Vettel hails 'perfect' Canada victory

He led from start to finish and Sebastian Vettel was thrilled to deliver Ferrari's first Canadian Grand Prix win since 2004.

Published : Jun 11, 2018 07:57 IST

Sebastian Vettel described his Canadian Grand Prix victory, which saw him move above Lewis Hamilton atop the drivers' standings, as "perfect".

The German secured his 50th Formula One success at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday, starting on pole and never looking like relinquishing his lead.

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas came home second ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull, while Hamilton lost a place to Daniel Ricciardo following their respective pit stops and finished fifth - the defending champion's lowest placing of 2018.

As a result, Vettel replaced his rival in the standings with a one-point advantage, and reflected on Ferrari's first win in Montreal since Michael Schumacher in 2004.

"Perfect is probably a good way to describe it. It's unbelievable," he said. "I said yesterday how much this place means to Ferrari and to have a race like we had today is unbelievable.

"It's 50 for me but after a long stretch that Ferrari didn't win here, I saw the people around and they were super happy.

"There is still a long way to go [in the championship] so I'm not too bothered about it. It's a good side effect.

"Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, to have a Ferrari winning today and me personally makes me very proud and I'm honoured. It's a day to remember the great Gilles Villeneuve.

"The Canadian Tifosi have been waiting long enough for Ferrari to do well here and 40 years after Gilles, it's great to show Ferrari is still alive and winning races.

"I remember watching in 2004 on TV!"

"The team was totally dominant, together with Sebastian, because we were working since Friday step by step, little by little, keeping focus on what we had to do," added team principal Maurizio Arrivabene.

"Sebastian is a great driver and today he was driving like a hammer and he gave credit not only to himself and his talent but to all the work of the team.

"It's a big fight this year. We are more or less all together. Red Bull are very strong, Mercedes very strong. It will be an interesting championship. We have to keep our feet on the ground, head down and work."

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