda and Haas-Ferrari tied on 19.
Alfa Romeo Sauber-Ferrari have 12 ponts and Williams-Mercedes' wretched season continues as they sit dead-last out of the ten teams with just four points to their name.
Fourteen more rounds remain before the season concludes in Abu Dhabi on 25th November. The next round is the French Grand Prix on the 22 to 24 June weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard. It will be the first time since 2008 that the French GP will be on the F1 calendar.
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