Ricciardo’s Canadian win breaks Mercedes’ grip on F1
Daniel Ricciardo has broken Mercedes’ Formula One stranglehold with his Canadian Grand Prix win.
The Red Bull driver earned his first F1 victory and the first win this year for any driver other than Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Ricciardo passed Rosberg, the points leader and pole-sitter, with two laps to go. Hamilton went out in the 48th lap with a brake problem.
Rosberg finished second, easily protecting his lead in the championship standings. The German has 140 of a possible 175 points through seven races, with two victories and five second-place finishes. Hamilton remains second in the standings with 118 points.
Ricciardo moved up to third with 79 points, passing Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was sixth on 69 points.
Ricciardo may finally be coming out of the shadow of his more celebrated Red Bull teammate, four-time defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel. The 24-year-old Australian now has two fourth places, two thirds and a victory in his past five races.
Drivers had to contend with track temperatures of 48C at the start, on the Ile de Notre Dame in the St Lawrence River off downtown Montreal. The track, home to the Canadian Grand Prix since 1978, will get a face lift as part of a 10-year extension announced on Sunday to keep the race in town until 2024.
Mercedes has dominated F1 this season, winning the first six races and sweeping the top two in five of them to put Rosberg and Hamilton 1-2 atop the standings with nearly twice as many points as third-placed Alonso.
The streak ended yesterday when the two came tyre-to-tyre at Turn 7 and Hamilton was forced on to the grass, and then out altogether.
Only 11 of the 22 cars finished the race. semifinals. They showed plenty of spirit, had their chances, and slightly more of the play, on a hot, draining day. Fifth-ranked New Zealand will now play for a finishing place between five and eight.