Lewis Hamilton has once again proved his critics wrong by securing a comfortable third-placed podium finish in yesterday’s Canadian Grand Prix.

After qualifying second on the grid, he was determined to win his fourth grand prix in Montreal, where he drove to his first ever Formula One victory in only his sixth race in 2007.

On Saturday, he was flying on his final qualifying run and on course to take pole position, shaving off over two hundredths of a second in the third sector, before missing the chicane.

Before the race, which began at 7pm in the UK, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso stated his ambition to win the race, despite starting sixth. And while Lewis Hamilton maintained his position behind race leader Sebastian Vettel in second for the majority of the grand prix, the Spaniard’s pace was too good for the Mercedes. 

The tyre test Pirelli undertook with Mercedes has proven to be controversial but with the tyres surviving greater distances, it appears the Italian rubber manufacturer has made a gigantic stride forward to ensure drivers can race each other without the fear of burning out their tyres.  

Scottish-born Paul di Resta impressed everyone after driving for 57 laps with his medium compound tyres, before making his obligatory stop.

THE RACE

From start to finish, Sebastian Vettel, who has won the Formula One World Championship for the last three years, stretched out a comfortable lead over Lewis Hamilton and made history for Red Bull Racing – the team’s first win in North America.

And just to send a stern warning to his rivals that Red Bull are on a mission to win the championship once again, he screamed a statement of intent and joy as he crossed the finish line. “I love, Canada,” he screamed over the radio. “The car was fantastic.”

Sebastian Vettel is a step closer to a landmark 30th victory – now on the horizon if he wins just once more race this season. That will be easily achievable when one considers that Lotus and Kimi Raikkonen once again had an awful day, allowing Germany’s Vettel to further extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship by 36 points.

While Lewis Hamilton was skilful, defensive and tactical in holding off Fernando Alonso, the 2008 Formula One World Champion was frustrated when Fernando Alonso overtook him seven laps from the end and threatened the Ferrari driver for 2nd place closer to the finish.

Amusingly, when Lewis’s race engineer bored him with information, he politely replied: “Please just let me drive man.” 

Mark Webber finished fourth while Lewis’s teammate Nico Rosberg secured fifth. It is Lewis Hamilton’s third podium of the season, while teammate Nico Rosberg has only achieved one – winning in Monaco.