Bottas third for Williams; Spin costs Raikkonen a podium finish; Vettel fights back for fifth from the back of the grid
Monday 15 June 2015 15:40, UK
Lewis Hamilton claimed a narrow victory in the Canadian Grand Prix after Mercedes team-mate and rival Nico Rosberg shadowed him most of the way in Montreal.
Hamilton crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of Rosberg, with the pair spending the majority of the race running one-two in close formation after making their pit stops.
Starting from pole position, Hamilton led comfortably enough into the first corner and enjoyed the better of the race in the opening stint.
However, he was never able to pull significantly clear and after the pair made their first and only pit stops – Hamilton on lap 29, Rosberg the following lap – the German started to edge closer.
For the remaining 40 laps or so to the chequered flag, the gap between the pair stayed between one and two seconds, the anticipation being that Rosberg might challenge Hamilton in the closing laps.
With the Briton told to manage his fuel consumption, Rosberg in turn was told to save fuel and his brakes – that would, he was told, “give him margin to attack”.
Yet the attack never came, allowing the world champion to maintain his advantage and claim his fourth win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
"I didn't feel I had the most comfortable balance - I generally had a lot of understeer," said Hamilton, who moved 17 points clear of Rosberg in the drivers' championship. "But I never really felt too much under pressure.
"Nico was quick, but I felt I pretty much had it all under control and had a bit of time in my pocket to pull it out when I needed to. So it was never too serious.
"But it was a great race, I don't know what it was like to watch. It felt like it was intense and I really enjoyed it."
Rosberg said: "It was a good race against Lewis, I was pushing like mad to try and put the pressure on, but he didn't make any mistakes so fair play. It was a challenging race because we had to manage fuel, brakes, all these things, but it was the same for Lewis.
"It was a good race, I couldn't quite make it happen, but second place is still okay."
Valtteri Bottas finished third for Williams ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, who had started P3 but lost out to his fellow Finn after making his first pit stop.
Bottas was helped in no small part, however, when Raikkonen spun his Ferrari at the Turn 10 hairpin shortly after he stopped on lap 28.
It turned out to be a disappointing race for the 2007 champion, particularly considering that team-mate Sebastian Vettel came home fifth after starting 18th.
Like Raikkonen, Vettel made two stops in all, and saw more action than just about anyone - almost too much on lap 44 when, fighting Nico Hulkenberg for seventh place, the pair almost collided at the chicane.
The Force India driver spun but recovered to finish eighth, behind Felipe Massa’s Williams and Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus – the Venezuelan earning his first points of the season.
Team-mate Romain Grosjean should have finished higher but the Frenchman, who was running fifth at the time, was handed a 5-second penalty after a collision with Manor’s Will Stevens at the final chicane.
Grosjean finished tenth behind Daniil Kvyat, whose Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo - last year’s winner - struggled to the chequered flag in 13th place.
Joining Red Bull and Renault in the mire were McLaren-Honda, whose drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso both retired.
It was the third retirement in as many races for Alonso, who ran anonymously for 46 laps - apart from an outburst on the radio when instructed by his race engineer to save fuel.
Button, meanwhile, who had already been handicapped by a drive-through penalty - handed to him after he was forced start using more than the permitted four engine components he's allowed per season - started at the back and ran there throughout before retiring on lap 58.
Canadian GP Result:
