A pair of Virtual Safety Car periods in the first third of the Canadian Grand Prix shaped the strategies teams used in a race where a one-stop strategy was possible but the majority of drivers made two.
The first VSC was triggered by Sergio Perez’s retirement and ironically the main beneficiary was his teammate, Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton also came in at this point from fourth place as did a few other drivers further down the order.Having made their first pit stops just nine laps into the race, those drivers were now locked into two-stop strategies. When the second VSC occured in response to Mick Schumacher’s retirement, many of the others headed for the pits including new race leader Carlos Sainz Jnr.
As Sainz gradually closed on Verstappen as the race passed its halfway point, Red Bull accepted the time loss of making Verstappen’s second pitstop under green flag running. But six laps later Yuki Tsunoda crashed at turn two and the Safety Car was deployed.
Was this a moment of good or bad fortune for Sainz and Verstappen? It allowed Sainz to make a low-cost pit stop and resume the race on a fresh set of tyres right behind Verstappen. However had the race run its course without this last interruption it would have taken several laps for Verstappen to catch Sainz. Whether he would have then had any more success passing his rival than Sainz did at the end of the actual race is something we can only speculate on.
Fernando Alonso’s race was ultimately compromised by an engine problem, but he also lost time by not pitting under either VSC period. He stayed out during the first and didn’t reach the pit lane entrance in time to take advantage of the second.
Several teams also suffered slow pit stops today. McLaren ‘stacked’ their drivers under the second VSC, but Daniel Ricciardo’s stop took too long and delayed Lando Norris, who then lost more time when the crew brought out the wrong tyres. His stop therefore took even longer than Kevin Magnussen’s front wing change.
Charles Leclerc also lost vital time in the pits, which meant he failed to emerge in front of a group of cars, and got stuck in a ‘DRS train’. Nonetheless, by starting on hards and sticking to a single pit stop, he successfully climbed 14 places to finish fifth.
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2022 Canadian Grand Prix lap chart
The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
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2022 Canadian Grand Prix race chart
The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
Position change
Driver | Start position | Lap one position change | Race position change |
---|---|---|---|
Lewis Hamilton | 4 | 0 | 1 |
George Russell | 8 | 1 | 4 |
Max Verstappen | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Sergio Perez | 13 | 2 | |
Charles Leclerc | 19 | 1 | 14 |
Carlos Sainz Jnr | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Lando Norris | 14 | 0 | -1 |
Daniel Ricciardo | 9 | 0 | -2 |
Esteban Ocon | 7 | 1 | 1 |
Fernando Alonso | 2 | 0 | -5 |
Pierre Gasly | 15 | -2 | 1 |
Yuki Tsunoda | 20 | 1 | |
Lance Stroll | 17 | 1 | 7 |
Sebastian Vettel | 16 | 1 | 4 |
Alexander Albon | 12 | 0 | -1 |
Nicholas Latifi | 18 | -2 | 2 |
Valtteri Bottas | 11 | -2 | 3 |
Zhou Guanyu | 10 | 0 | 1 |
Mick Schumacher | 6 | -2 | |
Kevin Magnussen | 5 | 0 | -12 |
2022 Canadian Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:
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2022 Canadian Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
Rank | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Gap | On lap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’15.749 | 63 | |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’15.839 | 0.090 | 64 |
3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’15.901 | 0.152 | 62 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’16.167 | 0.418 | 69 |
5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’16.418 | 0.669 | 63 |
6 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’16.578 | 0.829 | 63 |
7 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’16.927 | 1.178 | 60 |
8 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1’17.010 | 1.261 | 64 |
9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’17.110 | 1.361 | Set on 2 laps |
10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’17.421 | 1.672 | 64 |
11 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’17.495 | 1.746 | 63 |
12 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Red Bull | 1’17.810 | 2.061 | 60 |
13 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’17.932 | 2.183 | 59 |
14 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’17.951 | 2.202 | 59 |
15 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’17.956 | 2.207 | 63 |
16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’18.046 | 2.297 | 11 |
17 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Red Bull | 1’18.309 | 2.560 | 15 |
18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’18.540 | 2.791 | 61 |
19 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1’18.844 | 3.095 | 7 |
20 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1’18.967 | 3.218 | 13 |
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2022 Canadian Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
Stint 1 | Stint 2 | Stint 3 | |
---|---|---|---|
Max Verstappen | C4 (9) | C3 (34) | C3 (27) |
Carlos Sainz Jnr | C4 (20) | C3 (29) | C3 (21) |
Lewis Hamilton | C4 (9) | C3 (35) | C3 (26) |
George Russell | C4 (19) | C3 (26) | C3 (25) |
Charles Leclerc | C3 (41) | C4 (29) | |
Esteban Ocon | C4 (19) | C3 (30) | C4 (21) |
Fernando Alonso | C4 (28) | C3 (21) | C4 (21) |
Valtteri Bottas | C3 (49) | C4 (21) | |
Zhou Guanyu | C4 (19) | C3 (30) | C3 (21) |
Lance Stroll | C3 (47) | C4 (23) | |
Daniel Ricciardo | C4 (19) | C3 (30) | C3 (21) |
Sebastian Vettel | C4 (5) | C3 (14) | C3 (51) |
Alexander Albon | C4 (18) | C3 (30) | C3 (22) |
Pierre Gasly | C4 (5) | C3 (31) | C3 (34) |
Lando Norris | C3 (19) | C3 (23) | C4 (28) |
Nicholas Latifi | C4 (9) | C3 (28) | C3 (33) |
Kevin Magnussen | C4 (7) | C3 (63) | |
Yuki Tsunoda | C4 (9) | C3 (38) | C3 (0) |
Mick Schumacher | C4 (18) | ||
Sergio Perez | C3 (7) |
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2022 Canadian Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
Driver | Team | Pit stop time | Gap | On lap | |
1 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 23.248 | 9 | |
2 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 23.406 | 0.158 | 5 |
3 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 23.450 | 0.202 | 47 |
4 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 23.530 | 0.282 | 48 |
5 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 23.557 | 0.309 | 5 |
6 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 23.613 | 0.365 | 36 |
7 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 23.681 | 0.433 | 19 |
8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 23.704 | 0.456 | 43 |
9 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 23.779 | 0.531 | 28 |
10 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 23.804 | 0.556 | 18 |
11 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 23.841 | 0.593 | 44 |
12 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 23.845 | 0.597 | 9 |
13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 23.945 | 0.697 | 49 |
14 | George Russell | Mercedes | 23.951 | 0.703 | 19 |
15 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 23.980 | 0.732 | 49 |
16 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 24.020 | 0.772 | 9 |
17 | George Russell | Mercedes | 24.069 | 0.821 | 45 |
18 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 24.134 | 0.886 | 42 |
19 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 24.215 | 0.967 | 20 |
20 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 24.217 | 0.969 | 9 |
21 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 24.281 | 1.033 | 19 |
22 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 24.833 | 1.585 | 49 |
23 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 24.881 | 1.633 | 49 |
24 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 25.139 | 1.891 | 49 |
25 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 25.252 | 2.004 | 47 |
26 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 25.684 | 2.436 | 19 |
27 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 26.089 | 2.841 | 49 |
28 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 26.199 | 2.951 | 41 |
29 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 27.937 | 4.689 | 19 |
30 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 30.034 | 6.786 | 37 |
31 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 38.262 | 15.014 | 7 |
32 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 43.032 | 19.784 | 19 |
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
20th June 2022, 5:51
For me, the late safety car killed the race a little. Without it, it would have been an interesting fight between Sainz and Verstappen, but after the SC there was no way Sainz was going to pass Verstappen on only marginally newer tyres – although I admit I was surprised that Sainz was able to mount an attack.
I was also surprised by Russell’s second stop. His pace was good, and he could certainly have done another 5 to 10 laps, giving him the option of fitting mediums, or hoping for a SC or VSC, which did indeed appear. Of course, this would only have gotten him past his team mate – for the third time through lucky safety car timing – so I guess the team decided their champ needed a good result.
MacLeod (@macleod)
20th June 2022, 7:43
If you see the laps times it’s not strange the Ferrari was most of the time faster (small marges) then Max. Only in the begin Max created enough room so he stays ahead i think position was very inportant today.
alaskager
20th June 2022, 8:13
I dont think so. As much as the commentators make it seem exciting with Sainz in the front and “maybe going until the end”. All that was based on data collected during FP. The race clearly showed that the C3 tire would not hold up 50 laps without a gigantic drop off. As Sainz advantage was only 6s he would have had to pit anyways. I mean he already wanted to pit, just stayed out to see if a SC would come around (Radio prior to the SC: “SC Pit Window open”). So the race was already over. then SC brought it back (even though i agree that it wasnt that exciting, as Ferrari has a hard time taking on RB on a straigh line)
David
20th June 2022, 13:37
Yes most of Mercedes’ tactical decisions over the weekend resulted in a benefit for Hamilton (qualifying tyre gamble, rear wing setup, early 2nd pit stop). Coincidence or deliberate attempt to give the #1 a morale boosting result?
Andre
21st June 2022, 10:29
Such bias. If Hamilton finishes behind Russell, then Russell is “exposing the GOAT”. If Hamilton finishes ahead, then it’s the team who’s favouring him? Come on, seriously. Lewis chose the low-downforce setup for the race. He said himself that he thought was the better option. Sometimes the setup choices that he and the team made backfired in the race.
If you look at the fastest laptimes, George was 0.25s behind, and if you look at tyre offset, he could not gain anything substantial on Lewis, despite 10-laps younger tyres. So, stop making things up. Give credit where credit is due. Both had a solid race, and Hamilton was a bit but consistently faster. George might have finished ahead if he had started ahead, but that is just conjecture.
Andre
21st June 2022, 10:25
Look at the fastest laptimes. George’s fastest lap was .25s slower than Lewis’. Even when he had 10-lap younger tyres he could not make substantial gains on Lewis. He maybe took 2 seconds out of a 10-second deficit during his second stint, with 10-laps younger tyres. It could well be that his setup choice with higher downforce caused higher degradation, and he and the team chose to pit when they did. Without SC, he would have been a net 13-15s behind Hamilton at the end of the race. Also, keep in mind that they were effectively racing the Alpines and, especially Leclerc, who was expected to carve through the field and challenge for a podium finish.
bosyber (@bosyber)
20th June 2022, 9:14
Looking at that lapchart, when did Alonso get his engine problem, around lap 20? Until then he’s falling away from the lead, and Hamilton’s pace, at about the same rate as Ocon, but after it’s a lot more. Anyway, that chart doesn’t make it look Alonso had HAM or RUS covered, and it stresses why HAM pitted under the VSC to get away from a slower car holding him up so he could run at his own pace.
Perhaps ALO was saving tyres at that stage and it was mainly wrong strategy (on several fronts then, not just VSC’s) that kept him from matching the Mercedes cars, but regardless, it surely wasn’t only the engine that kept his Alpine from fighting for fourth, and the pace difference makes it look like 4th was lost and only 5th or 6th (with diff strategy so fresher tyres would have kept LEC at bay) might have been possible.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
20th June 2022, 9:54
@bosyber I think after lap 20 the difference between Alonso’s old medium tyres versus the new hard tyres of the drivers around him are getting bigger and bigger. In hindsight it was a wrong call to leave Alonso out during the virtual SC period.
bosyber (@bosyber)
20th June 2022, 10:01
That definitely seems to be the case @matthijs, Alpine have been a bit off on strategy this whole season (maybe more often with Ocon, perhaps bc. sometimes Alonso has been steering them right).
Prashant Rana
22nd June 2022, 4:08
Can u provide the porpoising chart for the Canadian grand prix