McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on the podium at the 2012 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
The race started with all drivers posting very, very close times and ended with race strategy once again being a key determining factor, in particular tire strategy.
Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel got a clean start from pole and looked set to cruise on to victory, though Hamilton and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso weren’t far behind in this initial part of the race.
Then, on the 16th lap, tire degradation meant Vettel had to make a pit stop. Hamilton would make a similar stop just one lap later and Alonso a lap after him.
In the end Hamilton came out the leader but a second tire stop for the young Brit on lap 50 saw him concede the first two places to Alonso and Vettel. The Red Bull Racing driver would make a second top later in the race as well, though Alonso struggled on his one-stop strategy and saw Hamilton easily pass him near the end of the race.
By now, Lotus’ Romain Grosjean had also caught up and finished the race in second position, with Sauber’s Sergio Perez taking third spot. Vettel finished fourth while Alonso came fifth in the end.
While it was a good race for Hamilton, who has now won the Canadian Grand Prix three times in his relatively short career, the same can't be said for his McLaren teammate Jenson Button who finished 16th. And another former world champion, Michael Schumacher, had to retire due to a faulty rear-wing DRS flap.
With his latest win, the first of his 2012 campaign, Lewis Hamilton moves to the top of the points ladder with 88 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 86 points and Sebastian Vettel on 85 points. Red Bull Racing continues to lead the Constructors' standings with 164 points, McLaren is second with 133 and Lotus has now moved up to third place with 108 points.
Teams now take a short break before heading to Valencia, Spain for the 2012 Formula 1 European Grand Prix. Will we have yet another new winner there? We’ll know in just two weeks.
