Hamilton survived their skirmish and went on to win the race, his second successive victory, fifth in Canada and the 45 of his career.
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The world champion referenced one of the former heavyweight champion’s famous quotes on his slowing down lap saying: “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee”.
Instead, he found his inspiration elsewhere: boxer Muhammad Ali.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, strikes a pose after winning the Canadian Grand Prix auto race Sunday, June 12, 2016, in Montreal.
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel says he is not blaming his team for their poor strategy in the Canadian GP.
Rosberg believes he had to go for a pass on Hamilton, as he did at Barcelona when he pulled off a superb overtake around the outside of Turn 1 before their major collision on the run down to Turn 4. But is there anything he could have done to win this race?
“I watched the seagulls and I locked up”, the Ferrari driver told race victor Hamilton in the pre-podium holding room.
Vettel revealed Ferrari had committed fairly early to a two-stop plan, adding: “It was probably the right thing to do in terms of getting to the chequered flag the quickest way”. It was very windy and maybe I struggled with the wind behind.
“We overestimated the degradation on the tyres, this is the reason why we called him in. It was fun to see this auto has performance and to unleash it”.
With the victory, Hamilton cut Rosberg’s lead in the championship standings from 24 points to nine, 116-107.
“That [the fuel] was the big problem with Max as I could only launch a couple of attacks, and every time I did he defended very well”. In the end it went completely pear-shaped. It was a frustrating race’. Rosberg got alongside Hamilton, who made another sluggish start, but he refused to yield as they fought for the tight space and their wheels banged, forcing the title leader on to the grass.
“But that’s racing”, he said. It’s my job to make sure I am in front after a battle like that next time.
On lap 17, Vettel made his way past the first Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo before making light work of Verstappen on the ensuing lap to move up to second.
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Force India saw another double points finish with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finishing in 8th and 10th position respectively.
