Furious Vettel swaps finish boards as Ferrari star throws strop after being denied Canada GP win

German F1 star Sebastian Vettel swapped the finish placards next to the cars at the Canadian Grand Prix after a five-second penalty denied the Ferrari driver victory and handed Lewis Hamilton the win.

Vettel crossed the line first in Canada, but an incident on lap 48 ultimately determined the outcome in Montreal.

Leading the race but with Hamilton in hot pursuit, the German slid off the track and was then deemed to have blocked Mercedes man Hamilton when he returned to it.

The incident later meant Vettel incurred a five-second penalty from the stewards for apparently rejoining the track in an unsafe manner– enough to see the Brit win the race despite him finishing just behind the German.

Vettel fumed over the team radio when informed of the penalty, saying: “Seriously you need to be an absolute blind man [to] let him pass and not control your car - where am I supposed to go? This is a wrong world, this is not fair.”

The German continued to rage after the race, even switching the place cards denoting the race order, in behavior some fans lauded but others branded childish.

There were fears Vettel would ditch the podium ceremony altogether, but the German did at least make an appearance, albeit a glum-faced one.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium, although Hamilton’s win – his fifth of the season – puts even more daylight between him and the chasing pack.

The reigning champion is now a full 30 points ahead of teammate Valteri Bottas in second, and 62 ahead of Vettel in third – with the German yet to win a race this season.

Ironically, Vettel was named Driver of the Day, just to run salt into the wounds.

The German four-time world champion did, however, implore fans not to boo Hamilton at the presentation ceremony. 

He also garnered widespread sympathy, with many taking issue with the stewards' decision.