Montreal, Canada (IANS): Lewis Hamilton drove brilliantly to win his fifth Canadian Grand Prix and dedicated the victory to the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

With the win, Hamilton stormed back into contention for the Formula One drivers' title, reports CMC.

The Brit dedicated the victory to the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali, radioing his crew to say: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. That was for Muhammad Ali."

"I never really dedicate wins to anyone, but it's someone that's really inspired me so much throughout my life," said Hamilton, who climbed on top of his car following the win to engage in shadow boxing before jumping to the ground to entertain with the Muhammad Ali shuffle.

"I was driving and I was just thinking of him and thinking maybe he would be watching the race, I don't know. So that's to him and his family. Rest in peace."

Hamilton started on pole at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve here on Sunday but was beaten initially by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

However, he then out-strategised Vettel winning in one hour, 31:05.296 minutes.

Vettel was five seconds behind in second, while Williams' Valttero Bottas claimed the third place.

The victory was Hamilton's second in a row following his triumph in Monaco, and it cut Rosberg's lead at the top to nine points.

Hamilton added about Muhammad Ali: "Obviously, in Formula One, there was no one of the same colour as us as a family, so it was another athlete for me to look up to."

"I think he was just a unique, iconic individual who had a character unlike anyone else's. And everyone aspired to be like him."

Muhammad Ali, the finest heavyweight boxer ever, was laid to rest on Friday in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, in the US.

Hamilton, who trailed Rosberg by over 50 points last month following a spate of mechanical failures that hampered his early season form, is now on 107 points.

Rosberg finished a disappointing fifth after dropping to ninth after lap one and now has 116 championship points.