Daniel Ricciardo took his maiden victory at the 2014 Canadian Grandprix. In an unarguable display of action packed open wheel racing at its best, the Australian, towards the final stages of the race (lap 68 to be precise), passed the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, who was struggling with a rear brake issue, and coasted his way to victory. The German driver was followed in third place by Red Bull Renault’s Sebastian Vettel making it the first double podium finish for the Austrian team.
Jenson Button brought his McLaren-Mercedes home in fourth place after Force India’s Sergio Perez and Williams’ Felipe Massa crashed out in the first corner on the last lap. Perez changed his racing line while crossing the first corner and at the same time Felipe Massa, who was going to overtake him, misjudged the move and ended up driving into the back of Perez. This pitched both cars into the tyre wall and brought out the safety car guaranteeing Ricciardo his maiden victory.
Nico Hulkenberg brought the surviving Force India home in fifth place ahead of Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas. Jean Eric Vergne and Kevin Magnussen finished in eighth and ninth place ahead of a struggling Kimi Raikkonnen who was able to jump into the points thanks to the high rate of attrition higher up the grid.
The Canadian Grand Prix saw eight retirees, the highest this season. This list included Lewis Hamilton who lost his rear brakes after facing issues with the hybrid system, both the Lotus cars as well as both the Marussia cars who had a coming together on the first lap.
In the driver’s championship, Nico Rosberg has raced ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton thanks to this race. Nico now has 140 points as compared to Lewis’ 118 points. Daniel Ricciardo has jumped ahead of Fernando Alonso thanks to the victory in Canada. He now has 79 points as compared to the Spaniard’s 69 points. In the constructors’ championship, Mercedes has cemented its position at the top with 258 points ahead of Red Bull Renault’s 139 points and Ferrari’s 87 points in third place.
Source:Red Bull Renault FB page
