Jenson Button scored a sensational victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, passing world champion Sebastian Vettel on the final lap in a rain-affected race that lasted four hours.
The McLaren driver bounced back after two collisions – with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso – a drive-through penalty and six visits to the Montreal pitlane.
Button’s victory came only after Vettel lost the lead on the final lap due to a driving error with just a handful of corners left.
The world champion had dominated the race from the start but came under pressure from a flying Button in the end.
Mark Webber was third for Red Bull Racing, with Michael Schumacher in fourth position – his best result since coming back to Formula One – and Renault’s Vitaly Petrov in fifth.
Felipe Massa was the only Ferrari driver to finish the race with sixth, after beating Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi to the spot right on the finish line. The margin between the pair was only 0.045 seconds!
Jaime Alguersuari, Rubens Barrichello and Sebastien Buemi completed the points-paying positions.
The Canadian Grand Prix started under the safety car, as the race director deemed the track was too wet for a standing start. The decision meant all twenty-four drivers had to start with the full wet tyres from Pirelli. The Drag Reduction System was also disabled while the track was wet for safety reasons.
The safety car dived into the pits after five laps, and Vettel managed to keep the lead despite an attack from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Vettel’s team-mate Webber was not so lucky, however, and spun after making contact with the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton into the opening corners. The Australian was able to recover but was down in P14. Hamilton also lost some positions with the contact and he dropped behind team-mate Button after going wide at the hairpin while fighting with Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton tried to regain the lost position on lap seven, only to make contact with Button as he tried to pass on the main straight. Hamilton had been quicker coming out of the final chicane and tried to pass his team-mate on the left, only for Button to close the gap.
Their cars made contact and Hamilton hit the wall, retiring from the Canadian Grand Prix a few corners later and forcing the deployment of the safety car after parking his damaged car after Turn 5. Button pitted for repairs and rejoined in P12.
The race was restarted again on lap 12, with Vettel still leading from Alonso and Massa. Immediately afterwards, race control announced a drive-through penalty for Button for having sped under the safety car period. He had already made a visit to the pits to change to the intermediate tyres in the first stop and this penalty meant he dropped further behind.
While at the front, Vettel increased his lead quite comfortably, but Alonso decided to pit for intermediates on lap 18, seeing that Button was the fastest man on track.
Alonso rejoined in eighth, right in front of Vitaly Petrov and Button himself, but the rain became a downpour moments later and the safety car was deployed for the third time, with Alonso deciding to pit again for full wets.
Leader Vettel and team-mate Webber pitted for full wets during this safety car period, with the Australian also getting a new steering wheel as he was having problems shifting down gears.
Several drivers followed suit into the pits, leaving Vettel in the lead again, ahead of Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi – who had not stopped – and Massa.
Still under the safety car, Vettel told his Red Bull Racing team on the radio that it was impossible to drive and that the race should be stopped. On lap 25, Vettel’s wish was granted, and the Grand Prix was red-flagged.
Nearly two hours after it was stopped, the race was restarted behind the safety car and with mandatory full wet weather tyres.
Heikki Kovalainen became the second retirement even before the safety car was back in, the Finn suffering a driveshaft failure on lap 30.
After nine laps on track, the safety car drove into pits and the race was launched with Vettel out front, followed by Kobayashi, who managed to keep Massa at bay at the first corner.
The majority of the field pitted as soon as it was allowed to fit intermediates tyre, although Vettel stayed out for a couple of laps, before the safety car was deployed again when Button made contact with Alonso when trying to pass at Turn 3.
Button touched the Ferrari’s right rear wheel and sent the Spaniard into a spin, his car getting stuck on the kerbs. The McLaren driver had to pit again to change his punctured Pirelli.
At the time of the fourth safety car period, Vettel led from Kobayashi, Massa, Heidfeld, Paul di Resta and Webber, with Button dropping down to the back of the field.
The race resumed on lap 41, with Vettel opening a clear gap right away as Kobayashi held a train of cars behind him.
There was a lot action behind the race leader, with several position changes, which included a clash between Heidfeld and di Resta, the Scot having to pit for a new front wing.
Heidfeld’s team-mate Petrov was given a drive-through penalty moments later for having overtaken while the safety car was still on track.
Despite the track being still wet, the race director enabled the use of the Drag Reduction System on lap 45.
By lap 50 – with twenty to the chequered flag – Vettel was leading Kobayashi by over six seconds and Massa by seven, with Schumacher having charged to fourth.
On lap 51, Webber became the first of the lead drivers to change to slick tyres, as Schumacher passed both Massa and Kobayashi and set his sights on Vettel, both still on intermediates.
However, Vettel was still the quickest driver on track, extending his lead over Schumacher to eleven seconds by lap 52. Schumacher pitted for slicks a lap later, with Massa following suit.
Vettel changed his Pirellis a lap later, as team-mate Webber showed slicks were the way to go, lapping three seconds faster than the championship leader. Vettel rejoined the race in the lead, while Massa was forced to come into the pits after damaging his front wing when losing control of his car while lapping an HRT.
With 13 laps to go, the safety car was deployed for the fifth time when Heidfeld crashed out following contact with Kobayashi. The Renault driver had damaged his front wing in the clash, and then it got under his car at speed, sending him off the track. Luckily he was able to stop the car without making contact with the barriers.
However the safety car was deployed while the Renault’s wing debris was cleared.
With nine laps to the flag, the race was relaunched once more with Vettel on top, followed by Schumacher, Webber, Button and Kobayashi.
Vettel continued his flawless run, opening a gap quickly as Webber and Button pushed a slower Schumacher hard.
Webber passed Schumacher with six laps to go, but had to let German through as he had jumped the final chicane.
On the following lap he made the same mistake again, this time losing third place to Button. The McLaren driver took second with five laps left, passing Schumacher comfortably and launching his attack on Vettel.
Webber finally captured third place from Schumacher with three laps left, but all eyes were on the battle at the front.
Vettel picked up the pace but Button continued to take several tenths of a second out of his lead per lap. On the penultimate lap he was able to use his DRS and take more time out of Vettel’s lead.
The pair began the final lap with Button within a second and poised to pounce in the DRS zone. But it was decided before then as Vettel put two wheels on the still-damp surface at turn six and slewed sideways, allowing Button through to claim an improbable win.
It was a fantastic performance by Jenson Button. Not only he made six visits to the pits for tyre changes, repairs and a drive-through penalty, but also he was at one point last in the field. He responded with a determined drive to pass the world champion on the final lap.
Vettel looked despondent after losing the lead he had held for almost the whole Grand Prix. But he retains a healthy 60-point margin over Button, who is now second in the title race.
Race results from Montreal:
1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 4h04:39.537
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +2.709
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +13.828
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes +14.219
5. Vitaly Petrov Renault +20.395
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari +33.225
7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +33.270
8. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari +35.964
9. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +45.117
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +47.056
11. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +50.454
12. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari +1m03.607s
13. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth +1 Lap
14. Jerome D’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap
15. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap
16. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault +1 Lap
17. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth +1 Lap
18. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes +3 Laps
Retirements:
Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 61 laps
Nick Heidfeld Renault 55 laps
Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 49 laps
Fernando Alonso Ferrari 36 laps
Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 28 laps
Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 7 laps
World Championship standings, round 7:
Drivers:
1. Sebastian Vettel 161
2. Jenson Button 101
3. Mark Webber 94
4. Lewis Hamilton 85
5. Fernando Alonso 69
6. Felipe Massa 32
7. Vitaly Petrov 31
8. Nick Heidfeld 29
9. Michael Schumacher 26
10. Nico Rosberg 26
11. Kamui Kobayashi 25
12. Adrian Sutil 8
13. Sebastien Buemi 8
14. Jaime Alguersuari 4
15. Rubens Barrichello 4
16. Sergio Perez 2
17. Paul Di Resta 2
Constructors:
1. Red Bull-Renault 255
2. McLaren-Mercedes 186
3. Ferrari 101
4. Renault 60
5. Mercedes 52
6. Sauber-Ferrari 27
7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12
8. Force India-Mercedes 10
9. Williams-Cosworth 4
Next race: European Grand Prix, Valencia. June 24-26.
After taking the lead on the final lap, Jenson Button has commented that this victory was the best of his career. Autosport.com reports.
Jenson Button labelled his Canadian Grand Prix win as the best of his career after a sensational charge to beat Sebastian Vettel on the final lap.
Button took the lead of the race with half a lap to go after Vettel lost control of his car when under pressure from the Briton.
The McLaren driver finished first despite a crash with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and another with Fernando Alonso, and also despite a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car that dropped him to last.
“I really don’t know what to say,” said Button. “It has been a very emotional three hours since the start. There was the incident with Lewis, I couldn’t see anything when he was alongside me. I have apologised to him, and from then on it was a fight.
“I got a drive-through for speeding behind safety car so I had to find way through three times. On the last lap I was chasing down Seb and he ran wide on the wet part of the circuit and I took the opportunity.
“It was a fantastic race, even if I hadn’t win I would have enjoyed it. An amazing win and possibly my best.
“Definitely one of those grands prix where you are nowhere and then somewhere. The last one is the important one to be leading and I was leading half of it. An amazing day, I don’t know what else to say really.”
The Briton’s win, however, is under investigation following his crashes with Alonso and Hamilton.
Button was confident he would not get a penalty as he felt he had done nothing wrong.
“I’m not concerned at all because I don’t feel I have done anything wrong, but you never know what the outcome will be.”
Button was thankful to his team for the strategy, although he admitted he was lucky at some stages of the event.
“It felt like I spent more time in the pits than on track. The guys did a great job of calling the strategy. At some points we definitely lucked out with strategy. We called it very well going to slicks and the car was working really well in these tricky conditions.
“I enjoyed it very much coming through the field, fighting your way through the field is almost as good as winning the race. That feeling of getting one up on someone. A great race for people who are sat here, to be on the podium is a pretty exceptional result and to fight my way through from last position… It is definitely my best race.”
With his win, Button moved to second place in the standings, but 60 points behind Vettel.
Following the crash with his McLaren team-mate resulting in Lewis Hamilton to retire from the Canadian Grand Prix, Niki Lauda has called on the sport’s governing body to punish Hamilton’s dangerous driving. Autosport.com has the details.
Niki Lauda has called on the FIA to hand Lewis Hamilton sanctions for what he believes is dangerous driving, warning that if there is no reaction to his latest collisions then someone could get killed.
Hamilton crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix after an accident with team-mate Jenson Button as they battled for position on the start-finish straight early in the race.
The incident resulted in Hamilton swiping the pit wall, and the damage to the left rear of his car meant he could not continue.
The Button/Hamilton collision is to be investigated by the race stewards after the end of the race – and it comes just a fortnight after Hamilton was hit with two drive-through penalties in Monaco for his part in crashes there.
But now, after his crash with Button and a first corner incident in Montreal with Mark Webber, Lauda thinks that the governing body needs to do something.
“What Hamilton did there goes beyond all boundaries,” Lauda said during his commentary on RTL television. “He is completely mad.
“If the FIA does not punish him, I do not understand the world any more. At some point there has to be an end to all the jokes. You cannot drive like this – as it will result in someone getting killed.”
Lauda’s comments come just hours after former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who is a race steward in Montreal, suggested that Hamilton needed to temper his aggression.
“I think Lewis is an exceptional talent, a world champion, but sometimes he is too aggressive when he tries to overtake,” Fittipaldi said in an interview with Brazilian website Totalrace. “It was like that in Monaco with Felipe [Massa], placing half of the car in the sidewalk and putting Felipe in a difficult position, at least.
“He put Felipe in a dangerous position, really. I think there has to be a limit for being aggressive, respecting the others and still being competitive. You can be competitive, but you have to respect the others.”
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes that Jenson Button’s amazing triumph in the Canadian Grand Prix was not just the Briton’s best ever win – he thinks it one of the greatest victories in the history of the sport.
Button came through two crashes – one with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and one with Fernando Alonso – a drive-through penalty, and five further pitstops to grab the lead on the final lap of the race from Sebastian Vettel.
Whitmarsh was amazed with the performance and thinks considering Button had dropped to the back of the field at one point of the event, his comeback should go down as one of the finest ever F1 performances.
“I think it was one of the best wins in the history of F1, let alone his,” explained Whitmarsh. “I think it was incredible. Absolutely fantastic.
“There were punctures, he had to change the front wing, and from 21st I don’t know how many times he had to overtake people. He just drove fantastically well.
“He kept focused. He applied as much pressure as he had to to get past and really did a fantastic job. This was 90 per cent him and 10 per cent the car. He did a great, great, great job.”
As well as praising Button’s performance, Whitmarsh also believes that critics should back off Hamilton following another difficult race.
Hamilton collided with Mark Webber at the first corner and then crashed with Button as he tried to recover through the field – prompting former world champion Niki Lauda to suggest the FIA should take action against him.
Whitmarsh said he was ‘not interested’ in what Lauda had to say, and reckoned that Hamilton’s aggression was what made him the special driver he is.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5, Whitmarsh said: “I think Lewis is a passionate racing driver and he has to go for those instances, whether you look at it statistically or objectively.
“I want Lewis to attack, I don’t want him to have contact with cars, but at the same time if you hold back for fear of having contact he will not be the great racer he is, he will not do the job he has to do.
“He has had an unfortunate run, but I think he will continue to be a very tough racer and I am sure he will have many successes ahead in his career.”
Source: Autosport.com
Even Mark Webber has voiced his concerns over Lewis Hamilton’s move to attempt to pass the Australian on the first lap on the race. Autosport.com has the story.
Mark Webber felt Lewis Hamilton’s move on him at the original start of the Canadian Grand Prix was ‘clumsy’, though the Australian was delighted that he was able to make up all the positions the incident cost him by the end of the epic, rain-interrupted race.
Webber was spun down from fourth to 12th at the first corner in the contact with Hamilton, but made it back to third by the finish.
“I think Lewis thought the chequered flag was in Turn 3!” Webber joked.
“We made contact and it is not easy – I think it was a bit clumsy early in the race.
“I lost a lot of positions, managed to get them all back, decided to pit and put another set of full extremes on before the suspended race.”
The decision to put on new wet tyres just before what turned out to be a long red flag proved costly as several other drivers were able to switch tyres during the stoppage and stay ahead of Webber.
“[Kamui] Kobayashi, the two Renaults and [Paul] di Resta, guys I passed already, they got me with a free pitstop with the suspended race and a new set of tyres,” said the Australian.
“I got back past them, and with a dry line appearing it was difficult to pull those moves off.”
Webber was one of the first drivers to switch to slick tyres at the end of the race, a move he admitted was a gamble, but which brought him up to third behind Michael Schumacher. Although he passed the German, eventual winner Jenson Button also got past them both amid a spectacular dice.
“I then decided to roll the dice, decided to put the dry tyres on,” he said.
“I knew parts of the circuit were going to be tricky, and then if get on grass it is all over.
“I then arrived on the back of Michael, we had a reasonable battle getting the dry line in the last chicane.
“Eventually we got it but JB arrived, he was very, very quick and I think ultimately even if I had got Michael earlier, he would have got me as well.”
Webber felt the final result of a win for Button ahead of the two Red Bulls was apt for the events of the race. Sebastian Vettel had led in the other Red Bull until sliding wide under pressure from Button on the very last lap.
“In the end this is the result we all deserved today,” he said. “Seb did a phenomenal job but it’s easy to make a mistake in those conditions.”
Jenson Button has jumped to the defence of his under-fire team-mate Lewis Hamilton – claiming that his critics should back off because the 2008 world champion is doing a phenomenal job on track.
Hamilton was on the receiving end of critical comments from former world champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda in Montreal last weekend – with Lauda even suggesting that the FIA should punish the Briton for his clashes in the Canadian event.
Button does not agree, though, and says he is relishing going up against someone as talented as Hamilton.
“Lewis is in the headlines a lot, and a lot of it is because he is bloody good,” Button was quoted as saying by the Press Association.
“He’s a racer, a fighter. For me that is the reason why I wanted to be here, against and with a driver that is super talented, one of the best drivers Formula 1 has ever seen.
“It’s good challenging him on the circuit. We have a lot of respect for each other, we’ve raced each other a lot this year, and last year, and we’ve never touched. We’ve always given each other room. For me that’s a great position to be in.
“So I don’t agree with what Niki has said. I think his driving style is aggressive and he always goes for gaps. Sometimes he’s right, sometimes he’s not, but it’s the same for all of us. He just finds himself in that situation more often than others.”
Button himself now has first hand knowledge of clashing with Hamilton – after they hit each other during a fight for position in Montreal.
And although he questioned on the radio what Hamilton had done during the moments straight after the collision, Button later spoke at length to his team-mate to ensure there were no lingering problems.
“Obviously I’m very sorry I collided with Lewis,” said Button. “We spoke about it, and it’s one of those things. I didn’t know he was there. He went for a move; we collided, which is sad for both of us.
“Initially it played on my mind because you never want to crash with your team-mate. It’s the worst thing to do. But we spoke about it, and he was very good actually. He was one of the first people to congratulate me after the race, which was really nice to see.”
Source: Autosport.com
Even though he scored a fantastic win, Jenson Button was initially investigated by the race stewards following his collisions with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in the race. Afterwards, it was decided that no penalty was given to the McLaren driver. Autosport.com has the details.
Jenson Button has kept his Canadian Grand Prix victory after the stewards deemed no action was needed following his collisions with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
The McLaren driver had made contact with Alonso on lap 44, sending the Ferrari into a spin after touching the right rear wheel when trying to pass at Turn 3.
The incident was investigated by the stewards, who felt no action was needed – ensuring Button keeps his victory.
In a statement, the stewards said that Alonso was on an out-lap, and Button had his car: “Firmly established on the inside line prior to the entry of the corner and drove onto the kerb to avoid Car 5 on the outside.”
The stewards added: “In view of the conditions and the statements by both drivers and their team representatives, the Stewards decide that this was a ‘racing incident’ and have taken no further action.”
Button also escaped any sanctions for his clash with team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The stewards said as the two drivers exited Turn 13 there was a legitimate overtaking opportunity for Hamilton as his speed was greater than Jenson Button’s
At the moment that Hamilton moved to the left to pass, the stewards reckoned Button looked into his mirror.
The stewards said: “It appears from the position of Hamilton at that moment [and is confirmed by the drivers] that Button was unlikely to have seen Hamilton
“At the point of contact Button had not yet moved as far to the left of the track as he had on the previous lap, or that Schumacher had on that lap.
“The Stewards have concluded that it was reasonable for Hamilton to believe that Button would have seen him and that he could have made the passing manoeuvre. Further, the Stewards have concluded that it is reasonable to believe that Button was not aware of Hamilton’s position to his left.
“Therefore, the Stewards decide that this was a ‘racing incident’ and have taken no further action.”
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said that although he reckoned Button was more responsible for the crash with Alonso – as he hit the Ferrari driver from behind – he could not blame him entirely.
“As a general principle, if you receive a touch on the rear right, and you have contact, and one car has contact on the front left, then normally the one that is in front, the car that received the touch on the rear right, is in front,” explained Domenicali.
“But then, of course, the conditions were tricky because on the inside the line was slippery, because Jenson had a little bit of understeer in that moment.
“We just had bad luck today. Fernando was stuck in the middle of the kerbs without having the chance to restart because he was stuck in the middle, and that means today wasn’t really our day. That is it.”
A crestfallen Sebastien Vettel bemoaned his “only mistake” as a slide on the final lap cost him victory in an epic Canadian Grand Prix.
The final laps of the pulsating race saw McLaren’s Jenson Button homing in on Vettel, who appeared to have enough to match the Briton until his last-lap slip ruined an otherwise faultless performance.
“Of course, I’m disappointed,” said Vettel in the post-race press conference. “It was a very difficult race from start to finish, and we led every single lap apart from the last one. I was probably too conservative after the last safety car.
“To lead and then give it away is not the sweetest feeling.
“We did the best we could,” he added. “It was important to finish, especially in race like that, but to make my only mistake on the last lap is not very sweet at the moment.”
After handling Montreal’s changeable weather conditions superbly for the first 69 laps, Vettel was caught out as he tried to increase his pace to fend off Button.
“I was a little bit late on the brakes,” he explained. “It was a difficult finish to a hard race, I could see that especially in the last sector Jenson was coming very close and catching up.”
Vettel recovered to follow Button home in second place, ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher.
The German also commented on the two-hour, four-minute break between laps 25 and 26, which added to the unique experience of this Canadian GP.
“It was a long race, and then a long break,” said Vettel, who was seen out of the car during the interlude talking with Webber. “It was tough and one of the most challenging races of this year.”
Source: Autosport.com
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has said that Sebastian Vettel should not feel to disappointed after losing the win on the final lap. Autosport.com has the story.
Sebastian Vettel should not be too disappointed with the last-lap error that cost him victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, says his team boss Christian Horner.
The Red Bull Racing driver had looked on course to deliver his sixth win of the campaign in Montreal but, under pressure from a hard-charging Jenson Button, he made a mistake on the final lap and slid wide – handing the win to his McLaren rival.
Although Vettel himself was gutted at having thrown away the victory, Horner says that he has no complaints about his young German’s driving – and praised his brilliance in the tricky conditions.
“It is nothing,” said Horner about the Vettel error. “Look at what happened in the five hours that that grand prix seemed to consume here. There were a lot of mistakes in really difficult conditions, and he should not be too disappointed.
“I think he handled it very well at the end of the race, and it was just one of those things. I think that Sebastian did a phenomenal race in massively difficult conditions. He was pretty much the only guy who did not put a wheel wrong all afternoon.”
Horner reckons that Vettel was pushing so hard on the final lap because he did not want Button within one second of him at the DRS activation zone – because it would have been almost impossible for him to be able to successfully defend from his rival there.
“At the end of the race, Jenson was very, very quick and Seb knew, because we could see how powerful the DRS was in that zone, that he had to keep him out of the magic one second zone when they crossed that line for the last time.
“Jenson was in the zone so [Vettel] knew he had to deliver, and pushing flat out I think he just hooked the wheel slightly on the damp, locked the rear and that was the difference between winning and losing.
“When you have led pretty much the entire grand prix, to lose it probably within two kilometres of the finish is frustrating on one hand, but on a day when neither Lewis [Hamilton] nor Fernando [Alonso] scored, and on a day when so many incidents where there, at a track where we are not really supposed to be competitive at, to have come away with a P2 and a P3, in the cold light of day, is actually a pretty good team result.”
Horner also said he had no regrets about the FIA choosing to restart the race after it was red flagged when Vettel was in the lead, even though it being abandoned then would have made his team the winner.
“Arguably if the race had been stopped after half distance he would have only got 12.5 points, but instead he got 18. So, if you can pull any positives out of it that has to be it.”
By taking fourth position at the flag, this was Michael Schumacher’s best performance following his comeback to Formula One. But the Mercedes GP driver was left feeling mixed emotions as Autosport.com reports.
Michael Schumacher has admitted to having mixed feelings over what is already being labelled the best performance of his Mercedes career.
The German veteran, who earlier in his career was widely recognised as one of the greatest wet-weather driver of his generation, rolled back the years with several audacious overtaking manoeuvres.
He fought his way all the way to second place after lining up eighth on the grid, but was unable to hold off Mark Webber’s Red Bull and Jenson Button’s McLaren in the final laps as the track dried out, exposing the Mercedes’ lack of ultimate top speed.
“I am leaving this race with one eye laughing and one eye crying, as I am not sure if I should be excited or sad about it,” Schumacher said following the four-hour classic.
“Having been in second place towards the end, I would obviously have loved to finish there and be on the podium again. But even if it did not work out in the very end, we can be happy about the result and the big fight we put in.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the experienced Schumacher was not fazed by the two-hour break in proceedings. Lying in 12th place as lap 26 began, Schumacher put in some of his best racing of 2011 in the changeable conditions of the second half of the race.
“A good strategy after the red flag made it possible, and I am very happy for our team,” he said.
Schumacher was running second as late as lap 65, but couldn’t resist the repeated DRS-powered onslaughts from Button and Webber.
Fernando Alonso was left bitterly disappointed by his retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Spaniard was touched by Jenson Button on lap 37 after seeming to turn in on Button going into Turn 3.
The collision spun Alonso into the wall on the exit of the corner, forcing the fourth of five safety-car periods of the afternoon.
“Everything went wrong, right from this morning when we saw it was raining,” lamented Alonso.
“It’s a real shame because today we really had a good race pace but we were unlucky: that’s not a feeling I have, it’s a fact.”
Alonso felt that the decision to start the race behind the safety car was wrong, and deprived him of a key opportunity to attack polesitter Sebastien Vettel.
“We had our best qualifying of the year and we found ourselves starting behind the safety car, when I felt that for me, the intermediates were the best tyre,” said Alonso. “When we fitted them, the downpour came, along with the red flag which meant those who had not changed tyres could now do it practically for nothing.”
Following the downpour and the two-hour red-flag period which followed, Alonso pitted for more intermediate tyres after the safety-car restart – but was out of the race before he could complete a lap on them.
“Finally there was the coming together with Button, which as a final insult left my car beached on a kerb and I was unable to get going again,” he said.
The non-finish leaves Alonso a staggering 92 points behind championship leader Vettel after just seven races, and the Ferrari driver admitted that the title race is now already beyond his control.
He is, however, staying positive about Ferrari’s improvements during the weekend.
“The championship is not finished yet, but we must now hope for errors from others to have some hope,” Alonso said. “Our performance level here was good, especially because of the characteristics of the circuit, but also thanks to the updates we brought here.”
“We must keep our heads up, have confidence in our ability and work hard.”
Source: Autosport.com
Ferrari says it will reserve judgement on its chances of winning the world championship this year until after the British Grand Prix – even though it thinks it may need a ‘Lourdes’ miracle to pull off the type of win that Jenson Button delivered in Canada.
The Maranello-based outfit had high hopes of a strong result in Montreal, after Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa qualified second and third, but incidents in the race meant they lost even more ground to points leader Sebastian Vettel.
And although conceding that the world title fight is now looking difficult – with Alonso 92 points adrift of Vettel in the standings – team principal Stefano Domenicali wants to wait another two races before making a call on Ferrari’s 2011 ambitions.
For as well as the updates that are coming through for its car, the British GP will mark the first race when the FIA’s planned ban on off-throttle blown diffuser comes into effect – and that could turn the formbook on its head.
When asked by AUTOSPORT how long he believed Ferrari could keep up its belief that it can still win the title, Domenicali said: “I said in the last race that we were waiting to see after these two races, and to have the points for sure.
“I am very disappointed for the race here because that was not really the points that the team deserved, as the performance was really there. So we need to see and grab the maximum points in Valencia. And then we need to see in Silverstone, what is the real effect of this change in the regulations with regard to the effect of the exhaust?
“Then, we will see really where is the second championship in terms of the level of performance above all in higher downforce tracks. So I would say after Silverstone we can make a judgement on that.”
Ferrari’s biggest problem this season has not been that its car has lacked the performance to challenge for wins and podiums, but that it has failed to turn recent improvements on its car into hard results.
Domenicali admitted that the situation was not ideal – and he joked the outfit may need to go and seek some divine intervention for help.
“I felt that we did the right thing to try and overtake a backmarker that was really very, very slow, and unfortunately in that moment there was only one line that was really dry, and from the moment he [Felipe] was re-accelerating he was in the middle of the ‘ice’, then what can you say? It was really a shame, because we had a good chance and, for a lot of reasons, we did not take it.
“When you look at Jenson, he won the race with six pitstops! I cannot say what I am thinking in English but – we need to do something. We will organise a tour to Lourdes or something to see if we can reverse the scenario!”
Source: Autosport.com
After a four-hour race Kamui Kobayashi was left feeling disappointed with a seventh-place finish, after running as high as second during the Canadian Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the story.
A rollercoaster weekend saw Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi finish seventh for Sauber F1, having started 13th on the grid and after running second for 25 laps after the restart.
Kobayashi’s Canadian Grand Prix weekend could not have got off to a worse start, after a crash in Friday’s second practice session damaged his car and cost him over half an hour of running time.
After an unspectacular qualifying session saw him line up 13th, Kobayashi made expert use of his Sauber on the rain-soaked Montreal track, managing to stay out on his initial wet tyres for the first 25 laps.
This meant that when the race was halted, the Sauber team could change his tyres for free – and Kobayashi then held off Felipe Massa’s Ferrari until he was passed on lap 51.
“Originally I qualified 13th so then it is not bad to finish seventh, but on the other hand I started second after the long red flag and looking from there the result is disappointing,” said Kobayashi.
“We have scored points and in the end this is most important. We have proved we are good in the wet, but when the track became dry my pace wasn’t good enough to defend my position.”
Having fallen behind Massa and Schumacher, Kobayashi was hit from behind by Nick Heidfeld, who was running faster and was caught out by Kobayashi running slightly offline.
The Japanese then lost places to Jenson Button and Vitaly Petrov, before Massa, recovering from losing his front wing, used his DRS to beat Kobayashi across the line by 0.04 seconds.
Kobayashi’s temporary team-mate for the weekend, Pedro de la Rosa, was running ninth at the restart but was unable to hold on to a points finish, eventually coming home in 12th.
“Just before the restart Jenson Button and I touched and I had to pit because of a damaged front wing,” explained the Spanish veteran. “This ruined my race, I lost many positions, and I even lost a few more later when I got stuck in first gear.”
“I tried to recover from this as well as possible, but points were then out of reach. I must say it could have been a lot better today,” he added.
The Sauber team were left feeling disappointed with the lack of pace in the dry conditions. Kamui Kobayashi was at one point as high as second position, but in the end the Japanese driver fell down to seventh. Autosport.com has the story.
Sauber technical director James Key admitted that the team’s car was not quick enough to stay in contention for a podium finish in the Canadian Grand Prix once the track dried.
Kamui Kobayashi ran second in the wet part of the race, but faded to seventh at the finish as conditions improved.
“Kamui did well to make a bit of progress initially, and we felt the race pace could be better because we’d been on higher downforce all weekend – anticipating weather conditions to a certain extent,” Key told AUTOSPORT. “He did pretty well in the wet and actually we were quite competitive.
“Unfortunately we were in a situation where we couldn’t use the DRS because we were at the front of the back, and our straightline speed wasn’t good because we were on the higher downforce level. We never really got an opportunity to have a go back.
“Our dry pace wasn’t very good here, and I think when the dry tyres came in, we suffered a bit. On the dries, it hasn’t been our track, so we lost out.”
Key said he never had high hopes for Montreal, but still found the degree to which Sauber struggled in the dry a disappointment.
“It could’ve been worse,” he said. “The pace was disappointing in the dry.
“We kind of know what it is – it’s a combination of things. But it was a bit worse than I thought it would be here. It’s not our track at all.
“So to come out with a seventh place, we can’t complain at all. It’s just that it could have been a bit higher if things had worked in our favour in the race.”
Vitantonio Liuzzi celebrated a “crazy race” in Canada as he brought his Hispania home to an impressive 13th place, ahead of both Virgins and Jarno Trulli’s sole surviving Lotus.
Liuzzi’s team-mate Narain Karthikeyan crossed the line in 14th, adding to Hispania’s delight, but was later hit with a 20-second time penalty for forcing Virgin driver Timo Glock off-track on the last lap.
“It was a crazy race. The crazier it is the more we like it though,” said Liuzzi. “It was a great result for us, for everybody in the team, because we’ve done everything right since Saturday, when we had a great result in qualifying.”
The team’s weekend had been looking bright ever since that qualifying result, when Liuzzi outqualified both Virgins to start 21st and Karthikeyan lined up ahead of Jerome D’Ambrosio in 23rd.
The pair also looked more competitive than they have been before during the race.
“It’s a great feeling to overtake other cars, we’re always focused on challenging our nearest rivals, but this race was crazy because we were able to overtake much faster cars,” added Liuzzi. “All you needed to do was be smooth and under control.”
“The pitstops have been good, everything went well. We’re positive, because all the updates worked, and now we have to keep pushing to get more for the following races.”
Team boss Colin Kolles was also overjoyed with the team’s performance, calling it a “step forward” in Hispania’s attempts to reach 10th place in the constructors’ championship.
“Today we achieved our best result in the history of Hispania Racing,” said Kolles. “It was a great race with a positive ending for the team. We made a step forward in terms of performance and in the championship position.”
Karthikeyan’s penalty dropped him three places to 17th, meaning he was eventually classified behind the Virgin duo and Trulli.
Source: Autosport.com
Force India driver Paul di Resta felt the penalty for making contact with Nick Heidfeld was too harsh. Autosport.com has the details.
Paul di Resta has labelled the decision to give him a drive-through penalty for contact with Nick Heidfeld in Montreal as ‘ridiculous’, but promised not to dwell on the punishment.
Di Resta had been on course to deliver the best result of his Formula 1 career when he clashed with Heidfeld at the final chicane – damaging his front wing and landing himself with a punishment that pushed him down the order.
Speaking about the incident, di Resta said he did not understand why he was judged to have done something wrong.
“The race was looking better after the restart,” explained di Resta. “We were pretty fast on wets, and then we made the right call to start early and we jumped [Vitaly] Petrov again. At that stage the car was working well.
“I’d had a chance of passing Heidfeld the lap before the incident, but thought I’d bide my time. I got another run on him, got alongside him, but where he was trying to brake and what he was trying to do, he was never going to make the chicane and he took my front wing off.
“So I had to stop for a wing change, and I got a drive-through penalty, which again I thought was harsh. Then at the end I was lying 11th with two laps to go and I tried to get past Rubens Barrichello to get a point, but I pushed a bit too hard and clipped one of the walls.”
When asked how harsh he felt the drive-through penalty was, di Resta said: “It’s not even harsh, it’s ridiculous. I don’t see how I was at fault for that.
“He came in front of me, yet I still made the corner and he didn’t, and all that happened was the front wing endplate came off, so I didn’t batter him. I’d like to see it from the outside again.”
Di Resta has vowed not to dwell too much on the disappointment, though, as he bids to build himself up for the next race.
“I’ve just got to give it a few days before I think too much about it,” he said. “Obviously I’m going to be down and disappointed, but when I arrive at the next grand prix I have to be fully focused on trying to achieve more.
“It’s tough, but the decision was hard, and I can’t beat myself up too much about it.”
Fernando Alonso says he will not give up on his world championship hopes until he is mathematically out of contention – despite conceding that matters were now out of his hands.
The Spaniard drifted to 92 points off series leader Sebastian Vettel after the Canadian Grand Prix – when his hopes of victory were wrecked by bad luck with the timing of the weather, and then a clash with Jenson Button that left him unable to continue.
Although the deficit to Vettel means he needs a run of four race wins, with his rival not scoring, to take the lead of the title chase – the Spaniard is refusing to concede it is all over.
“No, the title is not gone because mathematically it is still alive,” said Alonso, whose best result this season has been second place in the Monaco Grand Prix.
“We saw some retirements in the past years, as Hamilton did in Monza and Singapore last year. And if you win two races, and Vettel retires, the gap can close a lot.
“But it is true it is not in our hands, so we just need to concentrate race by race, try to do our best race-by-race, be on podium and try to win some grands prix.
“It up to them (Red Bull Racing) to do some mistakes but, if not, they have a very good position in the championship.”
Alonso believes he had a car capable of fighting for the victory in Montreal – but conceded that bad luck with the timing of the stops cost him badly.
“In the dry it was very possible [to win]; while in the wet you need to be lucky with the positions.
“At the point when we fitted the intermediates early on we could have won the race, but luck compensates through the year so maybe Valencia is extremely lucky for us and we win. We hope so.”
Source: Autosport.com
Right then, after returning from the 24 Heures du Mans, recovered from going to work and watching it again I’m ready to leave my thoughts on t’internet.
Fans of the F1 over the years have been treated to many, many great races. Some are mind blowing, some feature an epic move, have mad weather, or the atmosphere your watching it in. Then we have some that are like this one, which has all these and more.
So, it starts off incredible dull and well, a bit silly such as starting behind the safety car because, it’s a bit moist. But not matter it’ll get good soon, just wait. Well, we did get some racing and Lewis got a puncture and nils points
Huh, yeah that waiting bit/lot. Watching it in the privileged position of having just; seen the close finish of the aforementioned Le Mans 24hr race, in our packed Aston Martin Owners Club marquee, and drinking beer with mates, we were all itching for the race to get started…again. What I could tell at least was just how heavy the rain was. Yeah we saw the puddles, but only watching it again up close did I really see the rain. So from me at least, I can only apologise to the FIA and Charley Whiting for calling them a bunch of pussies. I blame the not ice cold beer from a ice box with no more ice in it!
But still, it got dry, no really, it got dry before the race started. Cars starting on full wets behind the safety car (again) and then almost immediately needing to change to inters. Rubbish. Oppps sorry Charlie, blame the whisky now.
But……but then it, got, good, very good. As always, wet weather played it’s hand. Having already got Lewis in a tiz earlier, hitting fellow team mate Jenson which caused the 2009 champion one of his SIX stops, we had some brilliant moves and slip ups.
But let’s just fast forward to the really good stuff. You know, where Jenson was 10 cars lengths behind the LAST placed car. So a few more crashes with Nick Heidfield’s being spectacular and also very scary. A contacted damaged front wing being sent under an F1 car is no great thing at high speed, especially if that wing almost sends your car airborne. But it ended well but it was a really heart in the mouth moment. Hell, some beer almost fell out of it!
So onwards the the awesome fight between Vettel, Schuey, Webber and the fast catching Jenson. Quite bizarrely I found myself cheering on MSC?? In his best comeback race yet, his performance really showed he’s still got a racing head on his shoulders. Not only did he nearly get Vettel on a re-start, but in defending his position to Mark Webber, we saw him driving the nuts off his car including sticking two wheels on the damp track either side of the dry racing line. Supreme driving that has partly restored his reputation of his return. Sadly, it’s clear to see his has a shit car to drive and finally Webber and his DRS beat him the the final podium position. Also sadly, we have come to realise that had he got a decent car, all the negative press may never have happened and he might have had a half decent season. May be Ferrari should have taken a punt on him. But sans Ross Brawn, I don’t think he would have stayed with the Big Red Team.
Special mention has to go to Webber though. In trying to over take the German, he cut a corner and so had to give the place back to Shuey. But by this time, Jenson and his SIX stops AND a drive through penalty, was quite incredibly right on Mark’s tail. But somehow, Webber managed to give the place back to Michael and keep a charging Button behind him. Quite insane and one of the best moves I’ve seen in my life. Simply awesome.
Having said that, it didn’t matter a single jot, as Jenson was flying! Trouncing lead driver Vettel’s lap times, he was soon second and the race was on. Not the race to take 1st, it was obvious Jenson could take Seb, but the race to the time limit or chequered flag. But, the full race could be done in the time limit and here we are, the last lap. Could Jenson do a Kobayashi and do a banzai overtake in time. Could he pressure the cool S.V into making a rare mistake for the season. Well, at turn 6 as Elton mentioned, the “New Schumacher” failed to actually do what his fellow German driver managed to do and drive with two wheels on the wet and he lost control and Jenson took 1ST!!!! The audience both here and Canada went wild, and with no beer split in the cheering it was all good! Seb grabbed a lucky second and it could have been a lost worse for him. His slide at the corner nearly saw him completely spin his car.
So a massive, huge awesome win for the nations favourite Brit driver. From beyond the last car, to first just goes to show, this guy has talent beyond a lucky double diffuser of a couple of years back. Right tyres, right time? Yeah partly, but I can almost see Jenson’s drive as being similar to Senna’s drive at Monaco (year?). The Brazilian mentioned at driving beyond himself and the car and not even thinking. Just driving beyond his instincts and fears. Such an awesome race and one that is being downloaded and kept for years to come.
I know I’m late in saying this but should Button really have been in a position to win? The Safety car was what decided the result of this grand Prix; an unfair situation as without it button wouldn’t have been tenth let alone first due to the multiple drive-through penalties he received. Given that the Safety cars effectively nullified the weight of that penalty is it time to scrape the drive-through and replace it with time penalties to be applied post-race?
The structural faults with F1 are occasionally shown up as being incompatible with the notion of fair play; I hold little hope of that changing.
Janus