Sublime Sebastian Vettel and other takeaways from the Canadian GP

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  • Lewis Hamilton was left to rue a Mercedes engine problem after he lost the lead of the Formula One championship to Sebastian Vettel in Canada on Sunday.

    Vettel ruled from lights-to-flag at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in an emphatic display as he crossed the line ahead of Valtteri Bottas with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third.

    But Hamilton, so often the master here in Montreal, had to settle for fifth on a weekend to forget for the defending champion and his team.

    Here, we take at the key takeaways from Canada.

    Vettel fights back

    The German can leave Montreal with plenty of positives after sealing his third win of the season and also, significantly, he re-takes the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton.

    The 30-year-old led a consistent Ferrari performance in Canada, between his superb win and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen crossing the line in sixth.

    Staying on top for the entire race, he didn’t put a foot wrong around a circuit that is renowned for Mercedes’ dominance over the last few years.

    With two weeks until the championship rolls into France, the four-time world champion is slowly stamping his authority after sub-par performances in China, Baku and Barcelona. Hamilton’s shown his resilience this season, so can Vettel follow suit?

    Hamilton off colour

    Not one of those race Sundays we are normally accustomed to seeing the Briton light up. He was not in the finest mood and sounded low on the radio all afternoon.

    Slow across the practice sessions, the Briton was out-qualified by Vettel and his teammate Valtteri Bottas, resulting in P4 on the grid.

    But apart from taking the jump on Raikonnen after his pitstop on lap 18, the 33-year-old struggled to fire and finished fifth – only the second time he has failed to make the podium in the first seven races.

    Needs to up his performance in France to prevent the German from stretching the lead in the title race.

    Industrious Verstappen

    Starting from P3, the Dutchman produced a sublime performance for his second podium of the season.

    The 20-year-old has endured a frustrating campaign to date, with fifth, sixth and ninth place finishes adding to his two retirements in Bahrain and Baku.

    But the Monaco resident looked magical in Montreal, pushing Bottas hard for large spells of the race as he yearned for second place.

    With his teammate Daniel Ricciardo finishing fourth ahead of Hamilton, it proved to be a successful weekend for Red Bull.

    Alonso 300 and out

    After five top-eight finishes, the Spaniard was forced to retire on his 300th grand prix meeting after suffering exhaust failure.

    Sitting 11th, it looked like the two-time world champion was on the verge of challening for another top-10 finish for McLaren but a loss in power meant he would have to retire on lap 51.

    In his second successive retirement due to a mechanical issue, the question is where does Alonso go from here?

    The Oviedo native will turn 37 in July and if this is his swansong season in F1 then it’s difficult to argue what he throws his hand to in his free time.

    He will race in Le Mans next weekend, in a potential winning Toyota team. That must push him another step closer to Indy 500 in 2019.

    Hamilton and Vettel may go down as the most successful drivers of our era, but put Alonso in an identical car and he’d be the same potent force.

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