LEWIS HAMILTON is back on top of the Formula One standings for the first time in 18 months after a stunning Canadian Grand Prix win.

Back-to-back victories for the McLaren star means he now holds a three-point cushion over team-mate Jenson Button as the Woking marque finished one-two for the second consecutive race.

Hamilton held the lead on three separate occasions around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before finally taking it for good on lap 50, going onto to clinch his second triumph here in three attempts.

It became of case of tyre management and who could make their sets of Bridgestone softs and hards last the longest as degradation proved to be far higher than anybody anticipated.

It was enthralling stuff, providing one of the most dramatic races of the year as the lead constantly changed hands, and with no clear idea as to who would emerge the winner until the closing stages.

After his 14th career win, and taking the applause and cheers of the crowd, Hamilton said: “It’s been a tremendous weekend.

“Things have just gone so well. I’ve had incredible support, so many Brits in the crowd, which is great to see.

“The race was one of the tightest so far, but the team did an incredible job and I’m so happy and proud of the team.”

Button was content enough with second spot as he said: “It was a very different race this type of race.

“The tyres are so important and you’re not sure if you’re pushing hard enough.

“But it was a great race, really enjoyable.

“It wasn’t about being flat out, you had to think about every situation.

“It’s another one-two for the team. I’d rather it was the other way around, but Lewis put in a phenomenal lap yesterday in qualifying that I couldn’t touch.”

Alonso felt it was a race he could have won, stating: “I think it was a good day for us, the car was competitive, and we had the opportunity to win.

“We lost 25 points to 15, but we’re still in the championship and we are moving in the right direction. We are back in the fight.”

Hamilton at least did his job at the start, making a clean getaway ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who had started on the front row due to Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber taking a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

McLaren had seemingly gambled, though, with both their drivers on the softer tyre at the start, in contrast to the Red Bull duo who were on the harder compound.

So it became a question of how long Hamilton and Button could stay out on the soft tyres Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had described earlier this week as “crumbling like cheese”.

To everyone’s astonishment, the harder tyres failed to last as long as had been hoped as Webber was in on lap 13, Vettel a lap later – the Australian staying on hard, the German switching to soft.

It was all proving a cat-and-mouse game, even amongst team-mates as clearly the teams were struggling to call it under the conditions.

On lap 50 Hamilton made his move, reclaiming the lead again – and for good.

Six laps later Alonso made his mistake as he found himself held up by Hispania’s Karun Chandhok, allowing Button to dive up the inside and so seal the team one-two.

By Staff reporter and agencies