McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates his victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, Sunday, June 10, 2012 in Montreal.
It's nice to win, but you have to know how to savour it.
And few delight in triumph with the same zest as Lewis Hamilton, who after winning his third Canadian Grand Prix, took his sweet time meandering his McLaren around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
He waved, he made long, slow detours into the run-off areas to clap at the adoring legions in the bleachers; his gloves may well have congealed into a permanent thumbs-up.
The truth is this one was a long time coming, and given he made up an astonishing 14-second gap on two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Ferrari with just 20 laps to go – whooshing past on the 62nd of 70 laps – the celebrations were deserved.
"I couldn't believe it when I was coming across the line, that feeling inside is like an explosion, it's really just incredible. And that's what I love about racing," Hamilton said after the 18th win of his career, turned in on the scene of his first victory, in 2007.
On a day that came down to strategy and minimizing tire wear, McLaren triumphed over the arguably quicker Alonso with canny pit stops. As Alonso and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel struggled with ragged tires in the final eight laps, Hamilton seized his chance.
In so doing, the Briton became the seventh man to win in as many F1 events this season, an unprecedented sequence.
When he was joined on the podium by relative pipsqueak teams – a Lotus and a Sauber – it affirmed that parity is the new normal in Formula One.
"This is what is going to be normal," Hamilton said of the Pirellis that all teams use. "I think it will continue like this throughout the year, we're still trying to fully understand these tires."
With the victory, Hamilton sits atop the driver standings with a slim two-point lead over Alonso and three up on Vettel.
The trio have combined for five driver championships, so that's what one would expect. What is unusual is that the top five racers are separated by just one win and the constructor standings are nearly as tight.
It was Hamilton's third victory in Montreal, lifting him into elite company.
The only other drivers to pull off the feat are seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher and Brazilian legend Nelson Piquet Sr.
"I knew today would be a tough, tough race, but I loved every single minute of it," Hamilton said.
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean made a late charge in which he first overtook Vettel – who for the second straight year had a disappointing race after qualifying on the pole – in lap 62.
Three laps later, he reeled in Alonso's fast fading Ferrari and eventually claimed second, the best result of his career.
Not bad for a guy whose only exposure to the track prior to this weekend was a video game.
"It's more bumpy than on X-Box sitting on a sofa," Grosjean said.
Youthful Sauber driver Sergio Perez mimicked Grosjean's one-stop strategy, which blew up in the face of Ferrari and Red Bull. He started 15th but weaved his way through the field to pass Alonso on lap 68 and finish third.
"It was a lottery basically, but I think the team has done a great job with the stops and with the strategy," the 22-year-old Mexican said.
The Canadian Grand Prix is famous among F1 drivers for being eventful, and organizers were worried it might be too eventful given the vows by protesters to derail their big day.
Turns out they needn't have.
It went off without a hitch under a blazing sun, and even the typical on-track mayhem took a beach day; the safety car didn't get onto the track once.
Though police made 40 "preventive" arrests, there were no disruptions. Fears that gate receipts would drop off by 10 per cent or more because of the protests touched off by a tuition-fee hike proved unfounded, race promoter François Dumontier said.
"There will be a shortfall, but it will be less than I thought, probably 5 or 6 per cent," he said.
That's not exactly cause for a Hamilton-like celebration, but Dumontier wore a broad smile after the event, summing up his feelings: "In a word, relieved."
Dumontier also said a new deal with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to extend the Canadian Grand Prix's contract through 2024 could be signed by the end of the year.
Ecclestone met at track side Sunday with at least two of his government backers, Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand and federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel, who told the Globe and Mail "the Canadian Grand Prix is an extraordinary event for the whole country and we'll keep looking at ways together to work on [an extension]."