Canada – Race: Ricciardo emerges from chaos and wins his first Grand Prix!

It is under a scorching sun and a sky dotted with a few clouds that the start of the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix will be given, with Esteban Gutierrez starting, as planned, from the pits.

The lights go out and they’re off! Nico Rosberg misses his start, and Lewis Hamilton takes the lead, but at the braking, the German manages to keep the inside line. Still under threat from his teammate, he squeezes him hard exiting the first corner, forcing him to put two wheels on the grass. Sebastian Vettel passes him, and the pack charges towards turns 3 and 4 where a major incident occurs with a collision between the two Marussia cars. Max Chilton, having lost control in turn 3, crashes into Jules Bianchi, who is sent flying into the wall. Both drivers retire from the race but emerge from their cars unscathed. It’s the first retirement of the British driver’s career. The safety car has entered the track.

After 5 laps, and under a safety car regime to clear the debris, Rosberg is in the lead, followed by Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Massa, Ricciardo, Vergne, Alonso, Räikkönen, and Button. Two laps later, the race resumes: Rosberg restarts well and creates a gap with Vettel. Hamilton, behind the Red Bull, is under pressure from Hamilton. The Brit uses DRS to easily take advantage over the four-time world champion and can now chase down Rosberg. Meanwhile, Kvyat makes a mistake in the second corner and spins off. He rejoins at the very back.

After 13 laps, Ricciardo initiates the wave of pit stops, hindered by Massa’s slower Williams. Thus, in the standings, Rosberg leads Hamilton (+1.7s), followed by Vettel, Bottas, and Massa. The Finn comes to a stop on the next lap, followed by Vettel, Massa, and Vergne the lap after. Tire degradation seems more significant than expected. The Brazilian’s pit stop is not good, and the Frenchman overtakes him. However, Alonso gains the advantage over Toro Rosso and maintains it thereafter. It’s Rosberg’s turn to pit, temporarily handing the lead to Hamilton: exiting the pits, he makes a mistake in turn 4 but doesn’t pay a high price for it. Hamilton refuels.

After 20 laps, Rosberg regains the advantage over Hamilton thanks to the stop of the Stevenage native. They are followed by Pérez (not stopped), Hülkenberg (not stopped), Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo, Maldonado (not stopped), Alonso, and Vergne. Up front, Hamilton is getting closer to Rosberg while Maldonado comes into the pits with an issue on one of the side pods. Vettel, behind Hülkenberg, attempts a very daring move at the hairpin braking but misses and goes wide; his compatriot avoids him and retakes fourth place.

After 25 laps, the battle at the front is becoming clearer: Hamilton benefits from DRS on the straights and closes in. After two laps in this configuration, Rosberg completely misses his braking at the chicane and goes straight on, effectively gaining time on Hamilton. The stewards announce an investigation into this maneuver by the German. Meanwhile, Kobayashi has stopped at the exit of turn 4 to retire.

After 30 laps, Hamilton has closed to within 3 tenths of Rosberg. Following them are Pérez and Hülkenberg, who have not pitted, then Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo, Massa, Alonso, and Vergne. The Force India team is even, in principle, extending their first stint as the strategy is proving good for the moment. At the front, Hamilton is informed of the stewards’ decision: no penalty for Rosberg, but it’s the final warning. The two drivers are within less than a second of each other before Rosberg picks up the pace to slightly push back the threat. On the 35th lap, Pérez comes into the pits to switch to soft tires. His teammate continues to hold off Vettel, Bottas, and Ricciardo; the Finn pits the following lap.

At the 37th lap, Hamilton announces he has a power issue after losing a second in a lap to Rosberg. But the German is apparently affected by the same problem! An incredible situation for the two leaders who have lost around 2 seconds per lap at this point. Hamilton takes the opportunity to get closer, but the risk is that fuel might run low if it’s due to a weakness in an electrical component.

On the 41st lap, the gap between the two Mercedes and Massa’s Williams is 20 seconds, whereas it was 27 seconds half a dozen laps ago. Vettel, who has gone through the pit lane, finds himself stuck behind the driver in car no. 27 but also behind his teammate, Ricciardo. He does not understand and complains over the radio where Guillaume Rocquelin responds bluntly: « My friend, focus on your race. »

On the 45th lap, Rosberg, in the lead, comes into the pits: the stop is not exemplary. Massa then slots in between the two Silver Arrows. Hamilton pits the following lap and takes the advantage over Rosberg! At the hairpin, Hamilton makes a mistake, and Rosberg dives in to pass him, which he succeeds in doing. On the straight, the Briton activates the DRS: he pulls alongside the German, overtakes him but cannot approach the chicane due to a brake issue. He goes straight, gives back his position but is slowing down! He has to retire at the end of the lap!

On the 49th lap, Massa, who led a few laps, finally has to pit. Rosberg takes the lead again, but he is a second slower than his direct pursuers: a group formed by Pérez, Ricciardo, and Vettel. As they almost catch up, Rosberg regains some speed and is able to hold off his pursuers.

After 57 of 70 laps, Rosberg leads ahead of Pérez, Ricciardo, and Vettel. Behind these four men, a group has formed with Hülkenberg, Bottas, Massa, and Alonso. At the hairpin, the Finn attempts a maneuver on the German but misses, too wide, and Massa takes advantage by passing his teammate and the Force India at the end of the straight. He catches up to the leading four by seconds. Among them, indeed, Vettel is becoming increasingly insistent on Ricciardo, while Pérez, who cannot open his DRS, fails to attempt a maneuver on Rosberg, whom he nevertheless has in sight.

On the 60th lap, Rosberg leads Pérez (+0.4s), Ricciardo (+1.0), Vettel (+1.3), and Massa (+3.5). The Brazilian is between half a second and a second faster than his predecessors, with fresher tires. Grosjean retires due to a rear wing failure. Massa’s Williams catches up with the group: a few laps later, Vettel makes a mistake at the hairpin, and the Brazilian tries but gets squeezed out. On the next lap, Pérez announces he’s in great trouble: Ricciardo dives inside on the main straight but overshoots at the braking point, putting two wheels off track and causing a slight slowdown. The Australian manages to maintain second position nonetheless and can go on the attack for the victory.

Three laps from the finish, Rosberg sees Ricciardo closing in on him: the Red Bull is in the DRS zone and overtakes on the long straight! Victory is within his grasp as he quickly takes the lead, with two laps to go. A battle is underway for the 3rd step of the podium: Vettel puts pressure on Pérez and finally overtakes him at the hairpin. Behind them, Massa attempts a move on the Mexican at the end of the pit straight, but there’s contact, leading to a terrible crash from which Vettel is spared thanks to a superb reflex! Both men are unharmed despite the horrific impact, and the safety car is deployed! It’s over!

The victory goes to Daniel Ricciardo, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel! What a race!