F1 2018 results: Canadian Grand Prix winners, analysis & highlights

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari has won the 2018 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, and in doing so he took a one-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship. He passed Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who finished in fifth while trying to chase down Daniel Ricciardo for the final 20 laps or so.

He was unable to do so, and Ricciardo finished fourth. Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes finished second, just ahead of Ricciardo’s Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen.

Vettel started Sunday’s race on pole, while Hamilton started fourth.

Hamilton entered the weekend leading the Drivers Championship standings by a mere 14 points, just ahead of Vettel. Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen were close behind, and then the rest of the field was well under the 60 points that Raikkonen held (Hamilton led with 110 points).

Mercedes, accordingly, had a healthy lead in the Constructors’ Championship (178 to Ferrari’s 156), but this season, thus far, is much closer than recent ones.

A Lap 1 crash caused Brendon Hartley of Toro Rosso and Lance Stroll of Williams to be the first two cars out of the race, and prompted a safety car right out of the gate. Sergio Perez of Force India and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Renault also had an incident, but both cars survived, though the former had to pit early for damage.

After the first round of pit stops, Ricciardo managed to jump Hamilton thanks to an incredible in-lap and a strong stop by the pit crew. Hamilton was pitting to cover Verstappen, but came out behind both Red Bull drivers.

When the top drivers finally pit, Hamilton wound up ahead of Raikkonen, but behind the Red Bulls still, while Vettel was comfortably ahead of Bottas.

Fernando Alonso of McLaren, in his 300th Grand Prix weekend, unfortunately had to retire from the race on Lap 43 with some kind of engine issue. He was running in 11th and challenging Esteban Ocon for the final points position at the time.

Below, you can see the full finishing order for Sunday’s race, and below that you can see the live blog from the race in reverse order.

FINAL: Lap 70/70

With four laps to go, Hamilton’s radio tells him that he has full power to attack Ricciardo. A few laps ago, Ricciardo was told that his battery is fully charged. Verstappen is pushing on Bottas, but with three laps to go and 1.5 seconds down, it’s unlikely he can make a move. Hamilton is 0.4 seconds back of Ricciardo. He slips out of DRS range. Ocon has fallen back since the blue flags. Hamilton back in DRS range on Lap 69. Verstappen gets briefly into DRS range on Bottas.

They wave the checkered flag too early and Vettel notices it on the video boards, and he tells his team radio about it. Verstappen gets into DRS range again on Bottas, but he won’t take him. Hamilton falls back. Vettel is cruising, though. He’s crossing the finish line in first without issue. Bottas takes second, and Verstappen takes third. Ricciardo in fourth and Hamilton in fifth. Vettel leads the standings by a single point!

Lap 66/70

Hamilton again is trying to get into DRS range of Ricciardo. If Hamilton finishes fifth and Vettel first, Vettel will take over the Drivers’ Championship lead. If Hamilton passes Ricciardo, he’ll maintain a one-point lead. Verstappen is 3.5 seconds back of Bottas. Hulkenberg’s radio tells him to pick up the pace because Ocon is coming up on Sainz. Verstappen is starting to close the gap on Bottas. Force India think blue flags for Ocon have ended his chances of attacking the Renaults.

Lap 62/70

Things are calm for a few laps. Perez pits again for a new set of supersofts. On Lap 49, the gaps are about the same. Bottas is 5.6 seconds back of Vettel, same for Verstappen on Bottas. Ricciardo is about 7 seconds back of him, then Hamilton 1.3 seconds back of Ricciardo. Raikkonen is 5 seconds behind Hamilton. Grosjean comes into the pits and he is pushed wide by Ocon, and it was nearly disastrous. Vandoorne pits again as well.

On Lap 53, Hamilton has closed the gap to Ricciardo and is within DRS range. He dips out of it though, after a few laps. Perez continues to fall down the field, while Grosjean is chasing Gasly, who is 5 seconds back of Leclerc in 10th. Bottas has a lockup that costs him a couple seconds on Vettel.

Lap 44/70

Raikkonen is getting some alerts from his car but his radio tells him they aren’t anything to worry about. On Lap 42, Vettel’s gap to Bottas is 6 seconds, as it Bottas’ gap to Verstappen. Ricciardo is about 4 seconds back of Verstappen. Oh no, it looks like Alonso is having trouble with his car. This is his 300th Grand Prix weekend, but he’ll be the third car to retire from the Canadian GP.

Lap 39/70

Raikkonen is closing the gap to Hamilton. It’s under a second as of Lap 36. Hamilton is told to push by his radio, and he tells them he’s doing his best. Bottas is coming in to pit on Lap 37, probably due to all the traffic just ahead of him and Vettel. He’s hoping he’ll be able to get through with more speed than Vettel. Vettel comes in himself and fits the supersofts, comfortably ahead of Bottas.

Lap 34/70

Raikkonen pits, and Hamilton barely makes it ahead of Raikkonen after the stop. Sirotkin delayed Hamilton right near the pit exit and nearly allowed Raikkonen to jump the Mercedes, but Hamilton manages to stay ahead. Meanwhile, on Lap 34, Vettel is back to 5 seconds up on Bottas.

Lap 31/70

Raikkonen is essentially clear of Hamilton if he stops. Verstappen is about 13 seconds back of Raikkonen. Hamilton is struggling to gain ground on the Red Bulls ahead of him. Bottas is closing on Vettel, shaving off about two seconds in a couple laps’ time. Ricciardo’s team radio tells him to keep up with Verstappen if the pace picks up. There is an “incorrect cooling configuration” with Hamilton’s car, which is causing it to overheat. Ocon is struggling to get past Grosjean, which is hurting his chances of competing with Renault.

Also, they apparently added some cooling to Hamilton’s car during his pit stop, which is a bit of a surprise because it was a fast stop.

Lap 22/70

Ricciardo has narrowed the gap to Hamilton to under a second. Both Verstappen and Hamilton are coming into the pits! It’s a fast stop for both drivers. Both come out ahead of Leclerc. Ricciardo pits on the next lap, and it’s going to be close. Ricciardo jumps Hamilton and comes out right behind Verstappen! Another purple lap for Vettel, and his radio tells him they are on “plan B.” Does that mean a one-stopper?

So, Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen have yet to stop as of Lap 20. Vettel’s lead is up to 4.9 seconds, and Raikkonen is about 13 seconds back of Bottas.

Lap 15/70

It’s unclear what Hamilton’s issue is, but he’s 1.3 seconds back of Verstappen as of Lap 11. Vettel sets another purple, and Perez pits, likely due to some damage. He fits the supersoft tires. The Renaults are still chasing Ocon. Hulkenberg comes over the team radio saying he can’t get past Ocon. But Ocon comes into the pits, and fits the supersoft tires as well. Vettel is 3.7 seconds up on Bottas on Lap 12, with Verstappen 2.4 seconds back of Bottas.

Stewards announce no further action regarding the incident involving Perez and Sainz. Another purple for Vettel, a 1:15.349 so the pace is good. Hulkenberg pits to put the supersofts on — he had the hypers previously. Ocon had a very slow pit stop — replay shows the right rear tire didn’t want to cooperate. Hamilton is 10.6 seconds off the lead. Sainz pits for Renault. When will the top six come in?

Lap 9/70

Perez, Sainz, Hartley and Stroll are all under investigation for their incidents. Lost in the shuffle previously is that Vandoorne pit under the safety car and is running in 18th place. Vettel sets a purple, and then another one. Perez comes over the team radio and says that Sainz should be black flagged for their incident. Hulkenberg, in the upgraded Renault engine, is chasing down Ocon for seventh, with Sainz right behind him. Vettel’s lead is about 2.3 seconds on Lap 8.

Leclerc makes it past Alonso, and Alonso tries to take it back around the next turn, but he can’t make the move stick. Hamilton comes over the team radio with a concerning message:

Lap 5/70

During all the fracas, Ricciardo made it past Raikkonen, but the top six is otherwise unchanged. Perez also lost out to Hulkenberg and Sainz, dropping to 10th on the grid. The race is going again on Lap 4. All of the top drivers get away fine — Vettel especially so. Perez goes wide on Turn 1, and he’s now in 13th!

Lap 2/70

The Mercedes and Ferrari are both starting on used ultrasoft tires, while the Red Bulls are starting on used hypersofts, as are the two Force Indias behind them. We’ve got lights out. Verstappen has a great start and challenges Bottas around the first corner, but the Mercedes driver hangs on. And we’ve got yellows immediately when Hartley and Stroll collide and go into the wall. Both drivers are out of the race! We’ve got a safety car.

Sebastian Vettel has pole position for the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes just behind him on the front row. The race is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

The race will be broadcast by ABC in the United States, with an exact start time closer to 2:10 p.m. Live online streaming of the race can be had via WatchESPN, the ESPN App or the recently-launched F1 TV Pro.

Daniel Ricciardo, winner of the Monaco Grand Prix the last time out, will start sixth on the grid, behind Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari is third, with Max Verstappen, Ricciardo’s temamate, starting fourth.

Hamilton currently leads the Drivers’ Championship with 110 points, but Vettel is right behind him with 96 points. Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen are all still in it at 72, 68 and 60 points, respectively. Then it’s Verstappen with 35 points, which will be awfully hard to come back from at this point.

The streak of bad luck continued for Romain Grosjean of the American-owned Haas F1 Team. Grosjean has had some kind of car issue or crash in just about every race this season, and even hit a marmot in practice for Canada’s race. He then had engine troubles and was unable to set a qualifying time, and will start from the back of the grid.

Below is all you need to know to watch the race on Sunday.

Date: Sunday, June 10

Location: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal

Time: 2 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

Online Streaming: WatchESPN, ESPN App, F1 TV Pro