MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo miracle -- he's a GP winner (UPDATED)

Daniel Ricciardo miraculously won the Canadian GP in Montreal this morning and is "in shock" at his sudden success.

The West Australian and his Red Bull-Renault grabbed the race lead from the Mercedes of world championship leader Nico Rosberg little more than two laps from the chequered flag.

Ricciardo’s triumph comes in his first season in a top team, albeit no longer the dominant force it was the past four years, after being groomed through Red Bull's junior development squad and secondary team Toro Rosso.

He is the fourth Australian to win in F1: after triple world champion Brabham (whose state funeral will be held on the Gold Coast at 1.30pm Wednesday and streamed via the CAMS website); 1980 world champion Alan Jones; and more recently, Mark Webber.

The dominant Mercs of Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton mysteriously lost power mid-race and Hamilton retired soon after without brakes, but somehow Rosberg got his ailing car to the finish.

Red Bull's four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was third, evading a huge crash between the Williams of Felipe Massa and Force India of Sergio Perez on the last lap.

Vettel was admirably sporting in congratulating Ricciardo, hugging him excitedly as the victor stepped out of his cockpit.

Ricciardo was stunned by his triumph from sixth on the grid and after Mercedes had won all six previous GPs in the new hybrid era of F1.

"I’m in shock... this is ridiculous," Ricciardo said on the podium, where he was interviewed by Frenchman Jean Alesi, whose only GP win was in Montreal for Ferrari in 1995.

Ricciardo’s celebration was a far cry from Webber's unforgettable reaction when he finally won a GP in 2009 -- but the celebrations will be huge, especially on what already is an Australian public holiday, and his famous smile broader than ever as the enormity of his achievement sinks in.

"Amazing. The boy’s driven brilliantly all year," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who opted for Ricciardo to replace Webber this season ahead of Ferrari’s brilliant Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen or young German talent Nico Hulkenberg.

"It was an incredible drive. We beat them [Mercedes] at the most unlikely track [where the power of the Merc power units always was going to leave the Renault-powered Red Bulls at a severe disadvantage].

"The move of the race [by Ricciardo] was around the outside of Perez a few laps [four] from the end."

Perez and Massa (who had looked a potential winner from fifth place with 10 laps to go) were released from hospital after checks following their collisions with the safety wall, in which the forces are reported to have been 27G.

"I saw Hamilton had a problem and that Rosberg should have one.

"I made a nice end and, with a couple laps to go, I found the right spot to pass Nico. It is a great feeling.

"I am very excited for the next race [in Austria] and home race for Red Bull. It is great to get there as a winner.

"I am pleased to be joining the club of drivers who have won a race. [But] It happened in the last few laps. [So] I did not have the whole race to get accustomed to the idea of winning.

"We have been struggling and did a good job through the corners. I was looking for opportunities, but I was not getting them on time.

"I got very close to Nico and I managed to stay with him and use the DRS [drag reduction system, or driver-operated rear wing adjustment] at the right time… I went to go -- and it was the place where I wanted to take him. And it just worked well.

"I need confidence and more time away from Australia and I truly believe I can make it happen. I have a great team too and this will give me some great results. [But] This success also surprises us.

"We capitalised on this attack. It would have been disappointing if they [Mercedes] had had some issues and if we had done nothing. It is big points for us also in the constructors’ [championship]. Let’s enjoy the moment of this first step on the podium.

"I am in the early stage of my Red Bull racing career. It is really good news. We know the car is strong. It is good news to be where I am.

"It is fantastic to win for my country. I am pleased to capitalise and to be the fourth Australian having won [F1] races after Jack Brabham, Alan Jones and Mark Webber. The World Series [by Renault] race in Monaco in 2011 was the last time I won a race -- and it is the feeling I miss the most.

"I will enjoy this moment. I am supposed to fly back [to Europe] tonight. I do not know if I want to celebrate my first victory on a plane. I’ll see what I want to do."

Ricciardo is now third in the drivers’ championship – behind Rosberg and Hamilton but ahead of Alonso and Vettel, two superstars with six world titles between them.

Red Bull is still a distant second to Mercedes in the constructors’ championship but further ahead of Ferrari, whose Alonso and Raikkonen wound up only sixth and 10th in Montreal while Jenson Button made up several places in the closing stages to finish fourth.

Canada inks ‘cheap’ 10-year GP deal
The other big winner in Montreal was Montreal. The city’s GP has been secured for another decade with only 40 per cent of the taxpayer money that Melbourne’s race is costing.

Four government bodies will pay C$187.1 million (approx A$183.4 million) over the next decade under the contact that has retained the Montreal event.

The Canadian government and Tourism Montreal will contribute C$62.4 million each, the Quebec government C$49.9 million and the city of Montreal C$12.4 million.

The announcement of the deal said the payment next year to Formula One World Championship Ltd would be C$17 million, "to be indexed at 2 per cent over the next 10 years".

Such contracts have previously been thought to have escalation clauses at 5 or even 10 per cent a year.

Melbourne’s race has been costing Victorian taxpayers more than A$50 million a time for several years now, with the fees going to the Bernie Ecclestone-led F1 empire thought to be in the range of $30-40 million a year.

Ecclestone is facing a criminal trial in Germany, accused of having bribed German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky, who is serving an 8½-year jail sentence for having received a bribe. Ecclestone does not deny paying Gribkowsky, but claims it was not a bribe but rather to get him to desist from blackmailing him over his financial affairs.

The German trial has been seen as a stumbling block to the Victorian government renewing its GP contract, which expires after next March’s event.

One difference between the Montreal and Melbourne deals may be that the Canadian race promoter, Octane Racing Group Inc, has to supplement the taxpayer funds.

The Canadian organisers estimate the Montreal race’s economic benefits at C$70-75 million – about one third of the figure claimed in Melbourne.

Power further ahead – despite another penalty
Australian Will Power has gone further ahead in the IndyCar championship after the weekend’s round at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished second and copped his fourth penalty – and second for speeding in the pitlane -- in the past five races.

Power started from pole position, led 145 of the 248 and finished 0.5247sec behind Ed Carpenter, an American only contesting the oval-track races in the series.

"One more lap and the guy with the fresh tyres wins," Power said after taking on four new tyres at his last stop.

His latest speeding penalty had dropped him to sixth but, on the fresh rubber, he charged in the dash to the finish under lights, overtaking Penske teammate Juan Pablo Montoya – whose third place was his best result in his return to IndyCar this season from NASCAR.

Frenchman Simon Pagenaud was fourth and New Zealander Scott Dixon fifth.

Carpenter’s victory was the third of his career and he is the sixth victor in eight races in the series this season. However, Power – a two-time winner this season -- has shot 43 points clear of Brazilian teammate Helio Castroneves ahead of a double-header round at Houston at the end of this month.

Dale Earnhardt Junior, in a Chevrolet, beat Brad Keselowski, in a Ford, in the last round of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup at Pocono’s peculiar tri-oval.

Kurt Busch (Chevrolet), Denny Hamlin (Toyota) and rookie Kyle Larson (Chevrolet) completed the top five.

The Chevrolet of six-time series champion and winner of the previous two races, Jimmie Johnson, his Australian Marcos Ambrose’s Ford in the pitlane and spun 180 degrees, forcing him back to his pit for repairs. Johnson had damage to the right front of his Chev, needed two tyres and dropped him from fifth to 29th but he recovered to finish sixth.

Ambrose wound up 24th, while Danica Patrick was classified 37th after she hit the wall with 22 laps remaining.

Perfect 10 for Volkswagen in WRC
Volkswagen has extended its record World Rally Championship streak to a 10th event win – and its 16th in 19 since it entered the competition at the start of last season with its Polo R.

VW’s French world champion Sebastien Ogier won the Rally of Italy at the weekend – his fourth victory this season.

Finn Jari-Matti Latvala, winner of the other two rounds so far this season, was third in Italy – with the Citroen of Norwegian Mads Ostberg sandwiched between the VWs, 1 minute 23.1 seconds behind Ogier and 9.7sec ahead of Latvala.

Ogier took the lead on the second leg after Latvala hit a rock and had to change a wheel, losing more than two minutes. The Frenchman’s lead in his world title defence is now 33 points.

American ex-F1 driver Scott Speed won the gold medal at the rallycross X Games in Austin, Texas, in a Polo R Supercar.

Meanwhile, Ma Qing Hua became the first Chinese driver to win an FIA world championship status race in the Moscow round of the World Touring Championship on Sunday. The Chinaman was driving a Citroen in the reverse grid race.

Jose Maria Lopez failed to finish for the first time this season after winning the weekend’s earlier race in another Citroen but he still leads Yvan Muller, also in a Citroen, by 41 points.