What started out as one of Jenson Button's worst day as a driver turned into his best as the Briton mounted one of Formula One's great charges to steal victory from Sebastian Vettel at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.

A gloomy, rainy day took a more miserable turn for McLaren when Button squeezed team mate Lewis Hamilton into the wall and out of the race after just eight laps.

A run-in with Ferrari's Spanish double world champion Fernando Alonso, six visits to the pit lane -- five regular stops and one drive-through penalty -- added to a disastrous afternoon for the 31-year-old Briton before launching into what will be go down as one of the sport's most dramatic comebacks.

Slashing his way through the field after being left at the back of the pack, Button stalked Vettel over the closing laps finally pressuring the German into an uncharacteristic mistake and pouncing when his rival's Red Bull skidded wide.

"Eventually on the last lap I was chasing down Seb, he ran little wide on the wet part of the circuit and I was able to take the opportunity and take the win," a beaming Button told reporters.

"It was one of those grand prix where you are nowhere and then you are somewhere, then you're nowhere again and then somewhere.

"Fighting your way through the field is almost as good as winning a race.

"As we always say, the last lap is the important one to be leading and I was leading half of it."

Button was quick to classify his 10th career win and first in North America as his greatest and few of those who sat through an afternoon of torrential rain that included a two hour race delay would disagree.

"Amazing day, I don't know what to say," said Button. "It's definitely my best race ... I'll remember this for a long time.

"To be on the podium is was a pretty exceptional result.

"The most action I've had in a Grand Prix, probably, and come away with a win.

"My first Grand Prix win was pretty special as it always would be ... but I would say this race is the best one I've had in my career."

Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, a seven times winner in Canada, narrowly missed out on the first podium of his comeback by bringing his Mercedes home in fourth place.

Russian Vitaly Petrov finished fifth for Renault while Brazilian Felipe Massa forced his way past Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi on the line in a virtual photo-finish.

Jaime Alguersuari was eighth for Toro Rosso, a big boost for the Spaniard whose team mate Sebastien Buemi was 10th, with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello scoring points for Williams for the second race running.

The stewards, one of them Brazil's former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, had their hands full with a list of incidents under scrutiny but decided no further action was required and the results stood.

That allowed the 31-year-old Button to celebrate one of Formula One's greatest charges to secure his 10th career victory.