Five years on after winning his maiden Formula One victory, Lewis Hamilton becomes the sport’s seventh winner with a storming charge in the Canadian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver finally took his first win of the season with a fight back to the front, passing both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in the late stages of a thrilling race.
Hamilton’s victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve means he has won this event three times and he now leads the world championship after seven races.
Lotus’s Romain Grosjean and Sauber’s Sergio Perez took the second podium finishes of their careers as they demoted the fading Alonso, who eventually dropped to fifth.
Pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel only finished in fourth, but had led Hamilton and Alonso in the opening stint.
The Red Bull driver was the first of the trio to stop for tyres, and found himself jumped by both his rivals as they came in shortly afterwards.
Alonso came off best as he vaulted both the Red Bull and the McLaren, but Hamilton was able to re-pass the Ferrari down the back straight thanks to DRS.
The McLaren then edged slightly away before coming in for a second tyre stop on lap 49.
Alonso and Vettel opted a risky strategy in trying to race until the end on their existing rubber, but Hamilton had the speed to hunt down and pass both of them, going to win and claim the points lead in the process.
Vettel then gave up his one-stop attempt and made a very late tyre stop, while Alonso clung on and hoped to still make it to the end in second position, only for his pace to drop off dramatically.
Grosjean – who had pitted only two laps later than the Ferrari – was soon past Alonso into second position, with Perez (who made his sole pit stop until lap 41) and the recovering Vettel also easily dismissing the Spaniard.
Two-stoppers Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber were sixth and seventh for Mercedes and Red Bull respectively, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus and the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi.
Felipe Massa spun from fifth to P12 in his Ferrari, and had to settle for tenth after stopping twice for tyres.
Force India’s Paul di Resta had a spell as high as sixth in the early running, only to lose ground with a relatively early first of two pit stops, leaving him P11.
It was another disastrous race for both Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher. The McLaren driver had to make three tyre stops and finished a lapped P16, while the rear wing flap on Schumacher’s Mercedes jammed open, ending his race.
Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. 70 laps:
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h32:29.586
2. Grosjean Lotus-Renault +2.513
3. Perez Sauber-Ferrari +5.260
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault +7.295
5. Alonso Ferrari +13.411
6. Rosberg Mercedes +13.842
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault +15.085
8. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault +15.567
9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +24.432
10. Massa Ferrari +25.272
11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes +37.693
12. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes +46.236
13. Maldonado Williams-Renault +47.052
14. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1:04.475
15. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Button McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
17. Senna Williams-Renault +1 lap
18. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault +1 lap
19. Petrov Caterham-Renault +1 lap
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps
Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:15.752
Not classified/retirements:
Glock Marussia-Cosworth 57 laps
Schumacher Mercedes 34 laps
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 25 laps
Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 23 laps
World Championship standings, round 7:
Drivers:
1. Hamilton 88
2. Alonso 86
3. Vettel 85
4. Webber 79
5. Rosberg 67
6. Raikkonen 55
7. Grosjean 53
8. Button 45
9. Perez 37
10. Maldonado 29
11. Kobayashi 21
12. Di Resta 21
13. Senna 15
14. Massa 11
15. Hulkenberg 7
16. Vergne 4
17. Schumacher 2
18. Ricciardo 2
Constructors:
1. Red Bull-Renault 164
2. McLaren-Mercedes 133
3. Lotus-Renault 108
4. Ferrari 97
5. Mercedes 69
6. Sauber-Ferrari 58
7. Williams-Renault 44
8. Force India-Mercedes 28
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
Next race: European Grand Prix, Valencia. June 22-24.
Canadian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton admits he he couldn’t have managed a one-stop strategy. Autosport.com has the story.
Lewis Hamilton admitted a one-stop strategy was not a viable option for him as he celebrated his first win of the season in the Canadian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver had to charge back to first place after having made his second stop after rival Fernando Alonso decided to stop just once.
Hamilton erased a gap of over 14 seconds and passed the Ferrari with ease to become the seventh Formula 1 winner in 2012.
The Briton praised his team for the strategy, and he conceded stopping just once would have been a mistake for him.
“I think the team did a great job with the pitstops and the strategy,” said Hamilton. “I was very, very surprised that I was able to look after the tyres and push at the times I needed to push. I was surprised in the first stint. I knew Fernando was the one to beat. He has generally great pace on long runs.
“I was not able to do one stop, I think I would have fallen back, so I think a two-stop was just right.”
He added: “Of course we were aware of that. We went into the race knowing we would be doing two stops and when the guys were behind me I had a feeling that Fernando would be doing one stop. I knew I had to make a gap while looking after the tyres, even though Fernando was picking his pace up. It was one of the best stints I had.”
The McLaren driver, who had failed to win a race until today despite having started from pole position twice this year, was elated after securing his second victory where he achieved his first grand prix triumph in 2007.
“What a feeling,” said Hamilton. “This is where I won my first grand prix. I knew it would be tough, I loved ever single minute and I am really grateful.
“It was one of the most enjoyable races I have had until now and I was just thinking today to finish at the front as I did with my first win would be very, very special for me. I could not believe it when I crossed the line. The feeling inside was like an explosion, that is what I like about racing.”
Despite stopping one more time than his main rivals Hamilton said he never doubted he could win the race.
“I never had a doubt in my mind that there was no possibility to win, but I was thinking that these guys were quite far behind so assumed they were doing one stop,” he said.
The McLaren driver now leads the championship from Alonso by two points.
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was unaware he was fighting for a podium after finishing second in the Canadian Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the details.
Romain Grosjean admitted after finishing second in the Canadian Grand Prix that he wasn’t aware he was fighting for a podium position in the closing stages of the race.
The Frenchman, who took his second podium place of 2012 having finished just 2.5s behind winner Lewis Hamilton, used a one-stop strategy to move up from seventh on the grid.
But as he moved ahead of Mark Webber, he didn’t realise he was so far up the race order.
In the end, his decision to one-stop paid off as Vettel pitted ahead of him and Fernando Alonso’s tyres dropped away.
“We thought about going for one-stop [before the race] and decided to see what was going on later on. The question was whether to go with the option tyres from the beginning, especially since they had already done two runs in Q2 and Q3,” he said.
“But then the car felt pretty good and when we put the prime tyre on, I didn’t know what was going on in front of me. I had Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber in front, so I was fighting with them and was pushing quite hard, but I knew that I was trying to go for a one stop and finally when I saw Mark coming in my tyres were still quite fresh.
“I didn’t realise I was third and then I saw Fernando [Alonso] was slowing down and I was second. So it was like a crazy end to the race, because I was thinking P4 or P5, but the pace stayed there.
“The team did a fantastic job to give me a car which was good on tyres, we knew with the heat we would be better today and thankfully the sun came and that was fantastic for us.”
Grosjean added that he believed that his result was further evidence that Lotus is capable of fighting at the front regularly.
“It means we are in good shape for working with the team and improving every time,” he said. “We had a bad Friday with different conditions from today.
“I was sure we could have achieved better, we are working quite well so I am pretty pleased with this podium and it means we are still here after seven races, it shows we are fighting at front and having good results.”
After qualifying in P15, Sauber’s Sergio Perez has admitted he had no expectations in finishing on the podium. Autosport.com has the news.
Sergio Perez admitted that he had absolutely no expectation of finishing on the podium after only qualifying 15th for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Sauber driver made excellent use of a one-stop strategy and strong late-race pace to come through to finish third, having stayed out until lap 41 on his first set of tyres.
The result was Perez’s second podium finish of the season, and saw him overtake Fernando Alonso – the man who had narrowly denied him victory in Malaysia – for third place in the closing stages.
“To be honest, starting 15th the last thing you think about is to end up on the podium,” he said. “We went quite aggressive, the first stint was quite good, the stop very goo, and the second stint very, very good.
“We managed some overtaking manoeuvres, and then I saw that the degradation was not so high for me, I could manage my pace well and then I managed to get some other drivers.”
Perez had not been in the points since his Sepang podium, so was thrilled that Sauber had been able to rediscover its form after some low-key races and a frustrating Saturday.
“It’s a great result for the team after such a bad day yesterday,” he said. “We had a lot of troubles with the brakes, and today it’s just great to finish on the podium, it’s a great boost for the team.
“After Malaysia it is our second time we get into the points and our second podium – hopefully we can keep it this way.
“We were really unlucky what happened in Monaco, for example, and Barcelona as well. It’s great to come back and get a podium for the whole team.”
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn has apologised to Michael Schumacher for the DRS problem that forced the German into retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix.
Schumacher, a seven-time winner in Montreal, was hoping for a strong result this weekend following a series of races where strong form has been dashed by disappointment.
The German, who had retired from the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago because of a problem with his car, failed to reach the end once again on Sunday when a loose hydraulic pipe caused his DRS to stick open.
Brawn was left feeling sorry for Schumacher, who has scored just two points in seven races.
“He suffered a hydraulic issue which left his DRS jammed open and it was not possible to fix it in race conditions,” said Brawn after the race. “I can only apologise to Michael for a further technical failure.”
Schumacher said there was no use in blaming anyone for the problems that have been affecting him this season.
“Of course it’s disappointing for all of us but it’s not a question of pointing fingers; stuff like this happens. I know the team are doing their best and that it probably hits them even harder than me. We’ll be back on the attack in Valencia.”
Team-mate Nico Rosberg finished in sixth position and has now 67 points.
Source: Autosport.com
McLaren’s Jenson Button was left feeling ‘lost and confused’ by his complete lack of pace in the Canadian Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the story.
Jenson Button says he hasn’t got a clue how to rectify the grip problems he currently faces with his McLaren after finishing the Canadian Grand Prix a lap down in 16th position in what he called his ‘worst race in many years’.
The 2009 world champion started the race on the harder of the Pirelli compounds but still had to pit before the cars around him using super-softs, having suffered from severe tyre degradation and an overall lack of grip.
Afterwards, the Australian Grand Prix winner described himself as “lost and confused” and admitted he had no idea whether he would be able to resolve the issues in time for the European Grand Prix at Valencia.
“I haven’t got a clue what to do at the moment and every time we have good ideas we don’t seem to make any progress,” he said.
“I love driving an F1 car so I am confident every time I jump in and then after two laps there is no grip anywhere.
“Out of the front pack I was the slowest by a long way, and I am not two seconds a lap slower than Lewis [Hamilton].”
Button added that he didn’t believe the problems stemmed from the Pirelli tyres directly, when asked whether the harder compounds on offer in Valencia could help him solve his problems, and pointed towards it being a set-up problem.
“It’s not the tyres, it’s definitely not a tyre issue. I’m the only person who can’t drive the tyres? No, it is impossible.”
“I have massive degradation and I stopped before most runners and I was on the prime tyre. Obviously the car with a certain set-up is very quick but what I was driving was not a winning car.
“It’s been the same for the last couple of races and I don’t know why because it is normally something I am pretty good at. I’m driving round 1.5 seconds slower than the leaders and one is my team-mate but I can’t go any quicker.”
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has defended his team’s decision on running a one-stop strategy. Autosport.com has the details.
Fernando Alonso has defended his Ferrari team’s decision to not pit for a second time during the Canadian Grand Prix, despite dropping down to fifth position.
The Spaniard was fighting with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton for victory when the Briton decided to pit again with 18 laps to go, dropping down the order.
Alonso, having stopped just once, stayed out in the lead, but his tyres began to degrade and his pace deteriorated considerably, costing him four places.
The Ferrari driver, however, says his team’s decision to try and go for victory was the right one, and he said only the tyre degradation was to blame for missing out.
“I feel good. We tried to win the race,” said Alonso, who lost the lead of the championship to Hamilton. “With 18 laps to go Hamilton stopped and we either stayed out and covered [Sebastian] Vettel or we stopped with him and see what happened.
“If we had stopped with Hamilton we would have returned in fourth and then with [Romain] Grosjean’s degradation we would have finished fourth in the race and it would have been a huge mistake to stop. But now it seems the mistake was ours and Vettel’s, so somebody had to get it wrong when there’s a stop with 18 laps to go.
“We made the decision to try to win the race and it didn’t work out, not because of the strategy, but because of the tyre degradation. I want that to be very clear because there will be confusion tomorrow, from people who don’t understand the race.
“We stopped on the same lap as Grosjean, as he finished second with the same laptimes as Hamilton. So it’s not about stopping with Hamilton or deciding not to stop, or stopping once or twice. The problem is that Grosjean did 55 laps with the tyres with a good pace and we did 45. That’s the only problem.”
Alonso said that despite losing the chance to finish second, the weekend had only been full of positives for him and his team.
“It’s all positive. The strategy we tried was positive, the result was positive and, again, the points scored are positive.
“No one is going to win the championship in the seventh race, there’s a lot left. But race by race, if you don’t score strong points you may start to lose it. So when it comes to points for the championship it’s another very good weekend.”
And the Ferrari driver claimed his team did not even expect to be fighting for victory this weekend given the nature of the Montreal circuit.
“We know Canada is a McLaren circuit. It has won a lot here and Hamilton has scored most pole positions. When we caught the plane to Canada I don’t think anyone thought about winning the race, or maybe about finishing second. We are talking about having settled for third or fourth. We are talking about 12 or 15 points tops. We have 10. Perfect.”
As for Sebastian Vettel, who started the race on pole position, the late pit-stop was the right call. Autosport.com has the story.
Sebastian Vettel praised Red Bull’s late decision to switch his strategy in the Canadian Grand Prix after admitting that the one-stop plan he was on was the wrong choice.
Fernando Alonso and Vettel both attempted to complete the race with just one service after leader and eventual winner Lewis Hamilton made a second stop, leaving the duo out front with a clear advantage over the McLaren.
But the Briton’s pace on new tyres allowed him to haul them both in again, and not long after he re-passed Vettel for second position on lap 62, the German came in for fresh prime tyres of his own.
“We could have [done something differently] but now it is easy to say that,” said Vettel afterwards. “In the end Lewis decided to go for the second stop – I think we tried then to get the place back by going for one-stop, the same as Ferrari.
“But it turned out to be the wrong call, so we decided to come in again, which I think was a good call, and a great call at the time, given the position and what you can lose etc.”
Vettel insisted that even though there were just six laps to run, it was still worth pitting again in a stop that dropped him to fifth. He regained a position when Alonso, who didn’t stop again, ran into tyre trouble of his own.
Asked whether he thought he would have finished lower than fourth had he not stopped, Vettel replied: “Yes, at the time we were three or four seconds behind Fernando and we finished ahead of him. In the end I think he had no more chance.
“It’s quite sudden… [the drop-off]. I mean if you think how many laps we did on that set of primes without any trouble and then the last three or four laps you could really feel the rear tyres just didn’t deliver the traction anymore and it was extremely difficult.”