LIVE: 2019 Canadian Grand Prix
Race: Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix Du Canada 2019
It’s the Canadian Grand Prix and what a race we should have on our hands. Following the Canadian GP Qualifying yesterday, we have Vettel starting on pole with Hamilton right behind in P2, along with Charles Leclerc in P3 – all of which want to be in the lead!
The sun is shining and the weather conditions are lovely. It’s a track which allows for racing along with the unpredictability factor thanks to the the circuit layout and of course the ‘Wall of Champions’ which could lead to us seeing the Safety Car make an appearance too.
Drivers are now out on the track for the drivers parade – take a look at Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg enjoying the sunshine!
NEWS – There’s a hydraulic leak on Hamilton’s car – found earlier today however the team are working on getting the car ready and you can see what the Mercedes driver had to say below.
Lewis Hamilton: “The plan is to fight. I have the best guys working on it – there’s a massive challenge for the car as the team are working on it but I know the team will do all they can. This is one of the best cities – this is just a spectacular place and today is going to be a killer!”
Max Verstappen: “I’m going to fight like normal. I want to go forward – it’s not the position we want to be in but I think it’s going to be an interesting race and I’m looking forward to it.”
Valtteri Bottas: “I’m getting a lot of support from the locals which is always very nice. Today, it’s balls out!”
Charles Leclerc: “I always say yes for a win but today it’s not going to be easy – we have to see where we’ll end up!”
Social Media Update
Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly takeover Red Bull Racing’s social media – see the photos below!
Take a look at the Ferrari drivers below!
Sebastian Vettel: “I went for dinner last night, nothing too crazy. I went to bed early. It’s good waking up and knowing no one is in front of you in the race – I just hope that we can keep it that way as they (Mercedes) are very quick. We looked strong yesterday and if the car feels as good as it did yesterday, then we can definitely fight! There’s bittersweet memories here – I missed out on things in 2011. This is a great place, the atmosphere is great here and it’s a good place to be.”
Drivers are now in the garages and getting ready to make their way to the track ahead of the National Anthem and formation lap. The sun is shining and the atmosphere is great in Canada – a circuit which is a firm favourite for the drivers, fans and commentators.
PIT LANE NOW OPEN – LIVE 2019 Canadian Grand Prix
Alex Albon: “It’s dangerous at the start with all the dust – it doesn’t feel as bad as FP2 but it’s a good race and it’s really hot now so it should be a good race. It takes a little bit to get into the rhythm but once you do, it’s good.”
Lando Norris: “My car could be better – the temperatures are higher than normal and it’ll be a challenge but I’m excited. I don’t think we could have done much better yesterday but our race pace looks reasonably good.”
Kevin Magnussen: “The car feels brand new – today it’s a new day, yesterday was disappointing and crap but today it’s good. All good.”
Charles Leclerc: “It’s a pretty good Mercedes so the start will be difficult. It’s an important start but it’ll be good. If we are able to stay close enough then we have a good chance to overtake – they have been very strong throughout the weekend so it’s all about the corners.”
Max Verstappen: “The guys ahead are starting on the soft tyre so we will try and keep on going. We need to stay out of trouble at the start of the race and I mean, as I had in Austin – when you’re on a different strategy, it’s sometimes better and this is what we’re doing. The car is OK. It’s not the best balance – we could have still been P3 yesterday without the mistake of others but all the team is very motivated.”
Daniel Ricciardo: “The car will probably be alive the whole race. It might be a little bit trickier to manage the tyres but we’ll do what we can.”
Daniil Kvyat: “It’s a similar race to the usual – we will see where we are and see how we can do the best strategy to see what’s possible.”
Pierre Gasly: “We have to find a way to stay ahead and look at who we can overtake. We need to see who and how we can overtake and see how it all goes so yeah…”
NATIONAL ANTHEM – LIVE 2019 Canadian Grand Prix
Drivers are now getting back in their cars or having last-minute chats with their engineers ahead of the formation lap. The sun is shining, the weather temperature is warm and it should be a good race ahead!
Valtteri Bottas is now getting ready to go back in his car as teams go through last-minute checks.
Daniel Ricciardo just relaxing with the crew beside his car and getting ‘in the zone’.
Charles Leclerc now getting in the car and getting ready for the formation lap.
Sebastian Vettel now getting into his car – he’s been happy throughout the day and looking rather relaxed which is good to see.
FORMATION LAP – LIVE 2019 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
Lewis Hamilton has quite a slow start for the formation lap.
Lewis Hamilton: “Erm… I still seem to have a problem as the anti-stall kicked in….”
Team to Hamilton: “No, you don’t have a problem.”
Lap 1
A good start for both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton – Sebastian Vettel turned right covering off Hamilton.
Hamilton blocking Leclerc – keeping on his racing line, a good clean start so far.
Ricciardo stays up in P4 – Bottas lost a place. Verstappen still down in P10 – it’s a long race.
Lando Norris now making his way past Max Verstappen – a good battle there and Lando Norris leading Verstappen. Not a great start for the Red Bull driver.
Albon comes into the pits for a nose change due to an incident with Racing Point.
Lap 2
Sebastian Vettel leading the race – he’s got a good gap to Lewis Hamilton and things are looking good for him at the moment.
Ricciardo now coming under pressure from Gasly.
Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest lap time.
Lap 5
Leclerc now sets the fastest lap time – he’s down in P3.
Hamilton and Vettel equalling on lap times – it’s close between the pair and it looks like there’ll be a battle later on.
Vettel now setting the fastest lap time.
It’s Vettel, Hamilton and Leclerc who make up the top 3 drivers.
Bottas down in P7 – not a great start for him so far. Let’s see how the strategy will work out for him and his race.
Lap 7
Max Verstappen now makes his way past Norris – it was an easy move for the Red Bull driver who’s now got his sights on Valtteri Bottas in P7.
Lap 9
Lando Norris! Oh dear! Not sure if he’s hit the wall somewhere or if the heat from his brakes caused a problem – his brakes are on fire!!
The rear suspension has melted!
What a disaster for the McLaren driver. He’s pulled up on the pit lane exit.
YELLOW FLAG
Lap 11
Max Verstappen now putting the pressure on Valtteri Bottas.
Lap 12
Gasly is now under pressure from Antonio Giovinazzi who hasn’t come into the pits yet.
There’s plenty of battles going on throughout the circuit. Vettel still leading the race.
Lap 13
Lewis Hamilton now closing the gap. Vettel making his way through the back-markers, as is Hamilton but the gap is closing in….
Lap 17
Hulkenberg now comes into the pits and Bottas moves up to P4 with Verstappen right behind in P5.
It’s close between the top 3 drivers with Vettel still leading the pack. Hamilton in P2 and Leclerc in P3.
Leclerc now setting the fastest lap time.
Lap 18
Lewis Hamilton closing the gap to Vettel – it’s going to be a close race between these two.
Lap 20
Team to Vettel: “Plan B, Plan B – head down.”
The team are now looking at covering off Hamilton who’s closing the gap. This is interesting…
Lap 21
Bottas now setting a personal best on this lap. He’s picking up the speed too.
Max Verstappen suffering a lockup – he’s doing so well however this has set him back slightly.
Team to Leclerc: “Charles, we are on Plan B – we are on Plan B.”
Leclerc is now picking up his pace – he’s also closing the gap to Hamilton in a way for the pressure to come off his team-mate.
Lap 22
Hamilton putting the pressure on Vettel.
Lap 24
Hulkenberg saying there’s a problem with his car – it doesn’t sound too good for him, could this be a retirement for Hulkenberg?
The team now on the radio to Vettel telling him to push.
Team to Vettel: “Push now, push!”
Lap 25
Vettel now pushing his car and trying to create a gap between himself and Lewis Hamilton – the pressure is on.
Vettel not having the best lap – that was quite an untidy lap.
Hamilton: “I don’t have much life left on these tyres.”
Lap 26
Vettel comes into the pits!
Hamilton now takes the lead – how will this work out overall!?
Lap 27
Team to Hamilton: “It’s Hammertime!”
Lap 28
Team to Hamilton: “OK Lewis, we don’t have enough of a gap so we’re going to stay out and extend things as much as possible.”
Leclerc up in P2 and with the fastest lap time.
Lewis Hamilton not happy with the tyres – it looks like he’s going to come into the pits.
Lewis Hamilton pits!
Lap 29
Leclerc now comes into the lead.
Sebastian Vettel up in P2.
Lewis Hamilton out ahead of Valtteri Bottas – the team working together on this.
Sebastian Vettel now sets the fastest lap time.
It’s now Leclerc, Vettel and Hamilton.
Team to Leclerc: “We are going long, try to keep up with this pace.”
Lap 30
Team to Bottas: “OK, so box, box, box!”
Lap 34
Leclerc now comes into the pits – his tyres were OK. Not entirely sure why they pitted him right then as his tyres and speed was still OK.
Vettel now back in the lead of the race with Hamilton in P2.
Vettel retakes the fastest lap too – that’s an extra point if he manages to keep the fastest lap.
Lap 35
Bottas and Ricciardo battling! Oh that was close between the pair. This is a battle for P5.
Ricciardo in P5, Bottas in P6.
Hamilton now takes the fastest lap time.
Lap 38
Team to Ricciardo: “OK mate, you’re doing an awesome job.” It’s close between him and Bottas – he’s staying in the lead, ahead of Bottas at the moment.
Bottas just managing to stay in the lead – it’s very close between the pair as Ricciardo keeps up and stays right behind the Mercedes.
Lap 39
Lewis Hamilton now starting to close the gap to Vettel – he’s putting the pressure on the Ferrari driver.
Team to Vettel: “Hamilton is right behind.”
Hamilton now goes wide – a lockup.
Lap 42
Vettel now setting the fastest lap time.
Lap 43
Max Verstappen: “The brake pedal is almost to the floor….”
He needs to look after his car for now – the temperatures are high and there’s around another 27 laps to go until the end of the race.
Lap 44
Valtteri Bottas now sets the fastest lap time – Mercedes are putting the pressure on Ferarri and it looks like the latter part of the race will be good!
Lap 45
Team telling Vettel to manage his car.
Team to Vettel: “The numbers on your steering wheel are correct… take actions.”
Hamilton closing the gap….. ohhhh!
Team telling Hamilton that Vettel has been given ‘engine 1’ – Hamilton has closed the gap but Vettel is still pushing! A great battle ahead I think….
Lap 48
Oh my Gosh! Vettel goes off track as he loses the corner and comes back onto the track as Lewis Hamilton tries to make a move – in effect, cutting Hamilton off who had to brake to avoid an accident however this is racing….
Hamilton: “He just came back on the track quite dangerously…”
Team to Hamilton: “OK Lewis, we’re on it….”
Lap 52
Both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are under investigation following the move seen in the photo above.
It’s close between the pair!
Sebastian Vettel now sets the fastest lap time – he’s not managing his car if there’s an issue, as reported from the team.
Lap 56
VETTEL HAS BEEN GIVEN A 5-SECOND PENALTY!
Lap 58
Team to Hamilton: “Vettel has a 5-second penalty, all we need to do is stay behind the gearbox.”
Team to Vettel: “We have a 5-second penalty, keep your head down.”
Vettel: “I had no where to go!”
Lewis Hamilton: “Have we got anymore power? I keep dropping out in the high speeds….”
Team talking to Hamilton.
Lap 61
Vettel: “When you go off the track and come back on the grid with no grip – where the hell am I meant to go?”
Team to Vettel: “We know, stay focused on the race.”
Vettel: “I am focused but they’re stealing the race from us!”
Lap 63
Little battles throughout the grid – take a look at this photo from McLaren.
Lap 64
Leclerc now sets the fastest lap time. He’s putting the pressure on the front two drivers.
As he’s putting the pressure on the two drivers ahead of him, Hamilton has closed the gap to Vettel again!
Albon OUT OF THE RACE – he’s retired.
Hamilton is just half a second behind Sebastian Vettel.
Lap 66
Lewis Hamilton closing the gap to Vettel. Vettel not a happy driver.
Leclerc is now closing the gap and with Vettel’s penalty – he could have P2 at this rate.
Lap 67
Team to Bottas: “Box, box – plus 1”
It looks like Bottas is going to go for the fastest lap.
Team to Vettel: “OK, push now!”
Lap 68
Wow! A good move from Kvyat on Sainz – he moves up to P10.
Lap 70
It’s close between Vettel and Hamilton.
Team to Vettel: “All you have – all you have.”
Bottas now takes the fastest lap time with 1:13.078
Sebastian Vettel may take the chequered flag however Lewis Hamilton WINS the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix.
It’s Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton: “Thank you guys, that’s not how I wanted to win but I would have been past him if it wasn’t for that wall but thank you for all your work this weekend.”
Vettel: “No, no, no….. not like that. You must be a blind man to do that. I went off on the grass. Where the hell was I meant to go….?”
Driver Interviews – Post Race
Sebastian Vettel has boycotted the interviews and won’t be on the podium. He’s gone back to Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton: “Firstly, I just want to say a big thank you to my team because I wouldn’t be here without their work and I wouldn’t be racing as I did today. Absolutely not the way I wanted to win the race. I forced him into an error and we nearly collided. This is motor racing. We were all struggling with tyre temperatures and when the mistake was made, that was the closest I could be. It’s such a great track and if it wasn’t for these fans it wouldn’t be as good here.”
Charles Leclerc: “It was close. I’m very happy about the performance. We were very quick and it’s a shame that I didn’t do better yesterday. I’m disappointed for the team overall, I’m not sure what happened for Seb but the team deserved the victory and hopefully the pace will come soon. We tried to go long and we were waiting for the safety car that never came.”
Sebastian Vettel has now re-appeared and is making his way to the podium.
Martin Brundle now catching up with Sebastian Vettel on the podium.
Sebastian Vettel: “I really enjoyed the race. I really enjoyed the crowd – it was very intense. I think Lewis was quicker in the race, I think we had a good race but ask the people about this.”
Lewis Hamilton: “I don’t know if people are booing the decision or the win but I didn’t make the decision and it was a good battle.”
Sebastian Vettel: “No, the people shouldn’t boo at Lewis, they should be booing the decision….”
Sebastian Vettel has walked away from the interview….
Lewis Hamilton: “I’m a little bit deflated really. I’m just really proud of my guys – I crashed the car on Friday and they have been working throughout the weekend. I came into work today and we had a problem and I was like “oh crap” a kick in the nuts – then I had a problem at the start and just they were really quick, the Ferrari’s, and I put the pressure on them and Seb made a mistake but it was the way he came back on the track that brought the decision.”
Lewis Hamilton: “Maybe, they don’t see it from the right views. I hope they weren’t booing me – I didn’t do anything. I just raced my heart out. Seb made a mistake and that’s where the penalty came from but ultimately, he made the mistake and that’s what happened.”
Mattia Binotto: “I don’t think Seb had anywhere else to go. He had no bad intentions when he came back on the track but the season is not over. I think we just need to look at all the data ourselves and come to our own conclusion. He was driving at the limit on each lap but he made a mistake and as he came back from the grass, he had no grip. I think when we all calm down in a couple of hours, we will think about the weekend and look at the weaknesses and strengths and see how we can come through. We won today – we were the fastest.”
Mattia Binotto: “It’s a good sign to see your driver this passionate and this hungry. He’s calm now in the press conference but it’s good to see him like this.”
DRIVER INTERVIEWS
Daniel Ricciardo: “The weekend as a whole has been pretty awesome – we have to be really happy with this as we have the first double points. Nico also had really strong pace and it was solid. The battle with Valtteri was fun – we kept him behind longer than we thought we could. It was certainly hot, similar conditions to 2017 – I remember back then that I finished the race like this way. It makes me feel much better when I rehydrated this morning and now we’re looking forward to France. The last few weekends, we’ve been stronger and we have some new parts on the way. The positive is seeing that Bottas didn’t breeze past with DRS. Hopefully for the Renault fans we can pull off a good race.”
Nico Hulkenberg: “It’s a great result, great work from the team – hard work really pays off from everyone back in the factory and in the team. We’ve always had a few problems and under-performed so now, it’s good to finally have a clean weekend. I felt really good and at home on the soft tyre – I wasn’t expecting that but I was following the train in front of me and kept telling the team that I’m happy with the tyres (Softs) and tried to stay out on the track as long as possible.”
Charles Leclerc: “I had no idea about the situation. I didn’t agree about the fastest lap that they wanted me to do. I just wanted to push and have my chance until the end and see what I could do but they (the team) didn’t tell me about what was happening about Seb and Lewis. You can’t argue with the team about the strategies after but overall – this was a good performance from my side. I was competitive throughout, shame we couldn’t have a better result.”
Valtteri Bottas: “In the beginning, I had a problem getting through the Renaults and the Red Bull’s and I had a problem throughout but when I was in the free air, I had much more speed and we could then put the pressure on and go for the fastest lap. Today, overall, it was tricky because of the problem that we had yesterday…”
Lots more coming soon including press conference interviews and reaction from the race.
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