Lewis Hamilton lead McLaren to their third one-two of 2010 in a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton passed a struggling Mark Webber – who had gambled on a different tyre strategy – to take the lead of the race.The McLaren driver withstood pressure from Fernando Alonso who was later passed by Jenson Button for second place.
McLaren struggle on super-softs
Hamilton led from pole position but quickly ran into trouble on his super-soft tyres. Sebastian Vettel, who had started on the medium compound, was all over the back of the McLaren.
Hamilton did the same soon after and Alonso, who had also started on the super-softs, followed him in. For the second race in a row Hamilton lost a position in the pits, coming out alongside Alonso and having to give way to the Ferrari.
The pair, along with Button not far behind them, were soon lapping as quickly as leader Vettel and began catching the Red Bulls. That triggered their pit stops, Webber’s coming first as he’d stressed his tyres battling for positions in the opening laps.
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At this point Red Bull split their strategies, Webber sticking with the mediums but Vettel taking the opportunity to get his stint on the super-soft tyres out of the way.
Hamilton takes the lead back
As Buemi made for the pits Hamilton got a run on Alonso and slipstreamed past the Ferrari, jumping up from third to first.
Hamilton kept Alonso behind for 15 laps but the pressure from his former team mate grew ever greater. Alonso drew alongside coming out of the hairpin onto the back straight but instead of going side-by-side into the final chicane, Hamilton ducked into the pits.
Alonso came in two laps later and would have kept the lead if he hadn’t lost time lapping Karun Chandhok’s HRT. As it was, he dropped back behind Hamilton.
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Webber’s gambles goes wrong
Vettel made his pit stop at the same time as Hamilton but Webber stayed out. By lap 36 Hamilton, Alonso and Button were catching the Red Bull driver who was caught in a strategic dilemma: his tyres were shot but pitting too soon would mean spending a long time on the rapidly-degrading super-softs.
Hamilton and Alonso caught him and on lap 49 Hamilton squeezed by into the lead going into turn one. Alonso spent the rest of the lap stuck behind Webber, giving Hamilton some precious breathing space. Webber came into the pits at the end of the lap, leaving Alonso free to attack Hamilton.
But he didn’t. Despite having been within a few tenths of Hamilton behind Webber pitted, Alonso instead slipped back towards Button. On lap 55 Alonso caught Chandhok again and Button seized the opportunity, scrambling past the Ferrari for second.
In the meantime the challenge from the Red Bulls had disappeared, both drivers being urged to slow down to manage an unidentified problem. Webber caught Vettel but before the pair could get up to any Istanbul-style shenanigans the chequered flag came out, Vettel taking fourth ahead of his team mate.
Nico Rosberg was one of few drivers who had anything like what you could describe as a quiet race, finishing sixth.
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Tough race for Schumacher
His team mate had a tough afternoon, finishing out of the points having been passed by both Force Indias on the final lap. He went off the track several times during the race, usually dicing with rivals.
Robert Kubica tried to pass Schumacher at turn three and the pair took to the grass, Schumacher narrowly staying ahead.
Schumacher made three pit stops and spent the last half of the race on the super soft tyres, which were completely shot. Sebastien Buemi passed him for eighth.
The next driver to try to pass was Felipe Massa, who was recovering after colliding with Vitantonio Liuzzi on the first lap. Massa had re-passed Liuzzi and took the other Force India of Adrian Sutil with a brilliant opportunistic move in traffic at turn six.
But his attempt to pass Schumacher ended in a controversial collision at the final chicane. Schumacher squeezed Massa off the track, knocking the Ferrari’s front wing off for the second time in the race. The stewards said they would investigate the incident after the race.
It wasn’t enough for Schumacher to hold onto his points, however, as Liuzzi barged past on the final lap. Schumacher went off at turn eight as the pair went in side-by-side, and Sutil capitalised to demote him from tenth position.
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Schumacher tangle leaves Massa 14th
Jaime Alguersuari, who also proved a thorn in Schumacher’s side early in the race, finished 12th. Behind him was Nico Hulkenberg who, like Schumacher, also had some controversial moments during the race, banging wheels with Sutil.
Rubens Barrichello was 14th ahead of Massa. Heikki Kovalainen took 16th for Lotus ahead of Vitaly Petrov, who picked up two drive-through penalties during the race.
Alonso’s nemesis Chandhok was 18th ahead of the last classified finisher, Lucas di Grassi.
Timo Glock, Jarno Trulli, Pedro de la Rosa and Bruno Senna all retired. Kamui Kobayashi was the first driver to drop out, hitting the infamous ‘wall of champions’ while trying to pass Hulkenberg.
2010 Canadian Grand Prix
- Start Shots: Canadian Grand Prix
- Technical review: Canadian Grand Prix
- Canadian Grand Prix was best race since Brazil 2008, F1 Fanatic readers say
- Kubica contact cost me fifth – Sutil
- “Can’t afford to just take points” – Hamilton
- Schumacher “closed the door too much”
- Alonso had fastest pit stop in Canada
- Alonso expects improvements at Ferrari
- 2010 Canadian Grand Prix – the complete F1 Fanatic race weekend review
- Hamilton wins despite more pit stop problems (McLaren race review)
Icthyes (@icthyes)
13th June 2010, 19:52
Alonso’s already blamed traffic for losing the race. A bit disingenuous really; he definitely lost a shot at winning the race, but he makes it sound as if he was right behind Hamilton when Button took him and then on Jenson’s gearbox at the end (though he was close – although that may be because there were 2 laps to go!) – when Button had already been catching him steadily anyway.
Red Andy
13th June 2010, 20:36
Alonso suffered from traffic today but you can argue that skill in traffic is every bit as important as other elements of racecraft, few places more so than a fast, narrow circuit such as Montreal. Things could have been very different had the cards fallen slightly differently, but good and bad luck tends to balance out over a season anyway. Fernando will have days when things go right for him, too.
I was surprised to hear Hamilton admit in the press conference that he saw Alonso being released behind him at the first pit stops. Doesn’t look like that incident is being investigated but it was a bit of a foot-in-mouth moment for Lewis.
Jhonnie Siggie
13th June 2010, 21:02
I thought the same thing when I heard Lewis admit that he knew Fernando had him during the stop. Some sort of adviser at Mclaren will probably be having a word with him about how to handle in the future
We want turbos
13th June 2010, 21:04
Although I would like to ask what has happened to Alonso?? He was in a really really good mood all weekend!!! Nice to see him chirpy rather than the miserable bugger he normally is!
Charles Carroll
14th June 2010, 4:42
So true! I’m new to the sport, but that is one of the things I have picked up about Alonso. He always seems a bit grumpy!
Steph90 (@steph90)
13th June 2010, 21:15
“Alonso suffered from traffic today but you can argue that skill in traffic is every bit as important as other elements of racecraft, few places more so than a fast, narrow circuit such as Montreal.”
I completely agree. I’m all for backmarkers being able to race or at least not immediate blue flags or whatever but with the rules are they’re not meant to be a problem at all so I was disappointed given the context/spirit of the rules :P I think the rules should be changed but the way they stand it wasn’t so great today.
I also think the pitlane incident should be looked at
Icthyes (@icthyes)
13th June 2010, 21:26
I think by the time Alonso had gone the lollipop man had decided to release Hamilton, so although it looked like an early release it would probably have been too late to change his mind over whether to let him go. And given the distance between Hamilton and Alonso, even letting him go a tenth later would be enough to see him out with no danger, so he might have misjudged that too (how many of us can think in tenths?)
I was very surprised it wasn’t looked at though. Perhaps the stewards have realised that this stuff is always going to happen in motor racing.
David BR
13th June 2010, 21:44
I agree. But yet again lousy pit stop from McLaren. Seems like their two drivers will have to compensate for this during the rest of a really tight season as McLaren seem unable to pit them quickly ever!
David BR
13th June 2010, 22:24
As for Alonso: both McLaren drivers said they’d been looking to exploit the ‘backmarkers’ (though Buemi wasn’t exactly one) to get past him, which they successfully did. Not entirely a question of luck, then. As for the McLaren pit lane release, it was marginal for sure, but I think okay. Really don’t understand why people want these marginal incidents with major impacts on the results to be decided by stewards… If it was a Ferrari release (even as a Mc fan) I’d say the same.
Red Andy
13th June 2010, 22:29
I agree Icthyes, but Hamilton himself admitted that he had seen Alonso being released. That surely puts the onus on him to drive accordingly, given that he was aware of the situation?
Without Hamilton’s post-race remarks I’d have been inclined to put it down to human reflexes not being as sharp as would perhaps be ideal, but given what he said I think it’s a little strange nothing has been said by the stewards. Though they have been rather busy today….
Patrickl
14th June 2010, 3:24
Alonso is behind Hamilton. Why would it matter that Hamilton sees Alonso being released?
Hamilton DID drive accordingly.
It happens so often that drivers end up side by side. As long as they don’t hit each other and don’t push each other off, there is no problem
Mike
14th June 2010, 9:02
Both Hamilton and Alonso impressed me this weekend, And I usually dislike them.
They were clearly racing down the pit lane, but there was no funny business. The pit lanes (mostly) are wide enough for to cars side by side, but the drivers have to follow Hamilton’s and Alonso’s example.
DC
14th June 2010, 10:12
I was also surprised that Hamilton’s release wasn’t looked at. I kept waiting for a remark that it was being looked at by the stewards, but it never was.
Does anyone know where you can read the actual rule about an unsafe release?
Perhaps they only look at it if there is a collision. If Alonso hadn’t swerved, there probably would have been one.
The Limit
13th June 2010, 19:52
As always, fine work Keith!
Sush Meerkat
14th June 2010, 0:45
Ha The Limit, great to see you, I’ve missed you buddy!, where the hell have you been, I’ve not had anyone make me rethink my opinion on here in ages!
We want turbos
14th June 2010, 4:36
I think you guys are going over the top in your praises for Keith. I really fail to understand what is so special about him & his writing? He make so many mistakes & needs to be corrected everytime by one of the posters.
To me he is just a sensationalist.
J
13th June 2010, 19:54
Fantastic race by far this year. Much deserved win by Lewis!!!
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
13th June 2010, 19:55
Shocking race for Renault – Petrov gets two penalties in as many laps (one was his fault; in the other, he was a victim of circumstance), while Kubica botches a pass on Schumacher and damages his car and then makes a pointless and dangerous pass on Sutil.
And I see Nico Hulkenberg is once again proving to be his own worst enemy: amateurish attempt on Rosberg that damaged his car, then speeding in pits to fix it robbed him of a potential points finish. He might have won the GP2 title, but he’s so far proving to be more touble than he’s worth.
Maciek
13th June 2010, 20:25
Kubuca’s pass on Sutil was dangerous and should be penalised in order to set a precedent. I don’t see how his pass attempt on Schumacher was “botched”, though…
Sandman
13th June 2010, 20:31
Again, i don’t see why should he be penalized. He just tried to pit, he let Sutil past him 10 secs before.
It wasn’t a pass per se, it was a straight attempt to not run into Sutil/wall.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
13th June 2010, 21:06
Uh, he should be penalised because he cut across Sutil for no reason. What did he gain? He made the move in the braking zone, and chopped the Force India up just shy of the turn-in point. A moment later and it would have ened in tears for all involved. It’s not like Kubica got an advantage, and it didn’t help in his battle with Rosberg at the end. At most, Kubica would have lost two seconds to Sutil – and two seconds isn’t worth the risk of an accident at the fastest point on the circuit.
David A
13th June 2010, 20:53
Kubica botched the pass by running both cars off the road and STILL losing the position.
Ben Curly
13th June 2010, 21:10
Robert and Michael had similar speed. Each was waiting for the other one to start braking. As it turned out, they didn’t brake at all and cut the grass. It happens.
David A
13th June 2010, 21:13
Hence it wasn’t a smooth pass by Kubica and was “botched” as PM put it.
Ben Curly
13th June 2010, 21:16
The pass was impossible in that spot in my opinion, because Schumaher would cut the chicane anyway (as he did routinely during the race).
Ben Curly
13th June 2010, 21:03
Kubica about his pass on Sutil: “I was racing him on my in-lap and we were side by side before the last corner. I was on the right, so I backed off and pulled behind him to take my line for the pits, but he braked very early and hard: I had to go round him to avoid causing an accident”.
Chris
14th June 2010, 5:23
I would agree that it was a “botched” attempt from Robert Kubica as Michael Schumacher will always fight hard to defend his track postion.. If you want to pass him having a peek or making a half-hearted attempt will simply not get it done, you need to make a clear decisive move and commit 100% or sit back and wait for your opportunity.. Kubica and Massa both learned that this weekend but it has been clear to see all seaon long so they really should have known better..
J
13th June 2010, 19:56
Thank you Keith.
The best F1 site by far!! Keep up the good work.
Chaz
13th June 2010, 19:56
Thrilling indeed! The most insane move for me was Kubica passing Sutil to go into the pits after Sutil had passed him on the straight and Sutil was just about to turn into the start finish straight…
d-d
13th June 2010, 20:03
Apparently he noticed a damage on Sutil’s wheel and just rescued himself from the soon-to-be crash. Indeed Sutils lost his tyre in next turn.
We’ll see if the investigation will confirm it.
Sandman
13th June 2010, 20:20
There was really not much he could do. He let Sutil past him, then tried to pit coming at Sutil from the outside, but Sutil read it as repassing attempt and blocked it. What else could he do knowing he needs to pit on that lap?
Besides, Sutil didn’t even break or anything, he kept taking the turn. It looked scary, was disastrously dangerous, but turned out to be harmless.
d-d
13th June 2010, 20:29
Kubica explained that Sutil broke hard early and Kubica saw that we would hit his back, so he had to run wide.
d-d
13th June 2010, 20:01
The worst day today was for Pietrov, I’m afraid. He had a great start, which soon finished in a crash, which soon appeared to be a jump-start, for which he was penalised. He was that fighting probably too hard and got second penalty. Besides, he had 4 pits and finished behind Lotus, 2+ laps behind the leader. His laps weren’t quick either.
Pity for him, he should recoiver quickly or else…. Kimi Raikonen is looking for a place and well as Jacques Villeuve.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
13th June 2010, 20:25
Is there some new news about that? ‘Cause last I heard it didn’t sound like Kimi was in a hurry to return to F1.
d-d
13th June 2010, 20:31
I don’t know about Kimi, last news I heard were gossips about him coming to Red Bull or Ferrari. We know now that this is not going to happen soon, but for renault he could be an interesting option to pick for the next season.
Pink Pirelli
14th June 2010, 1:44
If I had a dollar for everytime someone mentioned Black Jack making a comeback, I’d be a millionaire by now. It just ain’t gonna happen!
Ling
13th June 2010, 20:03
Lewis Hamilton is a great pass master!
US_Peter (@us_peter)
13th June 2010, 20:26
And his passing seems to be getting smoother and less erratic as well…
Matt G (lotus fan)
13th June 2010, 20:06
I’ve been reading this site for a while now and I would just like to say thank you to Keith for such a good website. Also did anyone hear Kieth get a mention on the BBC practic sessions (can’t remember which one).
On the race I would say that this has been the most entertaining race of the season so far, just going to show that F1 doesn’t need rain. I wonder when the last time there was 3 world champions on the podium.
David A
13th June 2010, 20:38
It was also a good race from Heikki in the Lotus, fighting off Petrov, and having almost beaten Kobayashi in qualifying.
Randy
14th June 2010, 2:10
Second that Matt G. Everytime I begin to think I know it all(and this happens quite often)I learn something new here. Quite simply the most informative F1 site on the web. Kudos to Keith and the many knowledgable contributors on this site.
David S
13th June 2010, 20:06
Good to see the old Schuie back and driving people off the road. Wonder if he’ll get penalties now he’s not longer got his red immunity card.
David A
13th June 2010, 20:35
Kubica also ran him off the road, across the grass. He did on the other hand cut literally every chicane on the circuit without yielding position, which he was wrong to do (shot tyres or not).
Ben Curly
13th June 2010, 21:14
They both didn’t brake before that particular chicane, I wouldn’t put the blame entirely on Kubica or Schumi. They were racing, trying to out-brake each other. But yes, Schumacher was cutting chicanes left and right just to keep his position, and I don’t think it should be allowed.
an anoyed felipe massa fan
13th June 2010, 21:31
I AM SO ANOYED WITH LUIZZI MASSA HAD THE INSIDE LINE THE FORCE INDIA SHOULD HAVE BACKED OFF
SHUMACHER WAS OUT OF ORDER FORCING MASSA OF THE TRACK AND HE DIDNT EVEN GET PENILIZED
BUT MASSA GOT 20 SEC FOR SPEEDING IN PITS
studi06
14th June 2010, 5:30
I agree, strange that out of all of the racing incidents that occurred and resulted in no penalty that Massa should be penalised this way.. Liuzzi should have yielded, the stewards have got this one wrong, just another racing incident for mine..
studi06
14th June 2010, 5:34
Can somebody clarify was Massa handed a 20 second penalty for speeding in the pits..? I read on twitter it was for his opening lap incident with Liuzzi.. If it was for speeding then I retract my previous comment..
David A
14th June 2010, 13:43
It was indeed for speeding in the pit lane, though Liuzzi did dive up the inside at the start when he was never cleanly going to get by.
Calum
13th June 2010, 20:07
When will we find out who predicted correct?! LOL i was sort of close…
Calum 01:16.468 HAM HAM BUT VET ROS WEB
Wrong right right right wrong wrong right
1:15.105 HAM HAM BUT ALO VET WEB
Gusto
13th June 2010, 20:28
Damn nearly a Full House,I had
01:15.543 HAM,HAM,BUT,ALO,WEB,VET
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 20:59
Well, the only thing wrong with the race today was the fact that every one of my predictions were incorrect. Null points.
Keith, would it be okay if I made my predictions on Sunday night after the race . . .
Pink Pirelli
14th June 2010, 1:48
Hehehe, me too !
d-d
13th June 2010, 20:10
I enjoyed Schumacher only onthe beginning. He started 13th to find himslef soon behind Sutil who was 7th and soon behind Kubica’s on 6th.
But later he was just too agressive and several drivers suffered – Kubica (early 1st pitstop), Massa (broken nose), force Indias etc, including Schumacher himself.
I wonder if he gests any penalty for all those cutting of chicanes. It’s a serious flaw of this circuit that chicanes could be cut for an advatage. Other than that it’s a great track for F1 racing.
laura
13th June 2010, 20:27
Even the beginning wasn’t great – he hit Kubica in turn 2. The Renault’s diffuser was broken after that I noticed that when they showed onboards.
I don’t think he wil get a penalty. He should have been given a warning during the race. Maybe a reprimand?
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 21:01
I was interested in what Martin Brundle was saying. Something to the effect that missing a chicane and *not* being passed as a result was as bad as missing a chicane and passing someone as a result.
Something for the FIA to chew on, perhaps.
Scribe (@scribe)
13th June 2010, 22:09
I thought that was a general rule already applied. Some serious punishments need to come down the line today. A lot of rule breaking went on today, it’ll be a bit ridiculous if nothing comes of it.
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 22:24
Agreed.
“your comment was . . .”
Patrickl
14th June 2010, 3:28
I remember how they warned Massa in Monaco for cutting the chicane. It was during the race and he was told that if he cut the chicane too often (3 times) he would get a drive-through.
Why didn’t anyone tell Schumacherr to keep the car on the road?
IIRC the regulations say that if a driver cuts the chicane too often the stewards can assume the driver is no longer in proper control of the car.
Accidental Mick
14th June 2010, 7:44
H-B-G. Agreed, I thought that was a very good comment.
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
13th June 2010, 20:11
Oh no! I wrote on my driver assessments on the other day that Buemi has been anonymous throughout the season, and has been one of the disapointments of 2010. Well I might have to update that now, he was anything but anaonymous, he had a great drive!
Matt G (lotus fan)
13th June 2010, 20:13
I agree, Buemi leading the race? how did that happen. It was a good day for STR,
BasCB (@bascb)
13th June 2010, 20:13
Must say Liuzzi might have some people change theire assessment on him as well.
Not so lucky at the start but a great recovery and fighting with Massa and Schumacher. A finish back in the points.
Buemi was impressive today, more than expected from him.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
13th June 2010, 20:29
This was one of the first races where Buemi wasn’t the tragic victim of circumstance (or Kobayashi). Finally proved himself against Alguersuari. They’ve both had some impressive drives so far this year.
Rits
13th June 2010, 20:36
I’m one of those people mate, I don’t hate admitting to it though!
Scribe (@scribe)
13th June 2010, 22:17
As well as the fact Buemi’s absolutley smashed Jaime in the qualifying battle, Jaime’s bettered him once or something.
Pink Pirelli
14th June 2010, 1:51
See, I was hoping that Buemi would stay anonymous so that Ricciardo would get that seat next year. Bit harsh on old Seb, but still.
slr
13th June 2010, 20:14
Liuzzi for me, is the driver of the day. Great recovery after his collision at the start.
Matt G (lotus fan)
13th June 2010, 21:30
His performance today will have gone a long way to securing his seat.
Patrickl
14th June 2010, 3:30
Apart from the fact that he caused that collision to begin with
djdaveyp
13th June 2010, 20:17
One thing I take from this race is perhaps something formula1 can learn.
Are the overtaking/entertainment problems in f1 really caused by aero? Or is it simply that tyre technology is just far too good now?
If you look through the recent history of formula1 overtaking has got more and more difficult through the tyre war, which bridgestone won from 2000-2004 (due to having the softest compound). Which is probably why Ferrari dominated these years. In 2005 michelin won races because their compound was better at lasting the distance when tyres changes weren’t allowed. And in 2006 renault had completely championed the michelin rubber. Since 2007 we’ve had one supplier and racing hasn’t been as good because the rubber is just too good.
Has tyre technology reached its peak? If it has then a tyre war won’t fix this. We need to pick the supplier that makes the worst tyres!
It doesn’t matter how much aero you have if your tyre can’t put it on the road. Maybe its time to make the tyres more marginal. It made the race today really exciting and unpredictable, and overtaking really looked a possibility in alot of circumstances.
Just something worth thinking about.
Renell
13th June 2010, 20:26
well it was more to do with the circuit. I mean these are the same tires that raced in “boring Bahrain”. It’s just they barely race in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; even on race weekends there’s not the level of support races I think.
djdaveyp
13th June 2010, 20:29
So maybe they should have took softer tyres to bahrain. What i’m saying is that by bringing the “wrong” tyres here they showed what a difference a marginal compound makes.
David A
13th June 2010, 20:32
I thought they used the super softs in Bahrain?
djdaveyp
13th June 2010, 20:40
They probably did. Which means the medium compound would have been the prime tyre. So maybe they should be next to each other next season and be soft and super soft. Or make the compounds even softer!
I’m actually not sure if its too soft or too hard which causes the “problem” the teams had with the tyres. But one things for certain. This “problem” isn’t a problem for us viewers and we need to see less durable tyres!
It doesn’t make it artificial like the rear wing concept they are thinking about at the moment because everybody has the same problem and it is how they deal with it that wins or loses them the race.
hawkfist
13th June 2010, 21:44
The issue seems to be more that everyone is always on the same compound at the same time because of the Q3 tyre rule. Because (until this race) there’s been no variation in strategy then it’s been the exact same situation for all the drivers. Today different people were running longer stints so it wasn’t a case of 10 lap old softs against 10 lap old softs.
Get rid of the Q3 tyre rule and let’s see some variation in strategy1
DASMAN
13th June 2010, 20:29
Very interesting post. I was having the same thoughts. Perhaps tho, having very little mechanical grip (rain, bad tires) makes the aero less important and means cars follow closer? It does make a big difference between cars as the one with best traction from a slow corner can use his accumulated speed to pass.
djdaveyp
13th June 2010, 20:30
Thats exactly my train of thought dasman.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
13th June 2010, 20:54
Interesting thoughts.
I think it had less to do with track design (like Red Bull said on twitter) but with the fact that the track had no rubber or grip.
This seems to suggest that the way forward may be to always bring the softest tyres to each race.
But for normal circuits and tyre situations, aero is still a problem.
I hate to say it, but perhaps F1 should look into quick, degradable tyres before cutting aero. As much as I hate the aero-war, at least it’s a battle of innovative minds from different teams.
djdaveyp
13th June 2010, 20:57
Just to add to my point, look at the move mark webber pulled on jenson button down a short straight with a car that has less straight line speed, that was all tyres.
Scribe (@scribe)
13th June 2010, 22:20
Tyres don’t loose performance behind another car do they? It’s all very well to blame it on the tyres, an indeed tyres can produce fantastic racing for us. Infact it’s tyre strategies that put slower cars behind faster ones, but the point remain, aerodynamic performance is lost when following a car round the circuit meaning you can’t get close enough to pass, it’s a key problem an one not entirley possible to solve with tyres.
Patrickl
14th June 2010, 3:32
It’s about cars being on different tyres. This creates (huge) performance differences.
If the cars are all on the same strategy the tyres don’t seem matter.
studi06
14th June 2010, 5:41
An interesting article I read earlier this year after Bahrain written by a current F1 team member whose name I can not recall mentioned that they would like to see much harder tyres and remove semi-automatic gearboxes to improve passing.. They felt the main problem is that the current F1 cars stopping distances being so short and the fact that drivers can perform perfect gear changes every time are the main problems.. May have even been on this site as it is usually my first stop for F1 news..
Rob
13th June 2010, 20:21
Schumacher needs a talking to from the stewards really, towards the end he could have caused two big accidents despite being on ruined tyres and having no chance of staying in front for the rest of the race. If Massa had crashed by the pit entrance it could have caused big problems.
David A
13th June 2010, 20:30
Frankly, he does. The Kubica incident was a racing incident (though Kubica ultimately forced both of them across the grass), but he shouldn’t have chopped Massa’s nose off, and cut too many chicanes while defending from the Force Indias. This is coming from a Schumacher (and Ferrari) fan.
Red Andy
13th June 2010, 20:31
Yes, it was really very silly from Schumacher. In days gone by he would have been asked not to show up at Valencia, but I guess he’ll be given a grid penalty for that race instead.
Rits
13th June 2010, 20:33
I think I need to swallow my words and agree that Tonio’s got a lot of steam left in him. Brilliant drive from him, esp the final lap move on MS..!
Scribe (@scribe)
13th June 2010, 22:21
Fantastic it’s true, he’s held of the lions for now, now he’s got to do it again though, consitency can be just as important as pace.
Jhonnie Siggie
13th June 2010, 20:35
IMHO the Red Bulls lost this race on Saturday. Webber (if not both bulls) had enough race pace to match the Mclarens had they all been on the same tire compound. However, RB became complacent in Quali and thought that they could qualify ahead of LEW even on the harder compound. Problem for them was that Mclaren also had a few extra tenths in the bag and unleashed it at the perfect time. RB would have only been fine had LEW been behind them at the start.
On a separate note, great race by LEW who now leads the WDC. Jenson continues to surprise with his guile, maturity and rampant opportunism. Even though he seems to be lacking a couple of tenths on LEW in terms of raw pace alone, he has plenty of other skills that should make the stakeholders at Mclaren feel real good. Great pairing IMHO for a chance at the WCC.
Scribe (@scribe)
13th June 2010, 22:21
If Redbulls had gone for the softs you’d have to say the race would probably have panned out quite simularly. Unless they jumped the McLarens in the pitstops.
Jhonnie Siggie
13th June 2010, 23:04
Yeh true but my belief is that if they were on the softer compound, they would have qualified ahead of LEW and thus be able to control the race and cover the other teams.
dragon
14th June 2010, 3:25
Part of what made Montreal so gripping was the unpredictability. On paper, the RBR strategy was great – especially after the first ten laps, when the super-soft runners were falling back quickly into the clutches of those running the prime. What they didn’t predict just how quickly the primes would degrade as well. They didn’t really lose the race, it was all a case of reacting to the moves and pace other teams were showing. Montreal was incredibly green; on a more used surface, Webber could well have won the race if he continued to enjoy pace on the primes that he showed early. But the way of the prime seemed to be that the performance dropped off a cliff, they didn’t just wear away slowly. IMO he could have pitted earlier and tried to come out ahead of Vettel, but I don’t want to stir that pot again.
Patrickl
14th June 2010, 3:34
It didn’t help that Webber had his 5 place grid drop either.
If the Red Bulls had gone for the soft tyre I’m pretty sure we’d have had the same type of race as Turkey.
Jhonnie Siggie
13th June 2010, 20:46
After the last race I said something like this in the last forum.
# of races missed by Nicole = 6
# of races attended by Nicole = 1
# of races lost by Lewis with Nicole absent = 6
# of races won by Lewis with Nicole present = 1
** Verdict = strong correlation between Nicole’s presence and Lewis’ winning
Well after this 8th race of the season, here are the stats:
# of races missed by Nicole = 6
# of races attended by Nicole = 2
# of races lost by Lewis with Nicole absent = 6
# of races won by Lewis with Nicole present = 2
** Verdict = Even stronger correlation between Nicole’s presence and Lewis’ winning
Makes me wonder what sort of preparation the go through for the race :). Keep doing whatever it is that u 2 r doing!
djdaveyp
13th June 2010, 20:48
Maybe its not the preparation…. maybe its what he gets promised afterwards!
Jhonnie Siggie
13th June 2010, 20:52
Haha… good point! Maybe 3rd time lucky in Valencia? Let’s see…
Electrolite
13th June 2010, 20:49
You know a good race is commencing when you’ve got no idea where anyone is or how anyone is doing for half of it.
disjunto
13th June 2010, 21:15
yeah, I was completely lost for a lot of that race, a Lotus well into the points Buemi leading… must have been impossible for the people at the track to follow
Matt G (lotus fan)
13th June 2010, 21:21
Yeah hekki 7th and Trulli 10th at one point. The best race of the season so far imo.
xtophe (@xtophe)
13th June 2010, 21:28
I suppose the elevated number of pitstops had something to do with it aswell. Seriously, after all the races with the frontrunners only pitting once, one might forget that there once were different strategies in a GP.
GP4 Carl
14th June 2010, 1:03
Oh, thank god for that. I thought I was losing my mind.
Was watching race, had a good idea what was going on in first few laps….Then I’d sworn I had only let the cat out, and when I looked at screen again, I realised I did’nt have a clue where anyone was…lol. Thought I’d been through a time warp things changed so fast.
Will be watching this one again on Iplayer …for sure.
Best part of day. Question to Alonso about pit race with Hammy…..he looked at Interviewer, smiled and said “Its ok” (If only fans could be so cool)…..I got a lot of respect for all of these men.
Great stuff this weekend.
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
13th June 2010, 20:50
One thing I thought that was very nice to see was the rapport between Lewis and Jenson after the race. The pair of them still look genuinely happy to be teammates – I think Jenson is happy that he’s just about a match for Lewis come the end of the race.
They do seem to gel as teammates.
Jhonnie Siggie
13th June 2010, 20:57
Yup that is true. It was very manly of Jenson to admit that Lewis was a tad better that everyone else at this track. It is always a sign of character that a person is able to give credit where it’s due…
pSynrg
13th June 2010, 22:09
I’m loving this pairing as much as any other in F1. I dare say it’s the first time I can remember where two ultra competitive team mates appear to have a genuine friendship.
To top it all they are two of the best drivers we’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.
Like at the end of Turkey, I think Jenson genuinely wanted to clear the air as soon as possible. I see Jenson’s greater maturity as a person helping a lot here. With Lewis being less mature, possibly petulant at times, needing the right words at the right time.
This has the makings of a classic driver pairing. Let’s hope it continues!
It also highlights the tragedy of Jenson’s BAR/Honda years and what a waste of time most of that was. With the exception of a few brief flashes of opportunity, Jenson almost disappeared into obscurity.
Now we’ve got to know Jenson better since Honda became Brawn he’s an absolute star. Wish I’d paid more attention during the quiet years.
Go MCL!
disjunto
13th June 2010, 22:16
I’ve always been a fan of Button, but everyone ignored me :(
He always seemed to be in a bad car, but always seemed to get more out of it than seemed possible. Luckily he had a good car with Brawn last season, and he’s suddenly in the spot light :)
dragon
14th June 2010, 3:31
on the other hand, you can say that Jenson’s years with BAR went a long way to securing that 2009 championship. Being a big Webber fan, something I can always rely upon is for him to keep a cool head and make great decisions under pressure, whether it be strategy or passing – and years spent battling and struggling in the midfield have helped that enormously, something which can also be said about Button. You just know that mistakes are highly unlikely, something which can’t be said of a lot of the younger drivers, fast as they are.
martin bell
14th June 2010, 8:36
Webber looked drained after the race didn’t he? Downcast even. Felt for him a bit, to be honest, after the highs he’s had this season.
Joey-Poey
14th June 2010, 9:26
Y’know, I think it’s a shame we don’t see more of that slow climb into the right seat. In the 80’s, Mansell and Senna both slowly crept their way into better and better cars rather than being plopped in a high-end team first time. I think you’re very right in that it does a bit to help sharpen a driver when you’re forced to spend some time outside of optimal gear/situations.
Dougie (@f1droid)
14th June 2010, 10:27
@Joey-Poey I agree with your sentiment, in that I prefer to see drivers work the lower formulas the old school way, rather than be part of a programme like Hamilton or Vettel… and not start in a top team (not that Vettel did mind you).
However, Mansell and Sennas early Formula 1 career was not quite the Alonso or Webber of this world.
Mansell arrived in a Lotus, for 5 years, then to race winning Williams. Both what I would class as top teams, not like the Minardi of old… or maybe Fondmetal, Coloni etc.
Senna spent a year with Toleman (very much mid field) then to a race winning Lotus for 3 years, and then a championship winning McLaren. Apart from Toleman, top teams again.
pSynrg
14th June 2010, 14:38
I agree, climbing through the ranks, so to speak will obviously lend experience to some if not most drivers.
But we also saw last year that Lewis is more than capable of dealing with an under-performing car, despite being dropped into a prime seat from the go. Let’s face it – Lewis has shown time and time again that he deserved that seat and so it continues.
M Sakr (@goham)
13th June 2010, 21:09
To be honest, after Bahrain I thought that F1 was doomed. But what a comeback! When did we see back to back dry races that turns out to be the best races in years maybe!! This is great for F1, definitely moving in the right direction!
However, Valencia is next.. Errrr what do you think could happen there!!!???
Matt G (lotus fan)
13th June 2010, 21:25
One of the reasons that this race was so good was because of the track condition and I don’t think Valencia as a street circuit will be very good either. I don’t think it will be as good as Canada though.
Martin
14th June 2010, 4:53
not much – Matt G is right. But, who knows the future…
M Sakr (@goham)
13th June 2010, 21:13
Massa receives a 20-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.. Retains his 15th position though as he was a lap clear of Kovalainen. What a terrible day (terrible year more like it) for Massa.
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 21:16
The only other thing that marred my enjoyment of the race today had nothing to do with the cars, drivers or track.
I’ve often read criticism of blasted Leggard here and treated it with equanimity, but damn; today he was perfectly insufferable.
The man could blather for England. Never has so much been said that actually contained so little.
At one memorable point Martin Brundle started to say “Web . . .” when Leggard cut in and filled the next three minutes with pointless froth before Brundle was able to get back in with salient race information that by that point was three minutes old.
The man’s as much use as a f*rt in a spacesuit.
disjunto
13th June 2010, 21:24
I’ve converted my house to 5Live audio, so we had Croft and Di Resta all race…. perfect :)
Switched back to bbc for post race and watching the highlight with legard’s talking over brundle and it was horrible.
Matt G (lotus fan)
13th June 2010, 21:29
I had my PC on the onboard camera all race, unfortunatly the internet is slower than the TV so it was showing the incidents a couple of seconds behind the TV. Although I did see the Sutil’s puncture before it was shown on the TV.
djdaveyp
13th June 2010, 21:40
I think we show do a f1fanatic petition that legard is a rubbish commentator and that I should get his job.
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 21:38
I think that’s a good idea. Vision from BBC, audio from 5Live.
I also watched the (stunningly exciting) Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend and found myself wanting to tear the lungs out of Carlton Kirby for failing to know anything about endurance racing. Martin Havens et al made Kirby sound as vacuous as Leggard. How do these idiots survive – and get paid for their input?
ashes1991
14th June 2010, 13:24
I think that they are both terrible commentators, did any of you see Button overtake Alonso on the helicopter camera, Bundle and Leggard both did not realise there had been a move and took them a while to realise too.
Get them both out!
Osiris
13th June 2010, 21:20
Still not overly impressed by the McLaren pit crew – I just think they could, should, be a little better than they were today, and have been all season. Snappy up, fellas!
hawkfist
13th June 2010, 21:50
Aye, the McLaren pit crew have been far too slow on too many occasions this year. Today they were lucky and got away with it but they must have lost their team more positions than any other pitcrew out of the top 5 or 6 teams.
It’s gonna come back and bite them one of these days…
Martin
14th June 2010, 4:54
it’s a shame, b/c in recent years they were the BEST
Paul A
13th June 2010, 21:36
Overall best memory: this year’s cliff-hanger.
Overall worst memory: the Beeb soundtrack – all engine noise to where you can’t hear the commentary.
Best team moment: Button hugging Hamilton in parc fermé.
Worst team moment: McLaren releasing a driver to t-bone a Ferrari (where are the stewards?)
Best driver moment: Massa’s pass on 2 FIs – skill, timing, gonads all in one. A classic.
Worst driver moment: Schumacher crowding Massa off-track (where are the stewards?)
Most surprising non-event: no safety car.
Ady
13th June 2010, 21:41
When you look at Alonso’s on-bord footage, you see the McLaren Lollypop go up just as he leaves his box.
Nothing could be done here as their boxes are so close to each other.
martin bell
13th June 2010, 22:21
I found myself wondering if the Mclaren lollipop man can see the Ferrari lights from where he is. Easy to see a lollipop lifting, perhaps less easy to see lights change. Anyone know?
Lee
13th June 2010, 23:55
There is no way on earth teams can make decisions that quick when it comes to releasing drivers in the pits. You are talking maybe a tenth of a second which is not enough time to make a decison. Also hamilton spun his tyres when accelerating and so probably would have exited ahead of alonso under normal circumstances. The stewards would have looked at it and came to the decision that humans just can’t make decisions at that speed (just look at break distances in the highway code to see how quick the average human can react).
Matt G (lotus fan)
14th June 2010, 0:04
I agree with Lee, the rules they have for releasing into the pits only work if the other car is further back in the pits. If you are racing the team in the pit box behind you there is not enough reaction time for the lollypop man.
schooner
13th June 2010, 21:39
That was fun! Some good racing and passing up at the pointy end, lots of interesting scraps further back in the field, and no safety car throwing its monkey wrench into the mix (first time since ’04, I believe our commentator said). The prospect of a good championship tussle between McLaren and Red Bull is shaping up very nicely!
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 21:43
I was very pleased to see HAM’s real and true celebration on the podium today. Compare and contrast to Turkey. I think BUT wanted to let HAM enjoy the moment fully and to let HAM’s victory draw a line underneath the Turkey problems.
But next race, I expect to see BUT hunting a victory over HAM.
Patrickl
13th June 2010, 23:05
Did you miss that show of force when Hamilton rammed out a couple of fast laps?
That was a clear message to Button (who was gaining on Hamilton) saying “Anything you can do I can do better”.
The radio message after that was funny too. Basically saying “Yeah, yeah, we know you are fast. Now knock it off and be careful with those tyres”
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 23:48
No. I didn’t miss that. The message was clear, wasn’t it?
Ady
14th June 2010, 5:07
Also, I think this is the first McLaren 1-2 where both drivers wore the winner’s red for the team photo.
Lewis kept his racing gear on when Jenson won the first time, and visa versa in turkey.
disjunto
14th June 2010, 6:48
button wore the red shirt in the Turkey photo….
Oliver
14th June 2010, 8:44
They wear those orange shirts immediately after the race, sometimes a driver might be doing TV interviews and just have enough time to join in for the photo session.
Enigma (@enigma)
14th June 2010, 12:06
You seriously think Button let Hamilton win this race?
Marco
13th June 2010, 21:45
Hello guys… I am new here… Please, does anybody know on which tyres did start the race Sebastien Buemi and on which ones Jaime Alguersuari? Was it both hard compounds? I am not sure about it, that s why I am asking…
Icthyes (@icthyes)
13th June 2010, 22:20
I believe they both started on the hards
Marco
14th June 2010, 6:11
No they didn t… On the official site of Toro Rosso is mentioned, that Alguersuari started race on soft compounds and Buemi on hard… He got the softs much later – on his last stint, when the track had a lot more grip compared to beginning of the race… So, Jaime had a disadvantage, which cost him some time…
f1alex
13th June 2010, 21:50
Don’t know whether it’s been written anywhere else, but Lee Mckenzie reported has on twitter that all the drivers who were under investigation were issued reprimands.
Again, another sign that the stewards seem pretty lenient this year…
f1alex
13th June 2010, 22:03
that should be “has reported” but it doesn’t matter because I just realised It’s been posted already.
Sorry! :)
Patrickl
13th June 2010, 23:07
Actually Schumacher didn’t even get a reprimand. Utterly bizarre.
Martin
14th June 2010, 5:05
kinda surprised, thought old Emerson would be all over these whippersnappers…
Patrickl
13th June 2010, 21:59
What on earth was Schumacher thinking with his tyre strategy though? I mean forget about the ridiculously aggressive overtaking and cutting the chicanes on every lap, just look at the man thinking and racing (or rather lack of both)
His last stint was on lap 33 when he took on a set of supersofts. He tried to do 37 laps on those tyres when all other failed to do more than 15 or so.
If you look at his laptimes then it’s clear that on lap 48 (15 laps into the stint) he also went trough the peak performance of those tyres. At that time he was about 16 seconds behind Rosberg. He had a nice gap behind him. The next car behind him was trailing by 30 seconds. So why doesn’t he stop?
He keeps on going on these tyres going slower and slower. In the end he trails Rosberg by 76 seconds. So he loses about 60 seconds in in only 20 laps. How on earth could they have made such a blunder?
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
13th June 2010, 22:05
Well, maybe he didn’t take Brawn’s advice thinking he could use his skill to drive beyond the tyres.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
13th June 2010, 22:22
It was Brawn who decided which tyres to use, not Schumacher.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84480
maestrointhesky
13th June 2010, 22:36
Not sure but after Quali, they may have been the only tyres he had left.
disjunto
14th June 2010, 8:46
he got a puncture during his battle with Kubica, completely ruined his race as he had no primes left and had to come in for options with 30+ laps left
Scalextric (@scalextric)
13th June 2010, 22:12
Red Bull, specifically Vettel, lost the race in the first few laps. Alternatively, McLaren won the race in this period. The tire advantage RBR had gained from using the prime tyres in Q3 was apparent from Webber’s performance in catching the front runners at up to 3 secs/lap. Meanwhile, Vettel was unable to capitalise on this advantage as he was unable to pass Hamilton. In effect, Vettel was losing 3 secs/lap as Hamilton’s tyres went off. Webber was stuck behind Button for a couple of laps and lost his chance to fully benefit from the prime tyres and his 3 secs per lap. Subtract these lost seconds from the RBR race times and they ended up in front. So, credit to the McLaren drivers for neutralising their starting tyre disadvantage in the early laps.
schooner
13th June 2010, 22:41
Alonso’s post race interview was not shown on TV here in the US, and I just read the transcript on another site. To paraphrase … “I could have won today if not for some issues with traffic”. He may as well have said “I could have won today if only I had a faster car”!
Ady
14th June 2010, 5:12
Vettel’s was even funnier. It wasn’t his fault, the back markers didn’t hold up the front runners enough at the begining of the race.
Enigma (@enigma)
13th June 2010, 22:49
Schumacher got a puncture in the fight with Kubica, and had to pit in the next lap.
Racer
13th June 2010, 22:56
For the first time 2011 there is no RB6 in the Top3. McLaren Topspeed advantage was not beatable.
M Sakr (@goham)
13th June 2010, 23:19
Huh?!? Pretty sure you’re talking about 2010 not 2011!!
Anyways if you are, this is the FOURTH time Red Bull are out of the top 3. Bahrain, Australia, China, and today’s GP!!!
Btw, the McLaren’s were’nt the fastest through the speedtrap neither today nor yesterday! Renault was, followed by Toro Rosso!
horse power
13th June 2010, 22:59
awesome and interesting race,loving Lewis on the number 1 spot,keep it up Lewisxx could hardly wait for the finish line,exciting and plenty of action futher down the track,i thought it was one of the best GP’s this year jam packed with incidents
LordHesketh
13th June 2010, 23:09
CaNaDa RuLz!!!!11!!11!
JUGNU
14th June 2010, 0:38
I don’t think Alonso could have won today. Mclaren and particularly Lewis were just stronger than him today and beat him on the track. If Hamilton got slightly lucky with traffic than he also had his luck at the first pitstop because of Hamilton’s relatively slow pitstop and he came out ahead of Hamilton.
So don’t agree with those saying Hamilton’s got lucky and Alonso didn’t…etc. Both had some luck(as mentioned above) and both were little unlucky as well because of soft tyres at the start. Luck Factor was absolutely equal between top 3 drivers. Hamilton’s brilliance, his undertakings and raw speed made the difference.
Ady
14th June 2010, 5:15
I think Alonso had a good chance once he got in front. It was simply a matter of defending his position, even if he were slower.
He hit a few unlucky breaks with traffic for sure, but I think he shuld be pleased with a podium.
David BR
14th June 2010, 23:31
Problem was he didn’t defend his position well enough. Both Hamilton and Button said they’d looked to use backmarkers to get past him, which they did. I think Alonso drove exceptionally well, but he was caught out twice. So I doubt he’d have kept Hamilton behind for the entire race, though it would have been good to see the fight for sure!
Theoddkiw
14th June 2010, 1:11
Awesome win by Lewis and Mclaren! I wonder if this will make people reconsider his ability to manage his tyres? It was a mature and managed drive.
Yes Jenson’s tyres appeared in better condition, which might indicate he is being too kind to his car and it did’nt win him the race.
This year more than ever drivers are going to have to force the win rather than hope the win comes to them. Its brilliant!
Ady
14th June 2010, 5:19
Jenson got it right, he had enough on his tyres to make a push and get past Alonso and secure the top two spots for the team.
He probably had enough left to challenge Lewis, but by doing so it would have endangered Lewis’ race (i.e. he would have reced till his tyres fell apart).
martin bell
14th June 2010, 8:49
There’s been so much talk about Lewis’s ability to managed his tyres, but this race shows that he has developed an ability to manage his heart and head, and drive only as fast as is needed. Well judged, perfectly executed and, yes,’mature.’ From what JB said after the race, in fact what he has said after a few races this year, he is still learning that he can take more out of the tyres and have enough left in them to push at the end of the race. Seems to me they are learning from each other. It’s the start of something very special at Mclaren.
Ady (@ady)
14th June 2010, 9:08
Agreed, this doesn’t appear to be media spin, but a genuine respect between the two drivers. I guess only time will tell if it can last when both end up fighting each other for the championship at the end of the season.
This shows what a good driver line up can do for a team. May it continue.
Dean Yamasaki
14th June 2010, 1:21
After watching 24 Hours of Le Mans all weekend it’s funny to hear Alonso complaining about slower traffic. When Alonso and Button were coming up on the slower traffic, you could see that Button was setting up a pass by all the momentum he had going into that situation.
F1 drivers need to race in an endurance race to know what traffic and dealing with slower cars is really like. Anthony Davidson being a Le Mans rookie was way too aggressive at the beginning when he collided with a slower car causing his team to lose precious time in the garage. No doubt he suffered from some Alonso-itis.
I thought for sure Schumacher would switch to the super soft tires when he came in because of the puncture. And, I was shocked that Mercedes would make him fight so long at the end with shot tires. They should have put him on the super softs for roughly 10 laps then let him finish on the harder tires.
With 20 or so laps remaining it seemed that Button and Alonso had way more pace than Hamilton. I thought he was having tire problems. But then he seemed to gain new life and up his pace again about 10 laps from the finish. Was he being conservative during that period?
DaveW
14th June 2010, 3:40
Remember Hamilton’s little burst of hot laps near the end? He basically fired a warning shot to Button to tell him that a race to the finish would be ruinous and unnecessary.
But I am the only one a little bothered by the recurring scenario of the cars sort of tiptoeing around the last 1/2 or 1/3 of the race to preserve the tires. I find it somewhat lame that Petrov or whoever way in the teens is raining down fastest laps while the guys are the front are creeping around. (Refueling-ban fail.) I would have preferred to see Button and Alonso and Hamilton on workable tires, fighting like hell for the victory, instead of trying to make sure they don’t fall off the road in the last five laps on shot tires. As it was, all Hamilton had to do to prevent such a battle was to establish, with a quick lap or two, that he had a little tire to spare.
jess
14th June 2010, 1:25
Man oh man just when I was ready to call it a day for F1 we get a great race with NO RAIN. Man that was fun to watch I coulc not belive it and Ham and Button 1/2 was just the best. OK Good race and I had fun watching it.
Martin
14th June 2010, 4:49
Even though I’m bleeding Ferrari red, I say:
1) Amazing driving by Hamilton – pure talent, but getting refined…
2) Amazing team of Button and Andreasen, always seem to be one step ahead…
3) I don’t find Red Bull to be much of a “team” – fast car, sure – otherwise…
4) I used to want Alonso first and Kubica second in the red cars, then maybe Vettel, but now, it’s Alonso first unless he’s gonna do his crybaby thing, and Vettel, no.
5) There was certainly some driving on-track that should have been penalized, but
but I’ll leave those disputes to those with more expertise than I –
6) Pitlane Safety. We either do or do not care about the extreme safety risks present in the pitlane. If we do, then make the punishment fit the crime. Pretty much everything that happens in the pitlane is the responsibility of the team/crew as a whole, so punish the team/crew. My Ferrari team has more than deserved it on at least two recent occasions, Red Bull surely, today McLaren. The moral flaw, or the intention, is not the issue. If there’s no clear fault then punish ALL teams involved in an incident in the pitlane. Punishments will change behavior. I really have no respect for those who look at the safety issues there (not on-track), and say “so what”.
Dougie (@f1droid)
14th June 2010, 10:28
2) Button was chief’d by Prews this race, as Andreasen went home ill.
Jhonnie Siggie
14th June 2010, 5:45
Ferrari fans must be having some real mixed feelings about Alonso. He has jumped the start, gotten involved in first lap incidents, failing to make Q3, and now being mugged by both HAM & BUT. Soon they might start wondering if he is past his prime. On the other hand though, he has fought back well at times during dire situations.
Martin
14th June 2010, 5:49
I still think he’s the most complete driver on the track. I’m still VERY glad he’s at Ferrari. But, I DO recall what happened at MACA…well, you know…
Dougie (@f1droid)
14th June 2010, 10:30
So Alonso podium finish, was that the Ferrari, or was it Alonso??
Where was Massa?
disjunto
14th June 2010, 10:41
getting beaten up in the mid field :D
antonyob
14th June 2010, 9:57
Almost a perfect a race despite the BBC gremlins.
Overtaking for the lead, the best drivers jousting for position and at last stewards who arent too trigger happy. The new points format is working well and the refueling rule is proving to be a blinder.
As suspected drivers can overtake, as Button proved time and again last year when he really had to, this year they really have to and guess what, they do!
Having laboured this point last season on here and largely been ignored im pretty happy its proved to be the case.
Nixon
14th June 2010, 12:13
As always great article Kieth. But i must say it has been a an extremely unlucky race for Alonso. Since he was overtaken when he was trying to overtake someone, if i was in his place i would have been furious. but you have to him some credit about how he behaved. And by the way Chandhok is a Jenson Button fan…
Dougie (@f1droid)
14th June 2010, 13:10
I love this pity for Alonso stance when losing 2nd place to a “lucky” Button who “scrambled” past.
Back in Hungary ’89 (I think) Mansell caught a Senna napping behind a slow Johansson and as a video clip will populate Youtube and be seen as a great piece of opportunist driving for ever more.
Now, I’m not saying they are entirely comparable, but the bottom line is Alonso (2 times World Champion, seen by many as the best all round driver of this period) messed it up, and Button (a “lucky” champion and “journeyman”, a view I do not share) took the advantage, got better drive out of the corner, and was past cleanly before the next braking zone. Job done.
wasiF1
15th June 2010, 10:39
What a race for the Canadian fans who were there watching it live.THIS IS WHAT WE PAY TO WATCH IN FORMULA 1
Right from the five lights to the chequered flag there were action on every single lap, be that be at the front or the mid-field or even at the back of the pack.
Feel bad for Schumacher for having that puncture on lap 13 if that didn’t happened he would possible be in the top 7, but still I think his tyre strategy did more damage to his race then the puncture.
Another thing which many of us wanted to see since the start of the season is the battle between Hamilton & Alonso both fought hard but fair with complete for each other.
Congratulation to the Force India team for a double point finish despite many trouble.Red Bull’s strategy with Webber weren’t good neither I know what was the problem Vettel’s engineer were talking about.
Last thing the race was a absolute sell out then why didn’t the organizer had enough money to buy desk for the press conference