The winning streak that Mercedes has enjoyed at the beginning of the 2014 Formula 1 season has come to a shattering end after both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had problems on their cars today, allowing Daniel Ricciardo to claim his maiden grand prix victory.
The Australian driver managed to pass Rosberg with three laps remaining in Montreal to secure Red Bull’s first win of the season, and the first of his Formula 1 career.
Rosberg and Hamilton had locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying, and the German driver managed to hold onto the lead off the line. Hamilton dropped down to third after he was forced wide by his teammate, but managed to make his way back past Sebastian Vettel after a safety car period.
The two Mercedes drivers forged ahead into a 26 second lead, and looked set to battle each other once again for the race win. However, their pace began to drop off in the second stint of the race, and it was later diagnosed as being an ERS problem which affected the brakes on the car.
Hamilton was forced to retire with 22 laps remaining, such was the severity of his problem, but Rosberg managed to keep going and stay in the lead of the race. Sergio Perez kept closing in the final sector, only to lose a lot of time in the first two sectors to Rosberg as his tires began to fade. Ricciardo eventually found his way past the Force India driver, and then went on to reel in Rosberg and make the pass on the third to last lap.
This result ends Mercedes’ aspirations of a perfect season, something that has never been done before in Formula 1. Rosberg’s second place finish means that he does extend his championship lead to 22 points over Lewis Hamilton, and the Silver Arrows are unquestionably still the team to beat.
For today though, the spoils go to Daniel Ricciardo. He moves up to third place in the drivers’ championship behind the Mercedes drivers, and he has proven – if there was any lingering doubt – that he is a perfect replacement for Mark Webber at the champion team.
