A wet affair awaited the drivers at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with the safety car coming out seven times and a two-hour stoppage caused by heavy rain!

It seemed destined for yet another Vettel-finish immediately after the race began, with a slight drizzle that grew into a storming downpour by the 25th lap. With a drenched track and limited visibility, the red flag came out while the race organizers did their best to clean up and hope that the rain would disperse. After a delay of about two hours, the cars were allowed back on the track with mandatory wet weather tyres.

Button was the star of the show, having fallen to 21st after two accidents with other cars and being slapped with a penalty for speeding, but he steadily moved up and ran set the fastest lap of the day in lap 69. With huge pressure on Vettel on the final lap, Button managed to slip past after Vettel had slid wide on the back stretch chicane.

It was not a happy ending for his team mate Lewis, who had seen Button running wide and slipped into the inside. Both Button and Lewis collided, with the Brit suffering damage that necessitated a pit stop while Lewis was forced to retire due to a damaged drive shaft.

Michael Schumacher, the wet weather maestro, was the fastest man in the intermediate wet/dry conditions and had soon cruised up onto what seemed to be a podium finish. At one point, he was sitting behind Vettel in the later part of the race before he was overtaken by Button and then Webber.

The last podium place was taken by Webber, who had passed Schumacher in the DRS zone. Despite not coming in first, Vettel continues to enjoy a healthy lead in the drivers' championship, with Button now his nearest challenger following three successive podium finishes.