Lewis Hamilton wasn’t thrilled by the means but still gratefully accepted victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Briton would finish second on the road to Sebastian Vettel but a near-crash at Turn 4 saw the Ferrari driver penalised, paving the way for a record-equalling seventh win in Montreal.
Ultimately, it was the Mercedes pace on the hard tyre which made the difference, with Hamilton taking credit for pressuring Vettel into the crucial mistake.
“Firstly I want to say a big thank you to my team, it’s been a big effort for everyone with my crash on Friday to get the car sorted, and I wouldn’t have been able to race [without them],” he told Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle on the podium.
“That’s not the way I wanted to win, I forced him into an error and he went wide and we nearly collided – that’s unfortunate but this is racing.”
Vettel’s main argument was he could not see the Mercedes as he rejoined the track following his brief off and he couldn’t control his car any more as he slid across the grass and over the kerb.
“That’s his opinion, of course, I took the corner normally when you come back on the track you’re not supposed to go onto the racing line,” Hamilton retorted.
It was still the perfect result after a tricky weekend for the world champion, who was having to fight all the way to stay within the five-second window.
“It was so hot here the Canadian weather is hardcore and hard on the brakes,” he said.
“Ferrari were quick this weekend, nonetheless it’s good points for the team. Towards the end I was struggling with brake temperatures, I was as close as I was ever going to be and the gap opened up again.”
His fifth win of the year sees the gap grow to 30 points ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas, as the Finn only managed fourth on Sunday.
