Ferrari hail 'moral winner' after 'ridiculous' F1 scenes

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was red with rage at being stripped of a much-needed win at the Canadian Grand Prix, in which Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished a season-best sixth.

"They are stealing the race from us," Vettel exclaimed over the team radio as he was told he was under investigation after running off the track on lap 48 and into the path of Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton.

‘UPSET’: Ricciardo’s teammate unimpressed with result

Vettel was given a five-second penalty for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner.

The German crossed the finish line first but the victory went to championship series leader Hamilton.

"No, no, no. Not like that. You have to be an absolute blind man, you go on the grass how are you supposed to control your car? This is the wrong world," he fumed after being notified of the penalty.

"It's not making our sport popular is it? I mean, with these kind of decisions," he told Sky Sports television after the podium ceremony.

Vettel parked in the wrong place after the race before he rearranged the numbers in front of the cars of the drivers on the podium, switching the 'one' from Hamilton's car to the space where his Ferrari should have been - to the delight of the crowd.

"People want to see us race and that was, I think, racing. I hope the people come back, that's the main thing obviously... it's just a shame when we have all these little funny decisions," he said.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas fourth, taking a bonus point for the race's fastest lap.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fifth, ahead of the Renault's of Ricciardo and Niko Hulkenberg.

In the standings, Hamilton is 29 points clear of Bottas and already 62 ahead of Vettel heading into the French GP in two weeks' time.

Ferrari have 96 hours to gather fresh evidence and decide whether to pursue an appeal of the penalty against Vettel.

"I don't think he had any bad intention in what he was doing at all. He stayed ahead the entire race, he crossed the chequered flag first, for us he's the moral winner," Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said.

Ferrari found considerable support from former champions who felt the regulations were at fault and that the stewards had come to the wrong decision.

Former Ferrari driver and 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell, who has also served as a steward, said on Twitter that the penalty was "ridiculous".

"Very, very embarrassing. No joy in watching this race, two champions driving brilliantly, will end in a false result," he tweeted.

Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion commentating for Sky Sports, felt it was a sad outcome.

"It's a shame. For me, it's a racing incident... it doesn't deserve a penalty," he said.