Montreal was hit with a heat wave, as the race day came. The temperature was almost 30 degrees Celsius, which meant an increasing challenge for the soft tyres especially. Hamilton was facing some extra tension, as his W10 had suffered from a hydraulic leak in the morning. However, the mechanics had been able to fix his Silver Arrow in time for the start.
Mercedes and Ferrari started to the race on the medium Pirellis, whilst the other top ten drivers had the soft compound on. Red Bull's Verstappen, who had been promoted to P9 due to Sainz's and Magnussen's penalties, opted for the white-walled hard rubber. All top three cars had a successful start, and I was happy to see Sebastian holding on to his lead. Hamilton and Leclerc followed the German closely. Bottas, who had started to the race from P6, lost a position to Renault's Hulkenberg at the start. It was a bit odd, that Bottas was really struggling with his medium tyres. There was no way he could match his teammate's pace. Verstappen, who had the hard Pirellis on, was making his way up through the field and in no time the Dutchman was already at the Finn's tail.
Sebastian had been able to pull out a two-second gap to Hamilton, as the pit stop window opened. The German pitted on lap 26, for a fresh set of hard tyres. He re-joined the track in P3. Hamilton pitted three laps later, for a similar tyre choice to Sebastian. Leclerc, who was now leading the race, was told on the team radio to extend his first stint. Some laps later also Bottas and Leclerc pitted for a new set of hard Pirellis. Bottas re-joined the track behind Renault's Ricciardo. Although the Finn clearly had more pace, it proved unbelievably difficult to get past the Australian. It took eight long laps, before Valtteri finally managed to overtake Ricciardo. Meanwhile Verstappen, who hadn't pitted yet, complained on the team radio, that his brake pedal went to the floor every time he braked.
Hamilton's pace on the hard tyres was even more convincing than it had been on the medium ones. The Briton had gotten within DRS distance from the German and was pushing flat out. Lap 48 was the decisive and dramatic turning point in the Canadian GP. Sebastian made a tiny mistake and ended up on the grass in Turn 4. He re-joined the track as fast as he could, but was close to lose control of his SF90 with grass on the tyres. He could just barely keep his car on track, and there was a close call with Hamilton, who had to back off to avoid contact with Sebastian. Although the situation looked like a racing incident, the stewards took it into investigation. The verdict was cruel: Sebastian was handed a 5-second time penalty for his unsafe return to the track! I definitely didn't agree with the stewards. Sebastian was clearly trying to re-join the track as safely as possible in those circumstances. It's very hard to predict the grip level, when you re-join the track on dirty tyres. He was just barely able to maintain control of his car, so there wasn't anything he could have done differently. The incident caused no harm for Hamilton, except a missed overtaking move. Did the stewards think, that Sebastian was supposed to brake dramatically and re-join the track in "turtle speed", to make sure he re-joined the track safely? No F1 driver would do that! The penalty turned the otherwise exciting and entertaining race into a farce.
Sebastian was extremely gutted and furious, when he was told about the penalty on the team radio. The only way he was going to win the race was to be able to build up a 5-second gap to Hamilton. But Sebastian knew Hamilton wasn't going to let that happen. Meanwhile, Verstappen finally pitted for a fresh set of medium Pirellis and attacked Ricciardo after his pit stop. The overtaking move on Ricciardo looked almost easy, and Max claimed P5 already.
As Bottas was driving in secured P4, he was called in for a second pit stop three laps before the chequered flag. Valtteri switched to the soft compound and began the chase of the fastest lap time. Thanks to the new soft tyres, Valtteri took the fastest lap time and the extra point under his belt on the closing laps.
Sebastian crossed the finish line first, but didn't win the race, as Hamilton was only two seconds down on the German. What an anti-climax indeed! Hamilton took his seventh race win in Canada, which equals Michael Schumacher's legendary record. Sebastian had to settle for the bitter second place, which he definitely wouldn't have wanted to settle for. Leclerc completed the podium, and Bottas was left off the podium in P4. Verstappen finished the race fifth for Red Bull and Ricciardo sixth for Renault. Nico Hulkenberg made the day successful for Renault, as he finished in P7. Red Bull's Gasly was left in modest P8. Home hero Stroll was responsible for the most positive surprise in the race, as the Canadian drove to the chequered flag in P9, scoring two points. Kvyat scored the last point for Toro Rosso.
Sebastian was so angry after the race. In the heat of the moment he decided not to attend the post-race interviews and parked his Lina in a wrong place. The frustration and disappointment was very understandable. He had just lost the race win due to a controversial penalty by the stewards. In the heat of the moment you do childish things. Like Sebastian took the number 1 board away from Hamilton's car and moved it where his car was supposed to be. He did give an interview on the podium after all. And Sebastian showed great sportsmanship and respect to his rival Hamilton, which he can be very proud of. So in that way he is a good role model for young drivers. But all in all he was definitely robbed of the victory! The majority of people seem to think that the penalty was a wrong call from the stewards. I was so so happy on Saturday, when Sebastian clinched the pole! But yesterday I felt huge disappointment and sadness due to the unexpected loss of victory! This isn't the way that Formula 1 races should be won! No wonder fans are losing their interest in the sport!
I feel Sebastian's pain at the moment. But I know he will get over this and become a stronger driver. His time to win will come, sooner or later. Forza Ferrari! Forza Sebastian!
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