Lewis Hamilton slashes gap behind Sebastian Vettel in Formula One championship with victory in Canadian Grand Prix
Vettel produced some inspired driving in the final laps in a desperate attempt to reduce Hamilton's margin
LEWIS HAMILTON cruised to victory in the Canadian Grand Prix to slash Sebastian Vettel's lead in the championship to just 12 points.
The Brit, who started on pole, gave a faultless display and led from start to finish while Vettel made an excellent recovery to fight back from 18th and finish fourth.
Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was second, while Daniel Ricciardo was in third place.
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Hamilton has now won this race SIX TIMES and this was probably his easiest win; his engineer Pete Bonnington calling it a "walk in the park".
Hamilton said: "Fantastic job guys. Some great points for the team."
Vettel had an awful start off the line and he was quickly passed by Max Verstappen, with the Red Bull star blasting his way past the German.
However, the Dutchman did take a huge chunk out of Vettel's front wing, causing the Ferrari driver to lose downforce and meant he needed to stop for a new wing.
When Vettel did return to the track he was way down in 18th place while his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was also struggling for grip.
Vettel's problems played into Hamilton's hands, who had a four-second lead over Verstappen by the 10th lap.
But the Red Bull driver's race was over on the following lap when his car he conked out with a battery problem.
Verstappen's retirement meant he joined Carlos Sainz and Felipe Massa in the pits after the two clashed on the first lap and were forced to retire.
Vettel, who went into this race with a 25 point lead in the title race, started to fight back though the field and by lap 23 he was up to eighth.
Meanwhile, Force India's rookie, Esteban Ocon was having a sensational race running in second place ahead of Bottas, although the Finn had made a stop.
Hamilton made his pitstop on lap 31, yet at that stage he had commanded and astonishing 26 second lead out in front.
And that buffer allowed him to make his stop and return to the race, still in first place with Bottas in second place.
While the Ferrari duo of Raikkonen and Vettel were running in sixth and seventh with 20 laps remaining, with the German running on fresh tyres.
Ahead of them were the Force India duo of Sergio Perez and Ocon, who were both hunting down Ricciardo.
Both the Force India drivers felt they had the pace to catch the Red Bull, but they failed to do so, and in squabbling for the right to fight, they were reeled in by Ferrari.
First Raikkonen caught the back of Ocon's car but he soon had a brake problem, which allowed Vettel though.
Ocon was furious that Force India did not order Perez to allow him through, blasting their decision over the radio, saying "It is not fair guys. Not fair racing at all."
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso again retired after his Honda-powered McLaren gave up, while Williams' Canadian rookie Lance Stroll earned his first points in F1.
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DRIVER OF THE DAY:
Sebastian Vettel gave a fantastic display to fight back from way down the field. Definitely a case of damage limitation.
MOVE OF THE RACE:
Vettel pulled off a fantastic move to get past Esteban Ocon on lap 66.
MISTAKE OF THE RACE:
Carlos Sainz clattered into Felipe Massa at the start. His Toro Rosso team-mate, Daniil Kvyat also had a shocker.
MILK FLOAT:
Pascal Wehrlein is doing little to live up to his reputation as one of the starts of the future.
WINNERS:
Lewis Hamilton loves this track and gave a faultless performance on his way to victory.
Force India had another sensational race. The Silverstone-based team continue to defy expectations.
Daniel Ricciardo earned an unlikely podium for Red Bull.
LOSERS
Max Verstappen was looking good in second place until his Red Bull conked out.
Felipe Massa was helpless as he was punted from behind and sent crashing out on the first lap.
Daniil Kvyat picked up penalty after penalty and turned the airwaves blue with his foul language.