Lewis Hamilton held off his McLaren team mate Jenson Button to win the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal and jump to the top of the Formula One drivers' championship.

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In a repeat of the last race in Turkey, Hamilton crossed the line just a few seconds ahead of his fellow-Briton to leapfrog Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber and Button at the top of the standings.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished third to join the two McLaren drivers on the podium while Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was fourth and Webber fifth after a thrilling 70-lap race.

Hamilton's second win in a row took him from third to first place in the championship with a total of 109 points. Button remained second on 106 while Webber dropped to third on 103 ahead of Alonso (94) and Vettel (90).

While there were no major crashes during the 70-lap event, which was back on the calendar after being left off last year, there was no shortage of drama as Canada lived up to its repuation as one of the most enthralling races.

Five different drivers held the lead as teams were forced into a strategic battle to keep their tyres from falling apart on the demanding street circuit which features long straights and tight corners.

The different tyre strategies produced a riveting tactical race with the leading five all in contention at different stages but swapping places during extra pit stops, high-speed wheel-to-wheel racing and some breathtaking overtaking, which has been absent from Formula One in recent years.