MONTREAL: Daniel Ricciardo won his first ever Formula One Grand Prix in an action-fuelled race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve here on Sunday.
Not only was it the first victory for the young Red Bull driver, but it was also the first time this season that the dominant Mercedes team did not win.
Pole position sitter Nico Rosberg finished in second place after leading for most of the race. Both he and team mate Lewis Hamilton suffered from a car problem during the running, however.
Hamilton was knocked out after touching Rosberg during an overtaking move when the pair were 2-3 with the German behind on lap 47.
The Briton gave up a place after cutting a corner but smoke then started issuing from his engine, forcing him out of the running.
Ricciardo ran a solid race throughout, making his way past Sergio Perez of Force India, who was in second. With just two laps to go, he got past the ailing Mercedes of Rosberg for the lead and held on to the chequered flag.
“I am still a bit in shock,” said the Australian in his podium interview. “Thanks everyone. This is ridiculous. There are lots of Australian flags, which is nice. The race really came to life in the last 15-20 laps.”
His four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel also got past Perez to take third place, but the Force India driver was still looking good for a top-four position before Felipe Massa’s Williams hit him on the last lap.
Massa had briefly taken the lead early on during a run of pit stops to make him the first non-Mercedes driver to even lead a race in 2014.
The other Force India driver, Nico Hulkenberg, who had a fairly quiet afternoon, finished fifth for valuable points.
Results:
1 Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
2 Nico Rosberg (Merc)
3 Sebastian Vettel (RB)
4 Jenson Button (McL)
5 Nico Hulkenberg (FI)
6 Fernando Alonso (Fer)
7 Valtteri Bottas (Will)
8 Jean-Eric Vergne (TR)
9 Kevin Magnussen (McL)
10 Kimi Raikkonen (Fer)
