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Ferrari did what?! 5 things we learned from the 2016 Canadian GP

Cape Town - The 2016 Canadian GP (June 12) was, for the most part, a dull race. Perhaps if the rain appeared fans could have witnessed another brilliant drive from as Jenson Button delivered a few years ago.

Instead the Montreal race turned into a battle between Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

As the chequered flag came down and the dust settled on the island track in Canada, Hamilton was beaming with confidence and Ferrari left pondering how it threw away yet another victory.

Here's 5 things we learned from the 2016 Canadian GP:

1. Ferrari needs a new race strategy

Is it fair to say that Ferrari’s need to rethink its race strategies? After faltering in the season-opening Australian GP, one would have thought that Maranello team would get its act together. After a few races in which Ferrari was dominated by both Mercedes and Red Bull, the team finally fought back in Canada and appeared to be able to beat Mercedes.

Both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen performed early pitstops, with both drivers fitting the red-walled super-soft tyres to their cars. This proved to be a costly error as the Ferrari duo required a second stop to fit the mandatory yellow-walled soft tyre.

READ: Ferrari shopping for a new driver?

Despite leaping to the front at the start of the race, Vettel was the biggest loser in Montreal. After Hamilton made his first and only pitstop, he was 13 seconds behind Vettel - who at that point had already performed a single pitstop but had yet to fit the required soft tyre.

If Vettel had the soft tyre fitted instead of the super soft and continued to manage his tyres, he could have secured his and Ferrari’s first win of the season.

And Vettel blames the seagulls

Vettel interrupted Hamilton's interview with Sky Sport's F1's Simon Lazenby, stating that he was distracted by 'two seagulls' on the track. No really... 

Hindsight is a tricky thing...

2. Hamilton is free of his F1 reliability issues

Hamilton grabbed his second victory of the 2016 season in Montreal. The only driver to have won more races in Canada than Hamilton is Michael Schumacher.

Schumi recorded a record seven wins at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, two more than Hamilton. This circuit is also home to Hamilton’s first win in F1 (back in 2007).

Hamilton dominated the first and second practice sessions as well as qualifying on pole. He had his work cut out for him during the race due to poor start. He blamed his poor start to the race due to mechanical issues as he was passed by Vettel. 

READ: Canadian GP: Hamilton delivers Montreal 'KO'

Despite early issues, Hamilton cruised home to victory by almost six seconds ahead of Vettel.

3. Rosberg is still unsettled by his Spanish GP crash

Rosberg is still reeling following his first-lap collision with team mate Hamilton at the Spanish GP in May 2016.

Rosberg struggled home to seventh at the Monaco GP and finished in fifth place in Canada. He hoped that following the crash in Spain he would recover, but after all three aforementioned grands prix he only scored a total of 16 points.

Lewis Hamilton, in comparison, scored fifty, which reduced his team mate’s lead in the championship to only nine points.

If Rosberg is to maintain his lead in the 2016 championship, he needs to seriously get his head in the game. 

WATCH: Rosberg's first-lap incident

A video posted by Sean (@eurostyle111) on

4. Williams scored a lucky podium

Harsh, but true - had it not been for the first-corner tussle between Hamilton and Rosberg, Williams driver Valtteri Bottas would have finished the race in fourth and not grab the third podium spot.

Williams is a mere shadow of team that performed in 2014. Its performance in 2015 was average while 2016 looks to be even worse for the struggling team. 

Bottas performed brilliantly throughout the race: he managed his tyres effectively, held back determined challenges from Rosberg, as well as the two Red Bull drivers, and made full use of the opportunities given to him.

Overtaking on the Gilles Villeneuve racetrack is a daunting task and top speed is critical if drivers hope to pass competitors. Bottas took full advantage of the Mercedes-power he had at his disposal to score his team’s first podium of 2016.

5. McLaren-Honda still not ready to race

McLaren and Honda, needs to urgently sort out its issues in order to remain competitive.

Button’s car went up in a puff of smoke when his engine caught fire and Fernando Alonso was similarly forced to retire due to mechanical issues.

Despite earning points in three consecutive races, McLaren-Honda achieved zero points in Canada.

Alonso is not only contemplating whether he should stay at McLaren but also his future in F1, while Button is reportedly in talks to form part of the revamped Top Gear cast in 2017.

McLaren-Honda is in a deeper, darker hole than meets the eye, but how dark is anyone’s guess.

And a special mention to the star of social media throughout the Canadian GP

...6. There was a beaver on track and it went viral

No, really. There was a beaver on track!

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