Hamilton takes controversial Canada win after Vettel penalized

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Lewis Hamilton maintained Mercedes' record winning start to a season on Sunday when he was handed a controversial victory, courtesy of a disputed stewards' decision to penalize Sebastian Vettel, at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The defending five-time world champion overall leader came home second on the track behind Vettel of Ferrari but was declared the winner because of a five-second penalty for a racing infringement by the German.

Vettel ran off and re-joined across a strip of grass on lap 50, forcing a charging Hamilton off-track towards a wall. The Briton braked to withdraw from his challenge to take the lead, prompting a race stewards' inquiry, which resulted in the time penalty.

"Where could I go?" protested Vettel. "They're stealing the race from us."

"No, no, no, not like that," he repeated on his slow-down lap as Hamilton celebrated. "If there wasn't a wall, I would have gone past him," said the Briton.

Ferrari's German driver Sebastian Vettel (back) applauds as Mercedes' British racer Lewis Hamilton thumbs up while holding his trophy during the F1 Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada, June 9, 2019. /VCG Photo

In a bizarre sequence, Vettel at first refused to attend the post-race interviews and stormed away to the Ferrari motor home before, after persuasion by the Italian team, he returned for the podium ceremonies.

As he did so, however, he walked to the parc ferme and moved the numbers used to mark the finishing order – shifting the number one to the blank space for his car, two for Hamilton's Mercedes and three for Charles Leclerc.

When the pro-Ferrari crowd booed Hamilton, Vettel told them to stop. "Don't boo Lewis – you should boo these decisions, not him," he said.

It was Hamilton's record seventh victory in Canada, and the 78th of his career, and extended Mercedes' season-opening run to seven successive wins.

Ferrari's German racer Sebastian Vettel swaps the number boards at parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada, June 9, 2019. /VCG Photo

Vettel ended up classified second ahead of his Ferrari teammate Leclerc, fourth-placed Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes, Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo of Renault.

Mercedes congratulated Hamilton on his win. "You forced the error," they told him.

"I just want to thank the team as we had an engine problem after my crash – and it was not the way I wanted to get past."

Source(s): AFP