The subject that dominates many pub-level F1 conversations is Mercedes' allegedly illegal Tyre Testing. Pirelli invited the whole paddock to a tyre test in Barcelona a week after the race there. Mercedes infamously fell down the order in that race, so it would have seemed that a tyre test would benefit them. So did it? The rules stipulate that a team cannot take part in a tyre test with a current car, and rivals such as Red Bull and Ferrari are claiming that that is what the team did. Also, they used their current drivers (Hamilton and Rosberg) rather than test and reserve drivers such as Brendon Hartley and Ant Davidson.
Pirelli advised Motorsport Director Paul Hembery to sit out Friday's team conference for legal reasons, as a tribunal will soon take place to clarify the matter. Whatever the result, it looks like the company will be in hot water, and the dispute looks set to rumble on along the rest of the season.
I remember a time when tyres didn't play such a pivotal and brain-aching role...ah Bridgestone...
Ahem. Anyway yes, back to the racing. Friday morning in Canada saw low pressure and soggy conditions. The cars started with wet tyres in FP1, soon upgrading to Intermediates, and by the end of the sessions, dry tyres were viable. Paul di Resta impressively took the honour of fastest time in FP1, the first time he's managed that distinction. FP2 was dry, and the track continued to improve with rubber being applied and water evaporating. It was Alonso who topped the sheets in Practice Two, as Ferrari tested a clutch of new upgrades; they certainly seemed to be paying off.
In the final, damp practice session it was Webber who topped the sheets, beating Adrian Sutil by three tenths. Saturday afternoon saw showers and in Qualifying, timing was going to be key. The track improved, and fell away in Q1, so those who set their times in the middle part of the session were best-placed. Paul di Resta was not one of them. He just so happened to be in the pits at the crucial moment, and was gutted to be knocked out in Q1 again, just like in Monaco.
Car eliminated after Q1 (With penalties applied)
17) di Resta
18) Pic
19) Bianchi
20) Chilton
21) van der Garde
22) Grosjean (10-place penalty for incident in Monaco)
Q2 was met with heavier rainfall and the times reflected this. Several drivers went off the track, including Felipe Massa who slithered off the track and into the barriers at an impact of 6G. The Brazilian had two hefty shunts in Monaco, and this heavy slide won't do anything to impress his Ferrari superiors. Whether or not he'll be in a red car next season, it brought out the flag of that colour and paused Q2 for ten minutes. There is a saying in motor racing that rain levels the playing field, and it certainly rang true here; with Massa and both McLarens falling from the session.
Cars eliminated after Q2
11) Ricciardo*
12) Perez
13) Maldonado
14) Button
15) Gutierrez
16) Massa
The final top 10 shootout looked to be extremely interesting and there were some unusual names in the mix. After languishing out of the points for the first six races, Williams hoped to have a change in fortune, courtesy of their fantastic rookie Valtteri Bottas. The Finn took advantage of the watery track, and put his car on the second row of the grid. Vettel headed the field, but 3-times Canadian GP winner Hamilton was not far behind.
The Final Top Ten
1) Vettel
2) Hamilton
3) Bottas
4) Rosberg
5) Webber
6) Alonso
7) Vergne
8) Sutil
9) Hulkenberg
10) Raikkonen*
* NOTE - After qualifying both Raikkonen and Ricciardo were given 2-place grid penalties as they started Qualifying's session 2 from the left of the pitlane, rather than the fast lane. That gave them a head start and enabled Raikkonen to get track position ahead of Webber's Red Bull.
No more rain, Sunday in Canada was delightfully dry.
At the start, Webber and Rosberg overwhelmed Bottas. The rookie drove calmly and professionally, inexperience was not showing. Unfortunately, the car's lack of performance, and he succumbed to Fernando Alonso by the end of the lap as well. A couple of laps later their team mates locked horns, with the recovering Felipe Massa barging past Pastor Maldonado.
Bottas continued to tuble. The plucky Finn had timed his lap to perfection in Q3 and was a well-deserved 3rd, but his uncompetitive Williams was not up to the task of staying with the front runners. He was in 7th, when on Lap 6 Adrian Sutil attempted to pass him at turn 3. It's not a usual overtaking spot, and when the German realised there wasn't enough room, he took to desperate avoiding action by crossing his arms and executing a perfect spin.
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| Quick reactions saved a potentially messy incident |
He recovered to a full 360 degree rotation, and lost half a dozen places. Amazingly, everyone behind reacted in time, and avoided the Force India, so there was no damage. That was, until, Pastor Maldonado forgot where his brake pedal was, and clipped the back of Adrian's car. The rear wing of his, and the front wing of Pastor's cars both took minor damage, but both continued.
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| Crashtor strikes again |
On Lap 37, perennial backmarker Geido van der Garde managed to spin himself on Mark Webber's car. As the quite clearly faster Red Bull sauntered through the hairpin, the Dutchman didn't leave enough space, and was fortuitous not to collide with the barrier. They are the two tallest drivers in the sport, but driving ability does not seem to be inherent to all lofty peddlers.
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| Caught off-Garde... Geido caused a headache for Webber |
It ripped off the whole of Webber's left endplate on his front wing, but the hinderage didn't seem so great, as he was able to keep up with the pace of the other leaders. None the less, the team opted to change the wing later on.
I don't wish to cast aspersions on Geido, he's a speedy driver for sure, he's been pretty damn successful in junior formulae. However, it seems to me that he gets a bit... excited. When he qualified an impressive 14th in Monaco, he seemed to get flustered, and he whacked into the back of Maldonado on Lap 1. He was running ahead of the rest of the 'young teams' in Canada (a distinction usually held by Jules Bianchi) so hopefully that's the end of the pattern. Although it's admirable for him to take every small gain with such enthusiasm, we can't have drivers spinning out because they're so excited that they grabbed 12th place. Moving on...
As Nico Hulkenberg went to put another lap on the Caterham, van der Garde moved over, damaging the suspension of Nico's car, and the front wing of his own. The move put Hulkenberg out and he pulled over in the first sector.
In the closing stages the Ferraris were the ones to watch. Massa was chasing the tail end of the points, furiously hounding Grosjean for 10th, surpassing the McLarens, and later on pouncing on Kimi Raikkonen's 8th place. However the more intense battle was that for second. Alonso had chase Hamilton for 5 laps or so, and breathed down the Brit's neck. On lap 63 he finally squeezed past to secure second place, and confirmed that Hamilton's 1-stop was not quite there. Hamilton chased Fernando to the flag, surprisingly, but it was in vain. Almost forgotten about, Vettel won the Canadian GP for the first time in his career.
"That makes up for two years ago!" - Christan Horner
It was hard to imagine that Vettel had never won in Montreal and the win was definitely satisfying. His adversary in 2011's race was Jenson Button, and what a dreadful weekend it was for his team. It was the first non-points scoring race for McLaren since Abu Dhabi 2009, and the alarm bells should be ringing in the Woking base.
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| He's still in this race? Vettel's victory was enormous - 20 seconds! |
S Vettel 1-17
L Hamilton 18-20
S Vettel 21-70
Finishing Positions
1. S Vettel, Red Bull
2. F Alonso, Ferrari
3. L Hamilton, Mercedes AMG
4. M Webber, Red Bull
5. N Rosberg, Mercedes AMG
6. JE Vergne, Toro Rosso
7. P di Resta
8. F Massa, Ferrari
9. K Raikkonen, Lotus
10. A Sutil, Force India
11. S Perez, McLaren
12. J Button, McLaren
13. R Grosjean, Lotus
14. V Bottas, Williams
15. D Ricciardo, Toro Rosso
16. P Maldonado, Williams
17. J Bianchi, Marussia
18. C Pic, Caterham
19. M Chilton, Marussia
Out/Unclassified
E Gutierrez, Sauber (Spun Off)
N Hulkenberg, Sauber (Collision Damage)
G van der Garde, Caterham (Collision Damage)
Let us spare a thought for Mark Robinson. He was a marshall at the Canadian GP who sadly died. He was part of the crew recovering Esteban Gutierrez' stricken Sauber which crashed at turn 1. A recovery vehicle hit Robinson, and ran over him. He later died on his was to hospital.
These men enable all the drivers to race safely and without problems, and their bravery and commitment is sometimes taken for granted. Robinson's sad death is the first at a Grand Prix event since Australia 2001, when Graham Beveridge was hit with pieces from debris in a crash between Jacques Villeneueve and Ralf Schumacher. The entire Formula One community sends its sincerest condolences to the family of Mark Robinson.
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