A thrilling Canadian Grand Prix just went down with Mercedes’ perfect season on the line and their two pilots fighting to be the Silver Arrows’ top dog. Would 2014’s script continue play out exactly as it had for the first six races with a Mercedes on the top step? Or would another team and driver finally get to taste victory in Montreal? Join me below the fold to find out…

Ricciardo grabs victory from Rosberg as Mercedes shows frailty for first time, Vettel a strong 3rd place finish for resurgent Red Bull

After the first half of the Canadian Grand Prix appeared to be staying true to this season’s form with Mercedes running away from the field and fighting only amongst themselves for top honors, the race turned chaotic when the Silver Arrows suffered identical brake and ERS power loss issues which caused both to lose pace, allowing the rest of the contenders back into contact with them. Mercedes’ remarkable 2014 luck finally ran out when Lewis Hamilton’s problems proved terminal on lap 37 and forced his retirement, leaving a wounded Rosberg to fend off his pursuers alone for the last half of the race. The Drivers’ Championship points leader drove valiently but in the end the loss of overall speed caused by having to nurse his brakes to the finish proved too great a task and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo passed the German decisively on the second to last lap for the win. It was the young Australian’s first-ever Grand Prix victory and it saw him yet again come home ahead of his 4-time World Champion teammate, Sebastian Vettel. Vettel nonetheless had a strong race to claim the last step on the podium and keep his championship hopes alive if on life support.

Pic from Daily Mail

The race ended under a yellow flag after the Williams of Filipe Massa came together with the Force India of Sergio Perez and both cars crashed out spectacularly, barely missing Vettel in the melee. While the drivers were said to be unhurt the scary accident was costly to both teams, as Massa and Perez were in strong points paying positions at the time. Their elimination allowed McLaren’s Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen to sneak into somewhat undeserved 4th and 9th place finishes respectively and the Ferrari’s of Fernado Alonso and Kimmi Raikkonen to similarly grab 6th and 10th. After the race, Alonso candidly stated that without the crash moving them up the Ferarris would have basically been nowhere. But you can be sure that neither Maranello or McLaren will be volunteering to return those gift points.

Rounding out the top 10 were Nico Hulkenberg of Force India with yet another 5th place finish, the lone surviving Williams of Valtteri Bottas in 6th and the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne in 7th.

The warm conditions at Circuit Gille-Villenueve and the demands on the brakes of that ultra-high speed track appeared to contribute to the extraordinary attrition rate of the race, with 12 cars failing to finish the race distance and 8 of those down to mechanical reasons. An opening lap shunt between the two Marussias, a team that only two weeks ago was flying high after scoring its first ever Championship points in Monaco, took both of their cars out and led to a long yellow flag period. At the time, that seemed to play into Mercedes’ hands in terms of fuel conservation. But in the always action-packed and unpredictable Grand Prix of Canada, the luck of the Silver Arrows finally ran out leaving a talented young Australian to swoop in and take victory for Red Bull on Île Notre Dame.

Top 10 finishers below:

Complete race results at Formula1.com.

The next Grand Prix is in two weeks and sees the return of Austria to the calendar after a 10-year hiatus and much haranguing of Bernie Ecclestone by native sponsors Red Bull to restore the race. Hope to see you then!