Canadian Grand Prix LIVE: Sebastian Vettel wins in Montreal to take championship lead off Lewis Hamilton
Follow the latest from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sebastian Vettel starts the Canadian Grand Prix on pole position as he looks to claw back the 14-point lead that rival Lewis Hamilton holds in the Drivers’ Championship, but an unpredictable race in Montreal could well see a shock or two arrive on Sunday evening.
With Hamilton down in fourth, Vettel can make up serious ground in the battle to become a five-time world champion, though just 0.232 seconds covers the top four with Valtteri Bottas in second and the fast Red Bull of Max Verstappen in third. With Daniel Ricciardo, two-time winner this season, down in sixth with Kimi Raikkonen fifth, and the Circuit Gilles Villeneueve one of the easiest tracks to overtake on in the calendar, a thrilling race is on the cards.
Hamilton though has pedigree around this track, and should he triumph today he will tie Michael Schumacher with seven Canadian Grand Prix victories.
Follow the live action below...
Please allow a moment for the blog to load...
What time does it start?
The Canadian Grand Prix starts at 19:10 BST.
Where can I watch it?
The race will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports F1 from 17:30 BST.
Starting grid
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1min 10.764secs
2 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:10.857
3 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:10.937
4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:10.996
5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:11.095
6 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:11.116
7 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:11.973
8 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:12.084
9 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Renault 1:12.168
10 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:12.671
11 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:12.606
12 Brendon Hartley (Nzl) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:12.635
13 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Sauber-Ferrari 1:12.661
14 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:12.856
15 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:12.865
16 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.047
17 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:13.590
18 Sergey Sirotkin (Rus) Williams 1:13.643
19 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:14.593
20 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 No Time
Lap 26: Vettel's coming up to lapped traffic as well, with Sirotkin, Vandoorne and Ericsson in his path. Meanwhile, Raikkonen has a big enough gap to pass Hamilton, and unless the Red Bulls get a move on they'll be behind the Ferrari too.
Alonso meanwhile has leapfrogged Leclerc through the stops.
Lap 29: Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz reports that Hamilton's engine issues were due to poor cooling, having gone with too much tape over the cooling ducts. That may have cost him time in the pits but should see him back up to full speed.
Lap 30: Bottas is still slowly eating into the lead, although Vettel's just put in another new fastest lap to stem the tide. Verstappen has quickened the pace in fourth and that is dragging Ricciardo and Hamilton down the road which is bridging that gap to Raikkonen - but it's still going to be mighty close when the Finn stops.
Lap 33: Raikkonen finally pits and it's a solid stop. The Red Bulls flash by, but Hamilton is held up by Sirotkin! The Williams is parked in front of him, but luckily he has enough to edge through and keep Raikkonen - who emerges on the outside of turn two - behind him.
Lap 35: Hamilton's not in the clear as Raikkonen pumps in the fastest lap of the race, and he's into DRS range of the Mercedes in the battle for fifth.
Lap 36: Bottas pits from second, with a load of traffic in front of him that Vettel is having to negotiate. He had slipped to 6.3s behind though so he's unlikely to threaten the leader.
Lap 37: Vettel gets the call to pit straight away and he duly obliges. It's a good stop of 2.7s and he's away. How's he looking compared to Bottas? Sweet as a nut, and if anything the gap has gone up.
Lap 39: So how are the rest looking? Renault still hold prime position with Hulkenberg seventh and Sainz eighth, while Grosjean is holding onto ninth - having started last - and while he is yet to pit he is doing a good job of keeping Perez behind him. The Frenchman has gone a staggering 39 laps on the hypersofts, which is simply incredible.
Lap 41: What a lap from Vettel! He takes nearly a second off Raikkonen's previous mark with a 1:14.1, which is only half-a-second off Rubens Barichello's record of 1:13.6
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments