MONTREAL – Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo passed Nico Rosberg with a four laps to go to win the Canadian Grand Prix to end Mercedes’ six-race wining run in Formula One on Sunday afternoon.
Ricciardo picked up his first victory in his first season with Red Bull, which had ceded its four-year dominance to the Mercedes AMG squad this season.
Rosberg was second with defending champion and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel third.
Vettel moved up after a spectacular crash on the next-to-last lap took out both Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez. Both drivers appeared to be unharmed.
The race ended under a yellow caution flag.
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Ricciardo replaced fellow Australian Mark Weber at Red Bull this season. He had finished third behind the two Mercedes the last two races.
The Mercedes had finished one-two in five races in a row.
It was a disastrous day for Mercedes, which saw three-time Canadian Grand Prix champion Lewis Hamilton retire on the 48th lap.
Rosberg squeezed out Hamilton off the start and Vettel jumped into second place, but after the safety car was out for eight laps due to debris from a crash at the back, Hamilton took back second spot with a pass on the final chicane before the homestretch.
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The two were safely ahead until the 39th lap, when both suddenly began to lose power.
With their lead dwindling, a team official told Rosberg via radio that whatever the problem was it could not be resolved.
Both went to the pits for new tires after 45 laps, putting Massa in the lead.
Hamilton cut a chicane to pass Rosberg but had to give it back on his return, and on the 48th, developed a brake issue and had to retire with smoke billowing from his car. It was lifted onto a trolley in the team garage, his race day over.
It was a second retirement for Hamilton, who was out of the season-opening Australian GP after two laps with engine trouble.
Rosberg problems seemed to stabilize and he held the lead with Perez and the two Red Bulls on his heels, but was passed by Ricciardo on the 67th of 70 laps.
The safety car came out during the first lap after a crash that took out both Marussia cars spread debris across the track. Max Chilton looked to lose control and bump Jules Bianchi, who slammed into a wall. Neither was injured.
Esteban Gutierrez was given permission to race, starting from pit lane, despite not taking part in qualifying. The Mexican missed qualifying while having his Sauber chassis changed after a crash in the final practice session on Saturday.
When racing resumed, Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson retired after one lap.
Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi was dropped one place on the grid to 21st for an unscheduled gearbox change. He was out on the 25th lap after a spin.
The next race is June 22 in Spielberg, Austria.
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