Formula 1: ‘Incredible’ Montreal drive puts Lewis Hamilton on top

Hamilton perfectly executed a two-stop strategy to become the seventh different winner of the season. He was joined on the podium by Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez in his Sauber, the duo nursing their tyres to make a one-stop strategy pay dividends.

At the breathtaking conclusion of the 70-lap race at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve just seven seconds covered the top five drivers.

Asked whether his win felt incredible, Hamilton said: “It does. Thanks to the team who never seem to give up.

“I want to dedicate this one to all the fans who are constantly sending me messages of support.

“I knew this would be a tough race, but I loved every single minute of it, and I never had a doubt in my mind there was not a possibility of not winning.

“I knew I had to keep pushing, opening the gap. I had a couple of problems pulling away [in the pits], maybe it was my fault, but it shows we can always keep improving.

“It’s been five years since I won for the first time here, but it feels good. It feels great to finally be up here on the top step.”

From the 32nd pole of his career the start was straightforward enough for Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, in particular on one of the shortest rundowns to a first corner on the F1 calendar at 260 metres. In the early stages, however, Vettel was unable to open a cushion to those behind him.

Hamilton swiftly reeled in the 24-year-old come the first round of pit stops, although he had the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso in his mirrors and pressing.

Red Bull and Vettel were the first to blink, initially switching from the quicker supersoft to the slightly slower more durable soft Pirelli compound.

Hamilton and McLaren, however, worked the undercut to perfection as he pitted a lap later, despite a momentary stall from the Briton as he pulled away out of his pitbox.

That allowed Alonso to slingshot in front, and it became a question of whether he could follow Hamilton’s lead and also work the undercut.

Unlike Hamilton, Ferrari kept Alonso on track for two laps, but again the tactic paid dividends, but only just as the Spaniard came out ahead of his former team-mate by a matter of yards. On warmed-up rubber, though, Hamilton brilliantly carved his way past Alonso down the long straight into turn 13, opening up the DRS to assist his progress.

There followed a lull and the dilemma was whether it would be a one or two-stop strategy, with Hamilton in again after 50 laps, but trouble to the right-rear tyre cost him two seconds as it lasted five rather than the average of three.

Several laps earlier Hamilton had asked his team whether Alonso and Vettel would have to pit again, and he was told yes.

Trailing by nearly 15 seconds it was a case of whether they would make a one-stop plan work, or whether Hamilton had enough time to reel them in.

Come lap 62 he eased past Vettel, and then two laps later he delivered on Alonso who proceeded to go backwards as Grosjean and Perez knocked him off the podium on the following laps. Even Vettel had time to pit for a second time and catch Alonso to claim fourth.