Race - 2017 Canadian GP team quotes

Haas F1

For the third straight race and the fifth time in the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship, Haas F1 Team earned a point-paying result when Romain Grosjean finished 10th in the Canadian Grand Prix Sunday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Teammate Kevin Magnussen augmented the effort with a tenacious 12th-place drive after starting 18th in the 20-car field.

The start of the Canadian Grand Prix was a wild one, with the Toro Rosso of 13th-place starter Carlos Sainz Jr. cutting across the nose of Grosjean’s Haas VF-17 as the field entered turn three of the 4.361-kilometer (2.710-mile), 14-turn track. This forced Grosjean to put his right-side tires on the grass, and as he worked to get back onto the asphalt, contact with Sainz was made. Sainz shot across turn three and collected the Williams of Felipe Massa.

Grosjean headed to the pits for a new nose wing and a switch from the Pirelli P Zero Purple ultrasoft tire to the slightly more durable Red supersoft. While the pit stop was early, the team kept Grosjean on its planned one-stop strategy, forcing Grosjean to manage the set of supersofts for the remainder of the 70-lap race.

As Grosjean emerged for the lap-five restart in 16th position, Magnussen benefitted from the misfortune of others, rising to 12th. And on lap 11 when the Red Bull of Max Verstappen pulled off the track with a mechanical issue, Magnussen picked up 11th and Grosjean rose to 15th.

Soon, pit stops began jumbling the running order, with Magnussen rising to as high as eighth and Grosjean climbing to 14th. Magnussen, however, earned one of those positions by passing the McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne during a Virtual Safety Car period. This earned Magnussen a five-second penalty, which would be served during his eventual pit stop.

Magnussen finally pitted on lap 46, swapping the well-worn Red supersofts he used to start the race for a new set of Purple ultrasofts. But with Magnussen serving his five-second penalty, he returned to the race in 15th.

Grosjean, meanwhile, had steadily worked his way to 12th, and with more than 20 laps left in the race, opportunity remained.

When Daniil Kvyat brought his Toro Rosso to the pits on lap 53 for what ended up being a terminal problem, Grosjean and Magnussen moved up to 11th and 14th, respectively.

Grosjean was holding steady in 11th, with 10th-place Fernando Alonso well ahead in his McLaren. Magnussen was still in attack mode, and he passed Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson for 13th on lap 56.

It appeared that 11th and 13th would be Haas F1 Team’s finish in the Canadian Grand Prix. But on the penultimate lap, Alonso slowed with a mechanical problem, handing 10th to Grosjean and 12th to Magnussen.

Winning the Canadian Grand Prix from the pole was three-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. It was the Mercedes driver’s 56th career Formula One win, his third of the season and his sixth at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Hamilton’s margin of victory was a whopping 19.783 seconds over his teammate Valtteri Bottas. The victory served as a major boost to Hamilton’s championship aspirations, as he cut 13 points off the lead held by Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. Vettel came into Montreal with a 25-point lead over Hamilton and leaves with just a 12-point margin.

Seven rounds into the 20-race Formula One schedule, Haas F1 Team is eighth in the constructors standings with 15 points. Seventh-place Renault is just three points ahead and ninth-place Sauber is 11 points back. Grosjean and Magnussen are 12th and 13th, respectively, in the driver standings. Grosjean has 10 points and Magnussen has five.

Formula One takes a weekend off before returning to action June 23-25 for the European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Romain Grosjean

“Well, our race started very badly with the front wing change on the first lap. Then we knew the only way to get a decent strategy was to stay out and make those tires last for 69 laps, which is pretty good for supersofts. We got there. I am very unhappy with Carlos’ (Sainz) maneuver at the start – what he did to me going into turn three. It was very, very dangerous. I’m glad the car didn’t have too much damage. We changed the front wing and got going again. It was a tough race. We needed a bit of luck at the end, which we got with Alonso retiring, and we managed to get a point. It’s great for the team, but we missed a bit of speed today.”

Kevin Magnussen

“With regard to the penalty, I went on power anticipating the end of the Virtual Safety Car, and I thought I’d probably passed him (Vandoorne) before it ended. I wasn’t sure, but I let him past anyway before passing him again at the next corner. Normally, when you give back the position, that’s fine. I gave it back, and then overtook him straight away. He was in front and he had every chance to be in the position he was before the Virtual Safety Car. I feel it’s very unfair the judgement from the stewards. These things happen. My shot at points was over. I fought very hard and had a good start. The opposite strategy didn’t work, but we were still there. It hasn’t been my weekend but, hopefully, it will turn soon.”

Gunther Steiner

“It was a very exciting race for us. It didn’t start well with Romain being hit by Sainz at the beginning and dropping down to last after having to come in for a wing change. Normally, your race is done then, but everybody kept on fighting and Romain did a fantastic job to get the car home with 69 laps on one set of tires. That’s astonishing – very well done. Kevin was up there in the points as well. But then he got a penalty for overtaking under the Virtual Safety Car. He gave the position back, but it was decided he needed to get the penalty. All in all, I’m pretty happy with the weekend. As much as it looks like we didn’t do what we should be doing, we got a point, meaning we’ve scored points now in five out of seven races this year – and in one of those we had a DNF (Did Not Finish). I think if we’re always around there, we can always score points. That’s what we’ll try to do. If the challenge is high, we keep on fighting.”

Red Bull

DANIEL RICCIARDO

“It was tough out there today. When we put the softs on I thought it’s a good thing to do to get to the end. (Sergio) Perez was on me for a bit and then there were a few laps when I was able to pull away. It looked like he was struggling but maybe he was just having a breather and then he had a second attack. I couldn’t afford any mistakes, especially in the last sector, because if they get the DRS and get a run it’s hard to keep them behind. I had to be close to perfect in terms of not making any errors but it wasn’t easy as the grip was low and the wind was crazy out there. Not the easiest third place but when I saw the chequered flag I was like: yes I can finally breathe. I had zero intention of doing a shoey again, but the crowd was chanting and then Sir Patrick (Stewart) got involved so I thought: alright, we might be on here. I think it turned out pretty good.”

MAX VERSTAPPEN

“The way the race ended for me was very frustrating after such a good start. I think a podium was possible but once again we come away with nothing. The start was really good, straight away I felt no wheel spin and could just put the power down and make some places. I had a little bit of contact with Seb (Vettel) on the first corner, running wide there means it can sometimes happen. From there on the pace felt good and I was looking after the tyres and brakes as we had no chance of catching Lewis. I was just concentrating on doing my own race when I suddenly lost all power and everything shut down. I have had a lot of disappointments recently, I guess that’s racing but sometimes you get tired of it.”

CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal

“An excellent podium for Daniel today, who really didn’t make any mistakes, despite huge pressures from Force Indias and Ferrari behind. We banked track position early on with the soft tyre with the intention of going to the end of the race and that worked out well today. It was a great shame for us to lose Max after 11 laps. He had an unbelievable start which propelled him into second place by turn two, and then after an audacious move to take the lead at the restart he was looking competitive for second place when a suspected energy store failure caused an instantaneous retirement. Very tough on Max but I’m sure his time will come soon. Leaving Montreal and one of our more challenging tracks on the calendar with a podium is a positive result and good to see Sir Patrick Stewart having fun on the podium.”

Williams

— Lance Stroll finished ninth to claim his first ever Formula One points in front of his home crowd at today’s Canadian Grand Prix
— Felipe’s race unfortunately ended at Turn 3 on lap one, after Sainz collided with Grosjean and collected Felipe as he crashed out
— Lance had a great start, moving up to 15th from 17th during the opening lap. Following an early safety car and a virtual safety car period, Lance ran as high as P9, after passing Vandoorne at the Turn 10 hairpin on lap 15
— Lance made his first and only pitstop of the race on lap 27 for a set of supersoft tyres. He rejoined the race in P17 but quickly started to gain positions on fresh tyres
— Lance made some great overtaking manoeuvres to pass Wehrlein, Ericsson, Palmer, Grosjean, Vandoorne and Alonso on his way to P10; before moving up to P9 as a result of Kvyat’s retirement to claim his maiden Formula One points.
— Felipe is now 10th in the Drivers’ Championship, while Lance moves up to 16th. The team retains sixth in the Constructors’ Championship with 22 points

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer

A huge congratulations to Lance. He’s the first Canadian in Formula One since Jacques Villeneuve, and now he’s scored his first points at his home race. It’s a great story. Given the difficult start Lance has had to his Formula One career, this feels like a race win to us. It was an incredible drive. He showed some fantastic race-craft, great overtaking and he really earned those points today. From 17th on the grid up to ninth, including a battle with a double world champion, which he took in his stride. I think today’s result will boost his confidence going forward and will give him some real momentum. On the other side of the garage, Felipe had an unfortunate race. He actually had a good start, but then lost a few places as a result of the jostling that normally takes place at Turns 1 and 2 at this race. He was then collected by Carlos, through no fault of his own. With the pace of the car this weekend it’s very unfortunate. We could have scored some very good points. We’re now looking ahead to Azerbaijan. The car should be reasonably strong there so we’ll give it another go.

Lance Stroll

I am just happy for myself, for the team, for everyone. The balance of the car was good all race. I was in a flow. I knew we had good straight line speed in the Williams. I chose my overtakes at the right times, sometimes I could have done them a lap earlier, but it was a bit risky so I did it a lap later and stayed patient. James, my engineer, was giving me good communications throughout the whole race about what was happening around us. We just stayed cool headed and took it to the end and P9. It was about things falling into place and getting everything to work with no issues and being able to do the pace we know how to do. It means the world to me being able to finish a race in the points and be able to see those Canadian flags up in the air at my race.

Felipe Massa

I’m so disappointed to be out after just three corners. I was a complete passenger in the collision. I think Carlos was hit by somebody, but I was the only car that he hit. It’s a shame to finish the race like that, especially when the car has been so competitive all weekend and we could have scored a good amount of points.

Toro Rosso

Daniil Kvyat

“A very disappointing day. Our problems already started during the formation lap – my engine stalled, so I had to catch all the cars before the Safety Car line, which I didn’t manage to do so I got a penalty for it… But we were still going for P9 as the pace was mega good today! Unfortunately, during my pit-stop we had a problem and then we retired… It was too late to do anything after losing so much time in the pits anyway. I did everything I could do today but what’s annoying is that every time we have very good pace something happens or goes wrong… It’s very frustrating, we deserved a reward today.”

Carlos Sainz

“What a tough start to the race – I had a good start and was in P12, trying to overtake Fernando around the outside of Turn 2… He got better traction than me out of there so I focused on positioning myself to try and attack him into Turn 3 and, all of a sudden, I touched with a Haas that was on my right-hand side… I have to say I never saw the car there, it’s simply a dead angle in my mirrors so I never knew he was there. If I had realized I was there, of course I would’ve been more careful and left some space. Once we collided I was just a passenger, crashed into the wall and that was the end of my race unfortunately. I’d like to say sorry, especially to Felipe, who received a touch from me… I just couldn’t do anything to avoid it. It was a big crash, but I’m fine. Unfortunately, the whole weekend has been a bit difficult for us, starting with not being able to run in FP1, then yesterday’s qualifying and today’s accident… It’s now time to focus on Baku; luckily we have 20 Formula 1 races so we can forget this weekend!”

Franz Tost (Team Principal)

“Our Canadian GP race weekend has been a difficult one – it all already started in yesterday’s qualifying session, where we didn’t manage to get the cars into Q3. We started the race from P11 with Daniil and P13 with Carlos. Unfortunately, Daniil’s engine stalled at the start of the formation lap – we need to investigate how this happened, because there’s no excuse; an engine should never stall and there must be a technical solution to avoid this from happening. The regulation allows the driver to catch-up until the first Safety Car line but as all the drivers use the complete width of the track to warm-up their tyres, it was difficult for Daniil to overtake them in order to get back to his position without taking any risks. Therefore, he just missed overtaking Alonso before the Safety Car line – it was also too late for him to go into the pit-lane – so he got penalized for this. Daniil did a very good race and was very competitive, putting in some really good lap times. We then had to call him in for his pit-stop and for him to serve a ten-second penalty that was in addition to the drive through he had already been given, but we suffered a problem with the rear-right wheel-nut. Therefore, we decided to retire the car because, at this stage, we were two laps behind. Regarding Carlos, he had a reasonable start but then collided with Grosjean at Turn 3 and this was the end of his race. Unfortunately we leave Canada without scoring any points and with a bag full of work to do for next race in Baku.”

Sauber

The Sauber F1 Team entered the 70 lap race at the Canadian GP with rather low expectations after the qualifying result on Saturday. In the end, Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein finished in P13 and P15 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Marcus Ericsson started on ultrasoft tyres and drove a one-stop strategy, while Pascal Wehrlein started from the pit lane on supersofts (2 pit stops) as a result of changing his rear wing after his accident in the qualifying. The two Sauber C36-Ferrari as well as the remaining cargo will now be flown from Montreal to Baku, where the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan will take place in two weeks.

Marcus Ericsson

“Overall it has been a tough weekend, but I got the maximum out of the car in the race. We made a step forward with our tyre management throughout the race. The pace that I had was similar to our direct competitors for most parts of the race. Now we have to build on that and take those insights with us to Baku.”

Pascal Wehrlein

“It was a difficult weekend – for one because of the crash in the qualifying, and also because I could not keep up with the lap times of the competition. We have to make sure that we understand the reason for that. For now we are focusing on the upcoming weekend in Baku.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal

“Even though we anticipated that this would be a difficult race weekend, the result is still disappointing. Despite the challenging conditions, Marcus put in a good, consistent and dedicated performance. Pascal wasn’t able to fully manage the tyres, and we are still in the process of analyzing the causes for that, especially regarding the changes in the aerodynamic configuration which we had to undertake before the race due to yesterday’s incident.”

Force India

Force India scored 18 points today as Sergio Perez raced to fifth place ahead of Esteban Ocon in sixth in a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix.

SERGIO PEREZ

“I’m pleased to come away with fifth place because it was a very intense afternoon. For nearly the whole race I was running close behind Riccardo in his DRS window and waiting for my opportunity to overtake. I could see he was struggling in certain areas and, as we started to come through the lapped traffic, I thought I deserved the chance to try and overtake him. I tried my best and really pushed hard, but it just wasn’t possible to make the move. It was the same situation with Esteban behind me for almost half the race, but it was only on the final lap that he got really close to me when we were lapping Ericsson. I knew Esteban had better tyre life because my engineers made me aware of the situation and I replied by asking the team to simply let us race. I think the team was fair and respected my view. The team always comes first and we raced hard, but fair. I always give my best and I’m very happy we could come away with so many points from this race.”

ESTEBAN OCON

“As a team we scored really important points today, but I am a bit frustrated by this result because I feel a podium may have been possible. This is the way racing goes and we have to look at the positives: we had a great car that allowed us to take the fight to Ferrari and Red Bull and that is quite impressive. I am confident it won’t be the last time we will fight at this level and it was an awesome feeling – a really enjoyable race. The team as a whole did a great job today - they gave me such a fast car and we can be proud of our work and of the points we have gained.”

ROBERT FERNLEY, DEPUTY TEAM PRINCIPAL

“A fantastic performance and result by the team. The car has been competitive all weekend and it’s very satisfying to see us convert our potential into a good bunch of points. The battle between Sergio and Esteban was one of the stories of the race and showed how closely-matched they are as teammates. We clearly had the quicker car compared to the Red Bull of Ricciardo, but overtaking in Montreal is never easy and we spent almost the entire race in his wheel tracks. After the pit stops, Esteban was right behind Sergio and had a pace advantage thanks to his fresher tyres. We advised both drivers of the situation and considered switching them around, but ultimately we chose to let them race. They were tough with each other on the track, but it was a fair fight. Sadly we couldn’t contain Vettel, but picking up 18 points extends our points advantage in the championship. We now have scored more than twice the points of the fifth placed team. We also saw really competitive car pace this weekend and that’s encouraging for the races to come, especially Baku in two weeks’ time.”

Ferrari

The toughest Grand Prix of the year ended with Seb in fourth place and Kimi in seventh. Given how things went on the opening lap, with both cars damaged and a front wing to change, a strategy to rejig, overtaking moves to make, it was a demonstration of courage and determination from drivers and team. Sebastian still leads the Drivers’ championship on 141 points, 13 more than Hamilton.

Gusty conditions, dust flying around the track and even a few black but harmless clouds all served to ramp up the tension before the start. Verstappen’s blistering start meant that Seb, who had got off the line well, had to lift off. He thus found himself back in fourth, but further back, a collision between Massa and Sainz immediately brought out the Safety Car. Max’s move had damaged the right front wing end plate on Sebastian’s car. Rather than risk further problems, he pitted for a new nose and a change to Supersofts. Unfortunately, the SF70H had additional damage to the floor. Meanwhile, Kimi lost ground in the duel with Ricciardo and found himself sixth and a trip across the grass also caused him some damage.

Verstappen’s race ended at the side of the track at Turn 3 and out came the safety car again, albeit this time a virtual one. The race resumed on lap 14 and that number also represented Seb’s position, but he soon dispensed with Grosjean. On lap 18, Kimi, who was having a tricky time of it, pitted and fitted the red-banded tyres and by this point Seb was already up to eleventh. He then passed Hulkenberg to move into the points before pulling off a passing move on Stroll at the chicane. Kimi got ahead of Alonso to go sixth, with Sebastian now just two places further back having come out on top of duels with Magnussen and Fernando.

Life wasn’t easy with two damaged cars: on lap 42, Kimi pitted for fresh rubber, the super-quick Ultrasofts. Seb stayed out until lap 50, dealing with traffic ahead of him, but he would also have to rescue his race with the purple tyres, with which Kimi was now flying. Seb started to demolish the lap times, getting under the 1’15” mark with 10 laps to go. He passed Kimi who had a brake control issue. At the start of lap 66, Seb pulled off a miracle, risking everything to pass Ocon who was also using the DRS. Perez was now in his sights and he slipped by at the start of the penultimate lap, so that his race ended just off the podium. KImi brought his wounded No 7 car home in seventh spot. “Thanks guys” was the immediate message from Maurizio. That said it all.

Maurizio Arrivabene

“Unfortunately, our race was compromised right from the start, when Seb’s car was damaged so he was no longer able to give it his best shot. Initially, our data showed the damage was not too serious. It was only in the following laps that the wing broke, causing further damage to the turning vanes and the floor. As for Kimi, towards the end he had a problem with the braking system. Right from tomorrow in Maranello we will carry out a detailed analysis of the race, making the most of the data gathered as we prepare as well as possible for the next round in Baku.”

Kimi Raikkonen

“At the start I got wheelspin off the line and obviously we lost quite a few places. From that moment it was not an easy race: I struggled in the first few laps, it was difficult to get past . We decided to switch our tactics to two stops to create a speed difference with fresh tires. We had a very good pace again and we were nicely going back close to the guys in front. Unfortunately, we had the issue with the brakes and we could not really use our speed. In the last ten laps I had hardly no brakes; it’s a pity but at least we could bring the car back and get some points. It was not an easy day for the team but this is how it goes sometimes. If this is our bad day, then we have to take it and go forward.”

Sebastian Vettel

“I think my start was not particularly good but at the same time not that bad either. The car was good, I think it was clear that today we could have been better than fourth, but that’s how we finished and what is done is done. Overall, we know we have a strong car. Looking back at the start, Bottas and I were trying to go from the inside when Max came around but these things can happen. Then, with the safety car on track I did not realize that the damage to the front wing was as bad as it actually was, we only noticed it at full speed. There was also some additional damage to other parts of the bodywork, hard to say what they cost me in terms of laptime, but the car did not feel as the one I had driven in the past two days. Yet the pace was there and I would have liked some more laps to finish on the podium, the trophy here looked nice… That was my target and I missed it. But we are growing up as a team.”

McLaren

A difficult day in the McLaren Honda garage at the Canadian Grand Prix. Both Fernando and Stoffel did well to avoid any first-lap chaos – Fernando lucky to avoid being caught up in a three-car incident. Stoffel made a strong start from the line, taking advantage of the melee and crossed the line after the first lap in 11th place.

Both drivers opted for a one-stop strategy with a long first stint, and quickly settled into the pack. During the Virtual Safety Car following Max Verstappen’s retirement, Stoffel was overtaken by Kevin Magnussen before the VSC had ended – for which Magnussen later received a penalty, although the damage had been done as it left Stoffel vulnerable to the chasing pack behind on the notoriously power-hungry straights of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He lost four places in three laps, and was powerless to mount any sort of fightback, settling into 15th position for much of the remainder of the race following his sole pit-stop, until he was gifted a position (14th) on lap 67 of 70.

That position was granted to Stoffel by Fernando, who suffered a cruel fate three laps before the end of the race while in a points-paying position (10th) for the first time this season. On lap 67, Fernando lost oil pressure owing to a mechanical issue in the power unit, and was forced to retire from the race.

FERNANDO ALONSO

“We were in the points with a couple of laps to the end but my engine gave up. I am frustrated, of course, but it’s not only about losing a point today, of course.

“As a driver, we try to come here and drive as fast as we can, so missing on that point is disappointing especially for the guys, who have been working so much day and night, preparing the car, preparing the strategy and taking care of every single detail.

“Our chassis feels quite strong in the corners, but we are being overtaken by everyone in the middle on the straights. It’s tough times.

“The support we have from the fans in Canada is great, so when my car stopped I thought we should give something back, and I went up the grandstand to give my gloves to the people who had been cheering me on.”

STOFFEL VANDOORNE

“It was a difficult race. I think we more or less knew that before the start. We found it tough on the straights, and also the amount of fuel saving we had to do today really hurt us. The closing speed of the other cars was really impressive, so we were a bit of a sitting duck. In the end, we made it to the finish, but it’s not the result we were hoping for.

“It’s incredibly difficult to stay with the group ahead, and when we can stay with the group we are vulnerable and don’t have the power to defend, so we have to invent some tricks to keep the other cars behind, and then it all starts to become very challenging.

“There’s no point moaning about it – I’m just trying to get on with my job – but I just hope there will be improvements soon so we can actually start racing with the others.”

ERIC BOULLIER

"For the first time this season, running in 10th place within spitting distance of the flag, we dared to hope.

"OK, what we were daring to hope for were hardly rich pickings: a solitary world championship point for Fernando, who had driven superbly all afternoon, as he’s driven superbly every race-day afternoon for the past two-and-a-half years. But, after so much toil and heartache, even that single point would have felt like a victory.

"And then came yet another gut-wrenching failure.

"It’s difficult to find the right words to express our disappointment, our frustration and, yes, our sadness. So I’ll say only this: it’s simply, and absolutely, not good enough."

YUSUKE HASEGAWA

“Today was especially disappointing as Fernando was on course to score our first point of the 2017 season.

“Of course, it is not our aim to score the occasional point, but it would have at least been a step forward and a reward for all of the team’s hard work these past few races.

“After avoiding the first-lap incident, Fernando managed his race well and had consistent pace throughout. The team also did a great job with the strategy keeping him ahead of his closest rivals. Unfortunately, with just a couple of laps remaining, Fernando’s PU lost oil pressure due to a mechanical issue. We won’t know the exact cause until we get the power unit back to Sakura for a full investigation.

“Stoffel had a great start to his race, but lost out during the Safety Car periods. Despite this, it was a step in the right direction for him today, and positive that he finished the race.

“There is still a gap between us and our competitors, and we must continue to improve our reliability. We cannot stay in our current position and we will maintain our tireless development in order to close the gap.”

Renault F1

Renault Sport Formula One Team scored points with an eighth-position finish thanks to a strong and determined drive for Nico Hülkenberg at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Ever hungry for more, Nico had been chasing down Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari for seventh position in the final laps and finished just 1.7 seconds adrift at the chequered flag. Jolyon Palmer drove in equally determined fashion to finish just one second shy of the points in P11.

Nico Hülkenberg

“Today’s race was quite positive for us overall; everything was running pretty smoothly although the wind was crazy at times; blowing the car from left to right on the straight! Obviously we were helped by some DNFs but nevertheless I found myself in eighth place and four nice points isn’t bad given this was a track where we were a bit worried on how good we were going to be.”

Jolyon Palmer

“We finished in P11 again today, two races in a row within touching distance of points. This is very frustrating, I lost a lot at the start with the mayhem, I lost positions then got stuck behind Grosjean for about 60 laps and couldn’t get close enough to attack him. I think the pace was a bit better and if I could have started a couple of places higher, we could have gotten into the points. The race was much better again, Q2 this weekend was positive, we just need to keep working hard.”

Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director

“We had a good race today in Montreal, the results were positive and we’re happy to be resuming our series of points finishes after a frustrating retirement in Monaco. Today’s race allowed us to reduce the deficit between us and Williams, as we are aiming for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship before the mid-season break. Nico had a good race, with a very strong pace, finishing on the lead lap. He was able to stay focused and remain unaffected by the mayhem and penalties around him. Jo had a similar strategy and he now has two P11 finishes in a row. The priority moving forward is for him to qualify higher in order to get a shot at winning some points and contribute to the team’s effort to gain ground in the Constructors’ Championship.”

Mercedes

Lewis leads Valtteri in stunning Silver Arrows 1-2 in Montreal

— Lewis took his 56th career victory today – his sixth at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, and third of the 2017 season
— Lewis scored his fourth career Grand Slam, claiming pole, the victory, fastest lap and leading every lap of the Grand Prix
— Valtteri came home in second to secure the Silver Arrows’ first 1-2 of 2017
— Lewis (129 points) closes the gap on Sebastian Vettel (141 points) to just 12 points in the Drivers’ Championship, with Valtteri (93 points) a further 36 points back in P3
— Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (222 points) lead the Constructors’ Championship by eight points from Ferrari (214 points) in P2

Lewis Hamilton

It’s been such an incredible weekend. I just couldn’t be happier with how it’s gone and I’m so grateful for this result. We came away from Monaco and we were scratching our heads, but we pulled together and look what we achieved. We came here with a much better understanding of the car and we delivered a real blow to the Ferraris. Valtteri did a fantastic job too and this is our first one-two finish together. We’ve scored a big load of solid points and it’s well deserved. It’s crazy to think I had my first pole and win here 10 years ago. The race actually felt very reminiscent of 2007, in terms of how it unfolded. It’s a long race here, especially when you’re out there on your own, but I knew the car would hold together and it did perfectly.

Valtteri Bottas

I’m so happy for us as a team to bounce back the way we did this weekend. It’s so impressive to see how the team has reacted in the last two weeks – how it’s worked and improved. I’ve never seen a group of people so determined to win and to get back on top, so to get the one-two finish today, it’s amazing. I tried my best to be aggressive and to get ahead of the Ferraris off the start and it worked, but I had a bit of a lock-up there which compromised my first stint. I lost some time behind the Red Bull and then the Force India after the stop, so we went for the Soft tyre for the second stint, but I didn’t quite have the pace. But I brought the car home for some great points.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

That feels absolutely great. We have finally taken a 1-2 finish and done so at a track that we expected would be difficult for us – and which certainly was for us last year. Lewis delivered a stellar performance this weekend: a pole lap that was almost scary when you watch the onboard, then a totally dominant race. Likewise, Valtteri struggled with the car yesterday but he got everything right today to complete a perfect day for our team. Ever since Monaco, the guys and girls in the factory have been flat out. There was no weekend and people working 24/7 to better understand our problems – credit goes to so many people. So to bounce back in this way shows the calibre of the group that we have in the team. But the secret to this weekend was to keep the ball flat, stay calm, analyse our problems and come up with solutions. So this is the time to keep our feet on the ground, keep working hard and take it one race at a time. We saw some encouraging signs today but we need to working in just the same way to translate them into more success in Baku.

James Allison, Technical Director

Not every Grand Prix win can deliver the same breathless cut and thrust of the race we saw one month ago in Barcelona – but this is nonetheless an extremely satisfying team result after the disappointment of Monaco a fortnight ago. We came racing back on all cylinders here and made important headway in both championships. It’s our first one-two finish of this season and will allow us to approach the next race in Baku with a spring in our step.