Canadian GP - Race Report

Lewis Hamilton took a superb pole position on Saturday under the noses of his rivals but Sunday was going to be a very interesting proposition for two reasons. First, tyre wear was much higher than we've seen elsewhere and second, the choice of tyres on which to start the race was mixed. Specifically, McLaren had elected to go with the softer tyre off the start while Red Bull were on the harder tyre.

Despite warnings of rain for race day the weather was warm and dry, the track much hotter than either Friday or Saturday. And for the first time in 2010 the grid was full when the lights went out for the formation lap. The order wasn't quite as it was after qualifying though, Red Bull found metal particles in the gearbox oil of Mark Webber's car and elected to change the gearbox, putting Mark back from 2nd to 7th.

The formation lap was clean and everyone got off promptly as the lights went out. Hamilton kept the lead from Vettel, Alonso and Button while towards the back we had our first coming together of the race. Petrov got two wheels on the grass and ended up spearing across the track and taking de la Rosa's Sauber with him. Both cars rejoined the race but Pedro needed a pit stop for a new nose.

Back to the front where we're only about 800m into the race. Button almost tangled with Massa who hit Liuzzi on the right side and although both drivers continued into turn two they also continued to trade blows with the result that both were forced to pit for repairs before they continued.

Once through the first two corners things calmed down a touch. Webber was already up to 5th place with Schumacher 8th after qualifying 13th. Completing the lap then and through they came to the 'wall of champions', a nice little stretch of concrete on the outside of the final chicane and Kobayashi got it all wrong, going airborne over the chicane and losing an argument with the concrete because although his front tyres were pointing left, they weren't actually touching the ground…

At this point the team strategists would have been rubbing their hands with glee waiting for the safety car - but Kobayashi, despite losing one front wheel, was able to keep the car moving slowly and got it out of harms way, thereby avoiding the much expected safety car. And that was the closest we were to get to one during the entire race. OK, deep breaths, excitement over.

Back near the front Mark Webber was right behind Jenson Button while Alonso (also on soft tyres) was tracking Vettel. Webber harried the McLaren for several laps before getting past on lap 5. Button completed one more lap before he pitted for the harder compound tyres, rejoining 11th. Jenson wasn't the first to stop for tyres, Rosberg and Trulli pitted on lap 5 but as they were already pretty much at the back of the field they didn't really lose out. Meanwhile Vettel was now trying to get past Hamilton and although the Red Bull didn't pass the McLaren Hamilton pitted at the end of the lap, as did Alonso from third. Unfortunately for the McLaren driver his stop was slightly slower and the two cars left the pit lane side by side with Alonso staying ahead as they rejoined the track in 7th and 8th respectively, with Button now in 9th behind them. Are you keeping up? I've watched the race three times now and I still don't think I can.

Lap 13 saw yet more action. Schumi pitted for his first stop and as he left the pits Robert Kubica was coming round turn two. With the greater momentum the Pole went up the inside and had the line for turn three. Schumi was rather naughty at this point however. Rather than yield a corner clearly lost he kept the boot in, cut across turn four and forced Kubica to do likewise. Very naughty under the circumstances, reviving memories of, well, Australia '94, Portugal '97… need I go on? Although the stewards didn't see fit to call foul on this behaviour it did have a happy ending - Schumi pitted at the end of the lap and changed his tyres again.

Having pitted, Felipe Massa was clearly letting anger do the work, lapping 2s quicker than the leaders at this stage in 23rd and last place. Back at the front Vettel lead Webber by just over a second and it stayed this way until lap 14 when Webber pitted. Having run the hard tyres what would he do? The team put him on the hard tyre again and sent him on his way, with Vettel in next time around taking the soft compound. So, Red Bull were splitting their tyre strategy but you wouldn't have known that Vettel started five places ahead of Webber.

All hail Toro Rosso and Sebastien Buemi who was classified as leading the race on lap 14, mainly due to him not having made a stop for tyres. Buemi made an excellent start, running 11th at the end of lap one after starting 16th, he was 4th on lap nine and he simply inherited as the cars ahead of him pitted. It didn't last long though, Alonso fighting for the lead with Hamilton right behind. At the hairpin Alonso went slightly wide and that was enough for Hamilton to squeeze inside. He didn't take the lead then but on the long straight down to the chicane Hamilton passed the Ferrari as the Toro Rosso went straight on into the pits. Only 20% into the race and the lead has changed three times already!

Over the next dozen laps there was stability at the front with Hamilton from Alonso, Button, Vettel, Webber, Kubica, Sutil and Buemi. At the end of lap 26 Hamilton pitted from the lead, putting Alonso into first and rejoining in fifth. Button and Vettel were in next on lap 27. Alonso lead for two laps before pitting on lap 28 which put Mark Webber in the lead ahead of Hamilton, Alonso, Button and Vettel. Alonso should have stayed ahead of Hamilton but was delayed by a Lotus allowing the McLaren to recover position.

Webber was able to stay out right through to the end of lap 49 but was unable to build a gap to allow him to maintain the lead, his tyres starting to go off a good ten laps before his stop with the cars behind him eating into his lead. The team were faced with an awkward decision - if the pulled him in too early then he would lose position at the end of the race, and if they pulled him in too late then he would lose position at the stop. In the event he pitted on lap 50 having been already passed by Lewis Hamilton and destined to emerge in 5th behind his team mate.

The order now was Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Vettel, Webber, Kubica, Rosberg and Schumacher with 20 laps still to go. At the front, Button reeled in and then managed to mug Alonso when they came up against a back marker on lap 56, putting the McLarens first and second. Button was 3.5s behind Hamilton and made efforts to close the gap. Hamilton in turn responded so Jenson decided to settle for second place. Fernando meanwhile chased Button for a few laps before falling away in the last few laps of the race. Alonso was safe but Vettel was suffering from a mechanical problem and although this was serious enough for the team to tell him to back off, Webber was unable to close enough to challenge for position. Behind them was the Mercedes of Rosberg and the Renault of Robert Kubica was the last unlapped car.

Schumacher meanwhile having run 8th was passed by Buemi on lap 60 and then both Force India cars on the last lap, leaving him 11th and out of the points. Schumi had a lacklustre drive most noticeable for his brushes with other cars, most noticeably moving in the braking zone on lap 64, breaking Felipe Massa's front wing.

So McLaren managed a second 1-2 finish in a row while Red Bull could only manage 4th and 5th with the distinct feeling that the finishing order had been orchestrated - not least because Mark Webber should really have stopped 2-3 laps earlier than he did - but also because although he hauled in his team mate fairly promptly he did not attack despite the sick nature of Vettel's car. Alonso came in third with the opinion that he could have won, but with both Hamilton and Button making passes on the track, it's far from certain that the Ferrari would have been able to resist the McLarens, especially as Hamilton passed Alonso for position early in the race.

Next up is Valencia where even Red Bull are already saying that McLaren will have the upper hand. See you in two weeks for the next instalment of this fascinating season.

author: Phil Haigh     published: 19/06

There are no comments on this story yet. if you were logged in you could comment on this item