Hamilton wins F1 race in Canada
Vettel’s five-second penalty costs him victory
A controversial time penalty for Sebastian Vettel handed Lewis Hamilton victory Sunday in the Canadian Grand Prix, despite the championship leader finishing second on the road.
Vettel had led from the pole position and was keeping Hamilton at bay in a close fight when he ran wide at Turn 3 on lap 48, cutting across the grass. As Vettel fought to regain control when rejoining the track, Hamilton attempted to overtake around the outside but had to lift with no room between Vettel and the wall as the Ferrari came across toward the racing line.
The incident was investigated by the stewards for a number of laps, eventually leading to Vettel being handed a five-second time penalty for the unsafe manner in which he rejoined the circuit and forcing another driver off track.
The penalty was announced with 12 laps remaining and Vettel did not have the pace to pull out a sufficient gap. He eventually finished 1.4 seconds clear of Hamilton to be demoted to second place after the checkered flag.
“I had nowhere to go,” Vettel said over team radio. “I didn’t see him…. When you go through the grass and come back you have amazing grip! Where was I supposed to go? I have grass on my wheels. He decides to go that way, if he got to the inside he got past me.”
Told to focus, he said: “I am focused, but they are stealing the race from us.”
After the checkered flag, Vettel then accused the stewards of being “blind” for expecting him to be able to avoid drifting toward Hamilton. “No, no, no. Not like that. Not like that, no, no, no . ... I was lucky I didn’t hit the wall. Where the hell am I supposed to go? This is a wrong world. I’m telling you, this is not fair.”
A clearly livid Vettel did not bring his car into parc ferme and headed straight for the Ferrari hospitality area. When he emerged minutes later, he walked into parc ferme and removed the No. 1 board from in front of Hamilton’s car, replacing it with the No. 2.
Sunday evening, Ferrari lodged its intention to appeal the stewards’ decision to the International Court of Appeal.
The incident overshadowed what had been a tense battle between the two champions, as Vettel held off a slightly quicker Hamilton courtesy of Ferrari’s straight-line advantage. On numerous occasions Hamilton got within DRS (Drag Reduction System) range but couldn’t make a move, before Vettel’s error removed the need to overtake on the track.
Charles Leclerc was third, Valtteri Bottas fourth and Max Verstappen fifth.
During the trophy ceremony, Hamilton referenced the pressure he was putting Vettel under as crucial to the incident. “Firstly, thank you to my team. I wouldn’t be standing here without them,” Hamilton said. “It was an incredible effort. We had a problem this morning with the engine, with my crash on Friday. If they hadn’t been so diligent, I wouldn’t have been able to race today as I have.
“Naturally, absolutely, it’s not the way I wanted to win. I was pushing to the end to try and get past. I forced him into an error; he went wide. I had the run on that corner and we nearly collided. It’s unfortunate, but this is motor racing. I took the corner normally. When you come back on track, you’re not supposed to go straight back on the racing line; you’re supposed to come back safely. I assume that’s why (he got a penalty).
“All I can say is, I didn’t make the decision,” Hamilton added.
Hamilton admits he was struggling to get past Vettel and doesn’t think he’d have been able to on track. “Not towards the end I don’t think. I think we were all struggling with brake temps towards the end. Tires were good at the point where he made the mistake, so I was as close as I was ever going to be. I got that block and then the gap opened up.”
When Hamilton spoke in parc ferme and on the podium, there were boos from the crowd, which Vettel called for an end to.
“First of all, I really enjoyed the race, I enjoyed the crowd, every lap seeing them cheer me on, especially round the hairpin,” Vettel said. “For the rest, I think I’ve said enough. You should ask the people what they think. I think we had a great show. Lewis showed some great respect. Ask the people.
“The people shouldn’t boo at Lewis. I think he saw what was going on — I don’t think there was any intention to be in his harm’s way. I had trouble to stay on track. The people shouldn’t boo at Lewis, if anything they should boo at these funny decisions.”