Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the seventh race of the year in Montreal.
Reigning two-time world champion Sebastian Vettel blitzed the field to qualify on pole position, with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso sitting in behind in second and third respectively.
Vettel famously lost in the final moments to Jenson Button last year at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and the German will be hoping for a much easier race this time around as he looks to take the drivers' championship lead from Alonso.
20.38:"Yeah boy!" screams Hamilton. His teammate Button had a shoddy day and finished in 16th.
20.38:Here's how the top-ten points scorers finished: 1. Hamilton 2. Grosjean 3. Perez 4. Vettel 5. Alonso 6. Rosberg 7. Webber 8. Raikkonen 9. Kobayashi 10. Massa
20.37Hamilton takes the Drivers' Championship lead on 88 points. Perez is delighted with third and fist pumps to the Montreal crowd.
20.37Great drive from the Englishman, who made the two-stop strategy work to perfection. Grosjean and Perez make up the podium on one-stop strategies. No idea what odds you would have got on those three finishing 1,2,3!
20.36He becomes the seventh different winner this year in what was an engrossing race.
Lap 70:LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX!
Lap 69:Vettel passes Alonso for fourth place. This is truly miserable for the Ferrari man.
Lap 69:Vettel is next to take on the sluggish Alonso with just two laps remaining.
Lap 68:Alonso is bleeding time and can't hold off Perez! Alonso has dropped outside of the podium places out of nowhere.
Lap 67:Perez is now setting his sights on the slow Alonso as Vettel comes into contact with the wall of champions but escapes unscathed. Lucky boy.
Lap 66:Grosjean is much quicker than Alonso and passes the Spaniard for second! The Frenchman's tyres are only two laps newer but it's an easy pass for the Lotus man.
Lap 66:Vettel has rejoined the race in fifth, behind Grosjean and Perez.
Lap 64:HAMILTON BREEZES PAST ALONSO! The 2008 world champion gets past the Ferrari man on the back straight after threatening to take the lead earlier in the lap.
Lap 64:Vettel pits! Obviously he couldn't get to the end on those tyres
Lap 63:There's no way Alonso can stop Hamilton here. The gap is already under a second and there's too many laps left. Lewis just needs to be patient, this is his.
Lap 62:HAMILTON IS PAST VETTEL! The German can do very little as Hamilton drifts past on the back straight. Next up, Alonso.
Lap 62:So, to recap, Alonso is leading with Vettel behind him. This pair haven't stopped for a second time and should be overtaken by Hamilton, who has much fresher tyres, in the final few laps.
Lap 61:Hamilton's continuing to fly round the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The gap is down to two seconds to Vettel. Even if Alonso and Vettel don't stop, Hamilton should still breeze past them.
Lap 59:We're in for a cracking last 11 laps here, I'll do my best to keep on top of what's happening! Massa pits under pressure from Vettel.
Lap 58:Schumacher tells Sky Sports F1's Natalie Pinkham that he's had his fair share of bad luck this year. He's not sure why his rear wing wouldn't shut earlier on.
Lap 57:Rosberg tries to pass Massa and has to cut the corner. He is ahead of the Brazilian but has to yield the place. In doing so, Perez sneakily nicks in ahead of the German too. So Rosberg, instead of gaining a place, loses one!
Lap 55:We're not yet sure if Alonso and Vettel need to stop again. If they don't, then Hamilton will have to catch them. Surely they have to?
Lap 54:Another quickest lap from Hamilton and he's cut the gap to just around 12 seconds. He should be fine to be ahead of Alonso when the Ferrari man pits.
Lap 53:Webber pits from second and comes out just ahead of Raikkonen, clever from Red Bull as that seemed a last minute decision to come in.
Lap 52:Hamilton's doing his best and sets a fastest lap of the race in response. Brilliant from the Englishman.
Lap 52:Luckily for Hamilton, he did come out ahead of Webber. He lost around 1.5s in the pit lane, Alonso was about 2.5s behind before he went in. Tense moments ahead.
Lap 51:Hamilton enters the pit for a new set of yellow tyres and it's a poor stop again from McLaren, what is wrong with them this year? I wonder if Alonso and Vettel can jump him when they stop.
Lap 50:As Hamilton is told to "give it everything you can", here's a top ten: 1 Hamilton 2 Alonso 3 Vettel 4 Webber 5 Grosjean 6 Massa 7 Rosberg 8 Perez 9 Raikkonen 10 Kobayashi
Lap 47:Hamilton thinks his tyres are losing performance so he'll definitely have to come back in to the pits before the end.
Lap 45:And he's out! Schumacher has a big problem with his rear wing in that won't shut. The Mercedes boys try to force it shut clumsily but to no avail. More bad luck for Schumi, whose poor season goes on.
Lap 45:Schumacher takes a trip on the grass because of a problem from his pit stop.
Lap 44:Alonso ups the pace and cuts the gap to Hamilton to three seconds. Could a grandstand finish await us?
Lap 43:Perez and Raikkonen are the only two in the top 12 on the super soft tyres, can the softest compounds last 30 laps in the Canadian heat? We shall see.
Lap 42:Rosberg had repassed Raikkonen and was coming round turn two as Perez exited the pits. The pair go side-by-side and it's Rosberg who goes into turn 4 ahead.
Lap 41:Schumacher passes Kobayashi but goes too deep into the hairpin and is passes straight back by the Sauber man.
Lap 41:Raikkonen finally pits and will now be looking to achieve 30 laps on the super soft tyres. He emerges from the pit just ahead of Rosberg, impressive stuff from the Finn.
Lap 40:Yes, the Red Bull man wiggled under braking and lost time to Perez and Raikkonen.
Lap 40:Grosjean's now right behind Webber, the Aussie must've made a mistake at some point surely.
Lap 39:Rosberg pits despite his impressive pace but it looks as if the Mercedes team wanted to get him out in some free air.
Lap 39:If Hamilton can keep his lead he'll be the seventh different winner this year. Mad.
Lap 38:Rosberg's flying and is the first man to go under the 1:18 mark.
Lap 37:Webber's race is really being compromised by Perez and Raikkonen ahead of him. Surely only one of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel will win this.
Lap 36:Rosberg's setting fastest laps and catching Webber in sixth.
Lap 35:Button pits for the second time for a new set of super softs. What a horrid race for the Englishman, he's now down in 17th!
Lap 33:Perez is having a great run after starting in 15th but will surely be in for some new rubber soon?
Lap 32:Hamilton is told by his team that they are "going to target". Music to the ears of the 2008 world champion.
Lap 32:Raikkonen and Perez, currently fourth and fifth, are yet to stop and are holding up Webber behind them.
Lap 31:Alonso has dropped back to 3.5s from Hamilton, while Vettel is a further second or so back.
Lap 30:Maldonado finally stops from tenth.
Lap 28:Here's the current top ten: 1 Hamilton 2 Alonso 3 Vettel 4 Raikkonen 5 Perez 6 Webber 7 Rosberg 8 Grosjean 9 Massa 10 Maldonado
Lap 27:All the drivers at the front are now on the yellow-detailed soft compounds.
Lap 26:Vettel's still within half a second of Alonso but he can't do quite enough to get past the Championship leader.
Lap 25:Kobayashi pits from fifth for a set of softs and comes out in 11th place.
Lap 24:Vettel is right on Alonso's tail as backmarker Karthikeyan spins out at the first corner before coming to a halt on the grass, that's the first retirement.
Lap 23:Hamilton produces a 1:18.940 and is now around two seconds clear at the front.
Lap 23:Both Vettel and Alonso lock their tyres heading into the hairpin. Hamilton's doing a good job and is pulling away from Alonso at the front.
Lap 22:Grosjean pits for a new set of rubber and he exits just behind Nico Rosberg in ninth place.
Lap 21:Alonso's ducking and diving meant that Vettel was able to close up on the pair and they're within a couple of seconds of each other at the front.
Lap 20:Hamilton's right on Alonso and he's gonna have the DRS available. He has the speed and gets past the Spaniard. Superb weaving driving from Hamilton.
Lap 20:Alonso comes out....JUST AHEAD OF HAMILTON!
Lap 19:I reckon Alonso's done enough to come out of the pit ahead of Hamilton and Vettel. Ferrari just need a solid stop and he should do it. In he comes...
Lap 18:Alonso decides not to pit and stays out as Vettel pressures Hamilton. This is brilliant racing.
Lap 18:Hamilton does it! He exits the pit ahead of Vettel and now we look to Alonso, can he jump the pair at the stop?
Lap 17:He does and now Alonso leads the Grand Prix. Where will Hamilton come out? Behind or ahead of Vettel?
Lap 17:Will Hamilton come in to the pits too?
Lap 16:This is brilliant stuff as Vettel dives into the pit for some new tyres. Hamilton takes up the lead as Alonso gets ever bigger in his mirrors.
Lap 16:Alonso is also gaining and he's within 2.1s of the top pair as Button pits for some super soft tyres.
Lap 16:Hamilton's DRS is wide open and he's right on the back of the German!
Lap 15:Raikkonen passes Button as Hamilton closes to within a second of Vettel!
Lap 14:Di Resta, who had reported back that his tyres were going away, also comes in to the pit and he is followed by Schumacher, who was eighth. Di Resta comes out in free air but Schumacher is caught in traffic, the German won't be too pleased.
Lap 13:Massa is the first in the pit, remember his race has been compromised because of his spin. He goes on to the soft compound and will be looking for a long stint.
Lap 12:Hamilton continues to close on Vettel, the gap is down to 1.4s.
Lap 11:Button is informed that the frontrunners are losing performance on the softer compound. The Englishman could come into play if he can make his tyres go for longer.
Lap 10:Hamilton's closed the gap to 1.7s, the McLaren driver will look to beat the German at the pit-stop phase but the McLaren boys have been bad at changing tyres this year!
Lap 9:Here's a top ten update: 1 Vettel 2 Hamilton 3 Alonso 4 Webber 5 Di Resta 6 Rosberg 7 Grosjean 8 Schumacher 9 Button 10 Raikkonen
Lap 9:Massa has dropped to 12th after his trip on the grass, the Brazilian won't be happy bunny.
Lap 8:Massa's spin means that Di Resta has moved all the way up to fifth place, Force India could be on for a decent score here.
Lap 7:Hamilton's not letting Vettel go too easily and is keeping the German in his sights.
Lap 6:Massa spins at the second corner! He's dropped down the field and his race, which had started well looks in disarray.
Lap 6:Di Resta has also passed Rosberg for sixth place, top stuff from the Scot.
Lap 5:Vettel sets the fastest lap by going under 1m20s for the first time. HIs lead over Hamilton is 1.8s.
Lap 3:After looking good to overtake Hamilton, Alonso has now dropped back a little and is just ahead of Webber, who is interestingly on the soft compound.
Lap 3:Vettel's already pulled out a +1s lead which means that Hamilton won't be able to use the DRS on the back straight.
Lap 2:Massa takes Rosberg going into the chicane and he's cleared the German to move up to fifth.
Lap 2:You'd expect Vettel to streak away from here, he's done it so many times before and why not again today.
Lap 2:Massa's all over the back of Rosberg but can't get past in the opening stages of the second lap.
Lap 1:Di Resta's moved ahead of Grosjean for seventh in the only move so far in the top ten.
Lap 1:Vettel's away well and safely into the opening corners. Hamilton and Alonso remain 2nd and 3rd.
Lap 1:Five red lights go out and we're GO GO GO at the Canadian Grand Prix!
Formation Lap:There's just one DRS zone at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve so perhaps there'll be less overtaking.
Formation Lap:The first corner is a gentle left-hander that prepares you for the 50-mph breaking zone for turn two.
Formation Lap:The mechanics get out of the way and Vettel leads off the 24 drivers on a single circuit before we get underway.
18.58:Before we get started, here's how the top ten line up on the grid: 1 Vettel 2 Hamilton 3 Alonso 4 Webber 5 Rosberg 6 Massa 7 Grosjean 8 Di Resta 9 Schumacher 10 Button.
18.56:Around five minutes until the red lights now. The excitement is building in Montreal, which really is balmy. Nicer than where I'm sat, for sure.
18.55:As I said before, Button is on the yellow-striped softer tyres. Most of the frontrunners are on the red-striped super soft, which are a little quicker.
18.54:Strange to see Newey pacing up and down the grid, jotting down notes on the competiton. Very sneaky.
18.53:Button, who won here last year, is starting a disappointing tenth but is hoping a different set of tyres will make the difference for him: "Hopefully we'll make some good process. We're starting on the soft while everyone in front is on the super-soft so let's see what we can do."
18.51:Williams's Pastor Maldonado had to take a five-place penalty for changing his gearbox and starts 22nd. That victory at the Spanish Grand Prix must seem a distant memory for the Venezuelan now.
18.50:Romain Grosjean, starting seventh, says he and Lotus can go for good points this afternoon.
18.49:The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's most famous corner is perhaps the final one, where the drivers come within millimetres of the 'wall of champions' at the exit. This area has claimed the chances of many a talented driver over the years and there's sure to be incident there this afternoon!
18.47:The man behind Red Bull's brilliance, Adrian Newey, adds that he's looking for inspiration on the grid. The Englishman cites Ferrari as one of the interesting cars to look out for.
18.46:Mercedes chief Ross Brawn echoes the thoughts of Horner and says that heat and tyres will be crucial today.
18.45:Red Bull team principal Christian Horner tells Brundle that the heat could change the strategies depending on how the tyres handle the hot rubber.
18.43:The track is super busy as the lucky people who get up close and personal with the vehicles admire the engineering.
18.41:Martin Brundle of Sky Sports F1 is doing his famous grid walk ahead of the off.
18.39:It's a short run down to turn one in Montreal and Vettel will be begging to get away quickly with the likes of Hamilton and Alonso ready to pounce on any error.
18.36:So far this season we've had six different winners in the races. Can we have a seventh one this afternoon?
18.34:Alonso currently leads the drivers' championship by three points from Vettel and Webber, who are both on 73 points for the season.
18.32:Red Bull have never won at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and will be looking to change that this afternoon. Vettel's teammate Webber is fourth on the grid.
18.30:Half an hour until we get underway then. Will Vettel streak away like we're so used to seeing? Or will Hamilton and Alonso upset the German early on?
Written by
Pascal Lemesre
Pascal Lemesre
