With perfect weather conditions and barely a cloud in the sky, the Canadian Grand Prix was set to be a cracker, with temperatures expected to reach up to 30 degrees Celsius, a World away from the torrential downpours four years prior.
Brake wear was as ever a hot topic in the paddock, with McLaren's Jenson Button struggling with overheating brakes during qualifying, with the Briton hoping to have the problems resolved by the time the lights went out.
It became apparent that it would be a difficult afternoon for Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez after the Mexican was forced to start from the pit-lane, likewise for Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi, with the Japanese driver suffering a five-place grid penalty after a gearbox change, meaning that he would start from 21st and effectively last place.
The track temperature had reached 49 degrees Celsius by the time the field left for their formation lap, which is the highest that it had been all weekend, meaning that a series of split strategies was set to be put in place, with some expected to make 2 if not 3 pit-stops.
As the cars got underway, it Hamilton who initially got the jump on Rosberg, but the German defended up the inside and forced the Briton wide, with Vettel jumping up to 2nd place in the process.
Coming into Turn 3, Max Chilton got out of shape and collided with team-mate Bianchi causing the Frenchman to be spun around and collide heavily with the barrier of Turn 4, eliminating the two cars in the process, and ending Chilton's 26 consecutive race finish run.
The Safety Car came out whilst the debris was cleared and the stricken cars removed and the racing resumed at the end of Lap 7. Rosberg maintained his lead, Vettel followed and Hamilton slotted into 3rd with the two Williams of Bottas and Massa close behind.
Rosberg initially set the fastest lap and the earlier concerns about fuel for the German were unfounded, as confirmed by a radio message.
At the end of Lap 8, the Force India of Perez made a move up the inside of Button for 10th into the final chicane. Meanwhile on Lap 10, Hamilton finally got past Vettel to take 2nd, meaning that both Mercedes cars were 1st and 2nd.
Caterham's Marcus Ericcson had a short day at the office, the Swede retiring his CT05 in the pits with a Power Unit failure. On Lap 12, Ricciardo started to harass the Williams of Massa for 5th although his hopes of overtaking the Brazilian were short-lived as he came into the pits to change onto the Soft compound of tyres, with the hopes of getting the undercut.
Lap 16 saw Vettel pit after coming under increasing pressure from Alonso. Massa and Vergne also put on a new set of tyres meaning that the Top 10 was Rosberg, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Perez, Hulkenberg, Vettel, Bottas, Maldonado, Ricciardo and Alonso, who just got out of the pit-lane ahead of Vergne's Toro Rosso.
Further back, Kvyat and Massa went wheel-to-wheel down the back-straight, with the Brazilian ultimately emerging superior which promoted him into 12th. Rosberg pitted on Lap 18 for the Soft tyres, with Hamilton taking the lead. The Briton set about having a quick in-lap in the hope of jumping Rosberg in the pits, although it was to no avail as he emerged 2.5 seconds behind.
The 2008 World Champion set about bridging the gap to Rosberg, taking over 1.5 seconds out of the German over two laps. Whilst the 4th-placed Hulkenberg who was yet to pit came under pressure from his countryman, Sebastian Vettel. He attempted a move up the inside of Turn 10 but ultimately failed, he later came on the radio to complain of a lack of grip.
Lap 24 saw Hamilton beginning to pressurise Rosberg and harass the German. It came to a head on Lap 25 with Rosberg locking up and cutting the final chicane, gaining over 6 tenths on his team-mate in the process.
Rosberg came under investigation from the stewards for exceeding track limits and faced a penalty, although no further action was taken.
On Lap 31, Vettel, Bottas and Hulkenberg became locked in a battle for 4th place, the Finnish Williams driver trying to get past Vettel, who was struggling for grip, for 5th first, before setting after Hulkenberg afterwards.
Once confirmation had been given that Rosberg was not to face a penalty, Hamilton set about reducing the gap to his arch-rival once more and it became clear on Lap 34 that he had the pace over Nico. The German was clearly frustrated, as he made a radio call asking for Hamilton brake bias settings.
Lap 35 saw Perez make his one and only stop onto the Soft tyre whilst Hulkenberg had a train formed behind him for 3rd, with Vettel, Ricciardo and Massa in toe. Although Vettel pitted on Lap 36 and came out in 9th place.
On Lap 37, Ricciardo pitted and came out in 8th, ahead of his team-mate Vettel.
It became apparent that both Mercedes' on Lap 37 were suffering from mechanical problems, with the two cars suffering from a significant drop in power and setting lap-times over 3 seconds slower than that of their rivals. Rosberg it became clear was suffering more than Lewis, although both drivers were more than 20 km/h down on the 3rd placed car of Hulkenberg.
Raikkonen spun on Lap 41 after picking up the throttle too early out of Turn 10, causing the Finn to drop a position. Hulkenberg finally pitted on the same lap and resumed in 8th, behind Perez, Ricciardo and Vettel.
With the Force India pitting, this promoted Massa into 3rd place and put him in a prime position to take advantage of the ailing Mercedes. Rosberg made his second stop on Lap 44 and was overtaken by Massa coming out of the pit-exit, which left a clear gap for Massa to pounce on Hamilton. This turned out not to be necessary as the Briton pitted at the end of the lap, leaving Massa to take the lead of the race.
Hamilton's woes continued further and he went deep into Turn 10 and lost a position to Rosberg, initially expected to have just been a mistake, he then straight-lined chicane. It became apparent that after a radio call that he was suffering from severe brake related problems, forcing the Briton to retire and his team-mate to begin conserving his brakes out of precaution.
Massa pitted two laps later and rejoined in 7th place, with the Williams team hoping that he could make a late charge through the field. Perez inherited 2nd place, with Ricciardo and Vettel less than 5 tenths of a second behind.
As the field entered Lap 53, the top 4 were separated by less than 1.5 seconds and Ricciardo began to hound on Perez for 2nd, with the Australian expected to make a move into the hairpin as the Renault engine does not have the speed down the straight.
Lap 57 saw a queue again forming behind Hulkenberg, this time for 5th, with Bottas, Massa and Alonso in toe. Bottas made an ill-advised move up the inside of the German at the hairpin of Turn 10, but went wide, allowing Massa through to take 5th, past Hulkenberg. He then set the fastest lap of the race once in clear air and set about making the charge to close the gap between the two Red Bulls.
As Alonso and Bottas started Lap 60, the Spaniard made a move up the inside of the Finnish driver and made it up to 7th position.
Rosberg's demise was not as bad as initially expected, the German was able to hold his own in the corners and defend, despite being 10 km/h down on the straight. Perez was unable to make any gains on the German due to a malfunctioning DRS and the two Red Bulls simply lacked the straight-line speed. Whilst, on Lap 61, Grosjean retired his Lotus with a rear-wing failure.
In 5th place, Massa had closed the gap to the Red Bulls to just under a second but became stuck in the turbulent air of Vettel's RB10 and despite attempting a pass into the final chicane, the Brazilian was unable to make a manouver.
As the field started Lap 66, Ricciardo block-passed Perez into Turn 1, whilst left the Mexican to fell into the clutches of Vettel in 4th and Massa in 5th.
However, on Lap 68, Ricciardo had closed the gap to Rosberg and made a bold move around the outside to take the lead of the race. One lap later, Vettel moved past Perez into the final chicane, leaving Massa close behind. The Brazilian misjudged the distance between himself and the Mexican into Turn 1, as Perez moved left into the braking zone and the two had an almighty collision with the two ending up the barrier and despite initial concerns, they emerged unscathed.
The Safety Car came out, meaning the no overtakes were permitted. Ricciardo crossed the line to take his first Grand Prix victory, Rosberg finished a magnificent 2nd given the circumstances and Vettel came home 3rd. 4th was Button, 5th Hulkenberg, 6th Alonso, 7th Bottas, 8th Vergne, 9th Magnussen and 10th was Kimi Raikkonen for Ferrari.
The next race weekend come in two weeks time from Austria as the Formula 1 field returns to the re-branded A1 Ring, now known as the Red Bull Ring. We will of course have coverage throughout the weekend and any developments that occur.
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