Canadian GP: Daniel Ricciardo wins drama-laden race to end Mercedes run

Montreal Daniel Ricciardo beamed from ear to ear on Sunday when he ended Mercedes earlyseason domination by claiming his maiden Formula One victory for Red Bull in a dramatic crashhit Canadian Grand PrixThe 24yearold Australian took full advantage of power and electrical problems that hit both championship leader Nico Rosberg and his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages to claim a stirring triumphDaniel Ricciardo Pic AFPI am still a bit in shock said Ricciardo Thanks everyone This is ridiculous There are lots of Australian flags which is niceThe race really came to life for the last 1520 laps Hamilton had a problem and Rosberg was slow down the straights I really struggled to get past Sergio Perez but managed to do that and set my sights on Nico with a couple of laps to goI finally managed to get in the right spot to use DRS and its an amazing feeling right nowRicciardo was close to a victory in his first race with Red Bull on home turf in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix in March but after finishing second he was disqualified for a technical infringementBriton Hamilton was forced to retire but German Rosberg managed to nurse his car home in second place ahead of Ricciardos Red Bull teammate defending fourtime champion German Sebastian VettelWe had a problem at the pit stop and thats why I dropped behind said Rosberg Then I lost a lot of power in the straights but it did not quite work out I couldnt hold off Daniel RicciardoRosbergs second place allowed him to open up a 22point lead on Hamilton in the championship standings Ricciardo is third 71 points behind the GermanThe final lap was run behind a Safety Car after a horrifying highspeed collision between Mexican Sergio Perez of Force India and Brazilian Felipe Massa of Williams saw them fly off into the barriersBoth were seen moving in their cockpits at the end of the 70laps contest and appeared not to be seriously injured after the incident as the braked from speeds of more than 240 kphRicciardos win meant he has now beaten Vettel in the last five races a feat that saw him receive welldeserved congratulations from his teammate in the aftermath of a dramaladen eventCongratulations to Daniel said Vettel Its his day We had a big help from Mercedes unlike other weekends but we were there to capitalise Its been a positive dayDaniels first win and a first win for Renault in the new era of engines They have had a good comeback although there is still plenty of work ahead of us because Mercedes are quicker down the straight but all in all its been a good dayRicciardos Red Bull team chief was equally delightedAmazing he said Daniel has been unbelievable all season Of all races we thought we could win this would have been the most unlikely but the way he drove he thoroughly deserved the driveHes proved his worth Hes exceeded all expectationsBriton Jenson Button came home fourth for McLaren ahead of fifth placed German Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India with twotime champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso sixth for FerrariFinn Valtteri Bottas finished seventh in the second Williams ahead of Frenchman JeanEric Vergne of Toro Rosso Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen in the second McLaren and 10th placed Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second FerrariPerez and Massa whose impacts were measured at 27G were placed 11th and 12th respectively at the finish After the race both were taken to the circuit medical centre for precautionary examinations