Engine changes, electric charges
THE MOTORSPORT LAP/ The Canadian Grand Prix proved a rather arduous race for the Mercedes team, but victorious for Ferrari
The 2018 Canadian Grand Prix proved challenging race for the Mercedes-AMG team, but advantageous for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who had an almost flawless race having started from pole. Having outqualified Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-AMG) in second and Max Verstappen (Aston Martin Red Bull Racing) in third, Vettel did not only look strong going into the race, but he also set a record lap around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Come race day, Vettel clinched victory ahead of Bottas and Verstappen, while championship leader, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG) had an abysmal race riddled with engine cooling issues, which saw him finish fifth overall.
Vettel now leads the championship with 121 points, followed by Hamilton on 120 and Bottas on 86. The next race will be the French Grand Prix on June 24.
Meanwhile, it was the Zurich leg of the all-electric race series, the Formula E championship, which saw the Audi team beating all the odds to claim victory.
After starting from fifth place, it took Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) 18 laps to take the lead and to subsequently clinch victory. After 39 laps, the Audi driver had over a seven second advantage over runner-up Sam Bird (DS Virgin), while Jerome D’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing) finished third.
Heading to the next race on July 14 in New York, Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) leads the championship with 163 points followed by Sam Bird on 140 and Di Grassi on 101.
Meanwhile, Johan Kristoffersson has tightened his grip on the 2018 World Rallycross Championship lead after completing a dominant clean sweep in the World RX of Norway for his fourth win of the year.
The PSRX Volkswagen driver was in top form throughout the weekend, scoring wins in each of the four qualifying races, the semifinal and the final. It is only the second time in World RX history a driver has secured a maximum points haul following Andreas Bakkerud’s feat in Norway two years ago.
Starting from pole position, Kristoffersson kept in front to the first corner as teammate Petter Solberg followed, while Mattias Ekstrom and Kevin Hansen took to the joker. Timmy Hansen and home hope Bakkerud made contact, sending Hansen’s Peugeot sideways across the bow of Bakkerud’s Audi and prompting both to skate across the first corner.
Ekstrom’s second place finish is his first podium of the season for EKS Audi Sport, while Norway’s Solberg finished in third place.
Kristofferson currently leads the championship with 135 points followed by Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot) on 104 and Solberg on 102 heading into the next race on June 30 in Sweden.