Lewis Hamilton and the hallmark of champions, Sebastian Vettel back in the title race, and Fernando Alonso suffers at McLaren.
Tuesday 14 June 2016 14:37, UK
Winners
Lewis Hamilton
He floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee and along the way gave his team-mate a schooling. All that was lacking in Lewis's dedication to Muhammad Ali was a knock-out punch, although the metaphorical bloody nose for Nico Rosberg in the first corner pretty much equated to a first-round stoppage. Lewis has won all in the heavyweight bouts of late.
To take another sporting aphorism, winning when not playing well is generally considered to be the hallmark of a champion. Hamilton wasn't at his best this weekend, leaving his best form for Friday practice, with Lewis even admitting that his pole position lap was messy and probably honest enough to concede Sebastian Vettel should have won the race. There was even a hint of an admission on Sunday night that his slow start off the line was due to human error rather than a software glitch.
No matter. Another victory - the 45th of his F1 career and his fifth in Canada - and another hefty points gain in the direction of the championship summit. Rosberg still leads the title race but there's no doubting who the favourite is now.
F1
That's seven out of seven for cracking races this year.
The Ferrari package
The salient difficulty in guesstimating the lap-time improvement elicited from Ferrari's upgraded power unit is that the Scuderia typically perform well in Montreal, so their positive showing this weekend must be, to some degree, considered circuit specific. But equally, there's no doubt that the Ferrari upgrades - which were not just limited to the engine either - have delivered significant track gains: Vettel was less than two tenths behind Hamilton in qualifying whereas the gap a year ago stood at over half a second.
The Merc and Ferrari continued to look evenly matched on race day, and while their divergent strategies prevented a like-for-like contest, Vettel saw sufficient progress to declare after the race "we were closer than ever" and "we're seeing results quicker than anyone else so far in the history of F1".
It was interesting, too, to hear Sebastian describe the Italian media, even while giddy with relief at Ferrari's improvement, as "our biggest opponent" - a reminder, if one was required, of just how much pressure the team remains under.
Ornithologists and Sebastian Vettel
Who knew that Sebastian cared so much for our flying friends? Back in form and just one good result from being right back in the title race - his 29-point deficit to Hamilton isn't very much when measured in old money.
Max Verstappen
While it's difficult to move on from the incredible raw pace and razor-sharp aggressive overtaking when considering Verstappen, one of the most interesting aspects of his performances since joining Red Bull has been his defence on the backfoot. Think savvy race craft, wheel-perfect poise - and a couple of big-name scalps. In Spain, when he 'played with' Kimi Raikkonen, it clinched victory. In Montreal this Sunday, it was too good for Rosberg.
Another reason to believe Max is the stuff champions are made of?
Williams
The team's first podium of the year and only their second since September's Italian GP. The upcoming set of races - particularly Silverstone - should suit them too.
Valtteri Bottas
He needed that as much as his team needed to put clear daylight between themselves and Force India in the Constructors' Championship. Bottas's reputation has been on the wane for the last year but the Finn was justified in describing this display as "definitely one of my best races". Valtteri was faultless - and needed to be to beat both Red Bulls and Raikkonen's Ferrari in a clean fight.
With the silly season about to get into full swing, now would be an interesting time for Valtteri to rediscover the spark that has been missing for the last 12 months.
Force India
A double-points finish although the best efforts of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez - all set to be confirmed as the team's driver line-up into 2017 as well - wasn't enough to prevent the team from losing ground to Williams due to Bottas's third place.
Carlos Sainz
Flourishing as Toro Rosso's new unofficial team leader, the Spaniard's charge from 20th on the grid to ninth at the chequered flag was arguably the performance of the day. With every race, he seems to be getting better and better.
A potential reunion with Max at Red Bull in 2018? That'd be worth the entry fee.
Losers
Ferrari's strategists
They started in Melbourne as they have carried on. Hindsight makes race strategy seem easy but even at the very moment Ferrari called in Vettel on just lap 11 - 'surely that's Raikkonen? Nope, it's the race leader coming in from clean air and fast lap times' - there was bewilderment in the paddock about Ferrari's decision to commit so early to a two-stop strategy.
"I definitely was surprised," admitted Hamilton. "We were staying out." The verdict of Ferrari team boss Maurizo Arrivabene was even more emphatic: "It was a wrong decision…we made a mistake."
Australia, Spain and Canada: all races Ferrari should have won. Australia, Spain and Canada: all races Ferrari shouldn't have lost.
Nico Rosberg
"It's motor racing. We got to Interlagos and he pushed me wide, and that's what I expect. I would have done exactly the same thing; I was like 'Good on you man!'" - Lewis Hamilton, Sky F1's 2015 review, December 2015.
And nor was there a word of complaint from Hamilton when he was shunted onto the grass on the first corner of the season after trying to overtake Rosberg around the outside in Melbourne. Yet Rosberg still seems surprised at Hamilton's defiance into the first corner at Montreal. While a touch rude, Hamilton's refusal to yield was so far within the parameters of what's considered acceptable racing etiquette that the stewards didn't even give it a second glance. That said it all - or at least it should have done.
"It was really hard," said Nico in one interview. "He was very aggressive and ran me off the road with a collision," he added in another.
Rosberg: Hamilton defence 'very hard'
The important mitigation is that Nico also accepted "that's racing - tough racing but that's racing" and explained he was keen to attack because "if not I would have just accepted l would be behind him".
That's good to hear. But don't be surprised if the question of whether Nico is really tough enough to win the title rears up again in Baku.
Kimi Raikkonen
Half a second behind Vettel in qualifying, a full minute behind on race day. Are Ferrari really going to offer Kimi another contract extension on this form?
Haas
It's just as well the newcomers maximised their opportunity in their opening two races because since Bahrain the only points they have scored came with Romain Grosjean's eighth place in Russia.
Daniil Kvyat
The scars of his Red Bull demotion have cut deep. In six qualifying/race battles with his new team-mate since being sent back to Toro Rosso, Sainz's crash in Q2 this Saturday accounts for Kvyat's only success and he was comprehensively beaten on race day - Sainz finished ninth, Kvyat 12th - despite the Spaniard starting from 20th. Daniil's podium in China is already a distant memory and a slump has become a rut.
Felipe Nasr
A second behind his team-mate in qualifying and second from last on race day as he followed the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein over the line.
McLaren
It's a long trip to Montreal and even longer still when you depart without scoring a single point. While a third successive appearance in Q3 signifies continued steady progress, Fernando Alonso's painfully slow unravelling on a one-stop strategy must have accounted for one of the most frustrating and unhappy races in his career.
Watch the F1 Report for all the analysis and reaction to the Canadian GP, plus debate on the latest talking points in F1. Former Williams engineer Mark Gillan and Sky F1's Marc Priestley join Natalie Pinkham at 8.30pm on Wednesday on Sky Sports F1.
