Lewis in for the long haul

Lewis Hamilton admits he’ll have to be at his brilliant best to hold onto to the No.1 ranking for the rest of the season after returning to the top with victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The McLaren man produced an excellent drive on Sunday to clinch his first chequered flag of the year, edging out Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez in his Sauber.

That continued F1’s record-breaking campaign by becoming the seventh different winner in the first seven races.

Crucially, it allowed the 2008 world champion to claim a two-point lead in the standings over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, with reigning champion Sebastian Vettel a further point behind.

But in a season which is shaping as the most wide open in history, the Briton is well aware there’s plenty more twists and turns to come.

“It’s unbelievable to see just how close it is,” said Hamilton, who continued his love affair with the Montreal circuit with his third triumph in five years.

“We got a win and 25 points and I only have a two point lead, so it’s incredible how close it is and I think it will stay that close throughout the year.

“It just highlights how important consistency is.”

Consistency has been the theme of Hamilton’s title assault after an aggressive approach failed to pay off in 2011. While Sunday’s victory was long overdue, it was his seventh successive points finish and, unsurprisingly, Hamilton insists he has no plans to change anything now.

“I think it’s working reasonably well so far,” he added before reflecting on the race which saw him pass both Vettel and the Spaniard for the win.

“I probably had to be more on the limit to catch the two guys ahead, perhaps a little bit more risky than in the past but it is about consistency this year.”

Hamilton’s race was in stark contrast to team-mate Jenson Button who again struggled for pace to finish in a lowly 14th-place.

Now trailing Hamilton by 43 points, Button said: “It was a terrible race, I’ve never had one like it, and they seem to get worse and worse.

“I’m pushing the car to its limits and yet I’m so far off the leaders. I’m confused and very lost. I don’t really understand what is going on.”