Oh Hamilton! McLaren Pilot wins 2012 Canadian Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Sauber Motorsport AG

Known as an unpredictable race event based on the complex, taxing Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix fast stretches and slow corners routinely provokes some of the most uneasy driving on the Formula 1 tour. Set for 70 laps, the 24-car field of the Canadian Grand Prix line-up under a perfectly sunny, warm June day under the lead of Red Bull-Renault driven by Sebastian Vettel.

In a rather uncharacteristic fashion, the 2012 Canadian race for the Formula 1 tour started cleanly with Vettel pulling away with McLaren-Mercedes competitor Lewis Hamilton in hot pursuit. Without any early race mishaps among racers, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve would wind up as a quick 70-lap sprint on the gruelling grand prix track. The only race cars failing to finish the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix were eliminated due to mechanical problems with brake-related damage leading to three of the four retirements. Michael Schumacher’s race was defeated by a hydraulic failure on his Mercedes GP machine on lap 43 that left his DRS system locked open. The Grand Prix of Canada is the 5^th retirement for Schumacher within the seven events held so far this year.

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

The deciding factor for the 2012 race in Montreal would be pit stops. The McLaren team made use of a two-stop strategy on Hamilton’s race car that provided the Brit the new set of soft compound Pirelli tires needed to catch Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. With eight laps remaining, the McLaren-Mercedes of Hamilton caught Alonso’s Ferrari, passing the Spaniard for the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix late. Pulling off a 2.5-second gap on second-place, Lewis Hamilton crossed the start/finish line to win his third Formula 1 race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Becoming the 7^th driver in 7 races so far during this wide-open Formula 1 season of 2012, Lewis Hamilton wins the second race for the McLaren team following teammate’s Jenson Button’s victory in the debut round in Australia.

Joining Lewis Hamilton in the Canadian Grand Prix podium the 70-lap event was two drivers aided by one-stop strategies. Starting 7^th for Lotus-Renault, first Formula 1 visit to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was an impressive second podium effort in the 2012 season. Starting on supersoft Pirelli tires, Grosjean’s crew fitted the harder compound slick rubber on the team’s race car on lap 21. Romain Grosjean achieved his career-best Formula 1 result at the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/ LAT Photographic

With Grosjean quickly emerging as a rising star of Formula 1, the Malaysian Grand Prix revealed Sauber F1 driver Sergio Perez as a possible name to hear more about in the future. At the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, Perez followed up an impressive runner-up position with a solid third place run. “Today’s result is a great reward for all the guys who work hard.” said the Mexican driver for Sauber F1. Sergio Perez added in post-race, “The last time I scored points I was also on the podium and think this is quite a nice way to do it. Also it is particularly sweet to have been at the podium ceremony here in Montreal because we are not too far from my home country and there are many Mexicans here. It is a great boost for the team and I am very pleased for everybody.”

The Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel (also running on a two-tire pit stop strategy similar to Lewis Hamilton’s effort) attempted to make up track position late stopping for supersoft tires with only 7 laps remaining in the Canadian Grand Prix. The race’s pole-sitter Vettel came short of catching Sergio Perez for the final podium spot by 2 seconds. Despite finishing 4 spots lower than his starting position, the German driver Vettel expressed some reasonable satisfaction with the race saying, “Before the stop we were three four seconds behind Fernando, but we ended up six seconds ahead of him. It was a good call considering what you can lose with only eight laps to go. It’s easy now to analyze and know everything, but I think we learned a lot today and we’ve seen that races can be interesting until the very last lap. All in all it was a good weekend.”

Deteriorating in pace during the late stage of the Canadian Grand Prix, the Ferrari team’s best hope of honouring the 30^th anniversary of former team driver Gilles Villeneuve’s passing dropped down the running order like a rock. Leading the race with 8 laps to go, Alonso’s Pirelli tires were well worn on the Canadian racetrack. At lap 70, Fernando Alonso fell to 5^th place just 0.4 seconds ahead of Nico Rosberg‘s Mercedes GP car. Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen, Kamui Kobayashi and Felipe Massa rounded out the top-10 for the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix.

The next race for the 2012 Formula 1 tour will be a trip to Spain to race the Valencia track for the European Grand Prix on June 24^th.


2012 Formula 1
Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Race Results

1	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
3	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
4	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
5	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
6	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
8	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
9	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
10	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
11	11 Paul di Resta Force India
12	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
13	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
14	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
16	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
17	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
18	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
19	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
20	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
21	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
22	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
23	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth
24	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth

Red Bull's Vettel Rallies to Canadian GP Pole

Photo Credit: Nissan/Infiniti

An eagerly awaited motorsport event for Canada as well as for the North American continent, the Formula 1 tour visit to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has held one of the series’ most physically-demanding races. A combination 14 technical turns and some high-speed stretches, the 4.361-kilometer (2.71-mile) holding the Canadian Grand Prix is also a torture test on the Formula 1 race cars.

The seventh race weekend for the top open wheel racing series in the world, Day two’s biggest spectacle was qualifying for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix. Though the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton was showing the most impressive pace in Friday practice, the third and final practice on Saturday saw the top lap time coming from the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel.

In the afternoon time trial session, the two-time Formula 1 world driving champion was on top form throughout Circuit Gilles Villeneuve qualifying. In Q3, Vettel and his 1-minute, 13.784-second lap time won pole. After qualifying, the German driver Sebastian Vettel declared, “We were clear about the car today and able to improve step by step in qualifying. I’m very happy with the result and the laps at the end of qualifying, as we were able to improve each time. It puts us in a great place, but nevertheless tomorrow is more important.” With Vettel starting 1^st on the grid and teammate Mark Webber positioned 4^th at the start of the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix, the Red Bull Racing organization is still chasing their first victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Little more than 3/10^th of a second slower than Vettel, Friday’s fastest Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton placed his McLaren-Mercedes ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber. In 5^th place, Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes GP car starts 4 spots up from his teammate Michael Schumacher amounting to a 4/10ths of a second gap. Felipe Massa starts 6^th in the second Ferrari with Romain Grosjean lining up in the 7^th place grid position on the Canadian Grand Prix starting group.

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

Other than the hot-lapping, there was only one incident on-track that added suspense to the Saturday afternoon at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. As Pastor Maldonado attempted to better his 17^th place spot in the last moments of the Q2 session, he left control of his Williams-Renault through turn 14. Spinning, Maldonado avoided serious damage to his race car.

All 24 cars competing at the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix qualified for Sunday’s 70-lap race within the 107 percent rule. The main event is scheduled for 2pm on Sunday.


2012 Formula 1
Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Qualifying Results

1	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
3	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
5	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
6	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
7	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
8	11 Paul di Resta Force India
9	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
10	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
11	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
12	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
13	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
14	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
16	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
17	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
18	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
19	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
20	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
21	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth
22	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
23	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
24	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth

Canadian GP Undaunted by Off Track Mayhem on Day 1

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

Entering the 7th race weekend for the 2012 Formula 1 schedule, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec is an all-new continent where the unpredictable season will delight North American fans of the prestigious open wheel racing series. The 2012 Canadian Grand Prix plays host to a 24-car race tour who just completed a grueling Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago, the race course on the artificial island of Île Notre-Dame will be another workout for the drivers and race cars.

Faring the best in both Friday practice sessions for Day 1 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the McLaren-Mercedes in the hands of Lewis Hamilton was lightning fast. Securing the top time of the day with a 1-minute, 15.259-second lap around the 4.361-kilometer (2.709-mile) track, the race car of Hamilton outpaced the Ferrari and Red Bull Racing team on the first day in Canada. The location of the racing superstar's first Formula 1 victory, the Canadian Grand Prix also played host to Lewis Hamilton winning the 2010 event at the track. McLaren teammate Jenson Button is the reigning Canadian Grand Prix champion heading into Sunday. Button had more trouble finding speed on the track on Friday 10th fastest in the first practice and 9th in the second. The McLaren team as a whole has been a winner on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 8 times.

In the first practice, the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel was second-quickest more than a tenth of a second behind Lewis Hamilton's pace of the session. Red Bull Racing has yet to win the Canadian Grand Prix entering the 2012 event.

Photo credit: Nissan/Infiniti

Attempting to counter the speed of the McLaren-Mercedes, the Ferrari squad showed-up big time in the second practice session. Led by Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard's best time was almost half of one-tenth of a second slower than Hamilton. Also formidable in session two on Friday was Felipe Massa who was 0.153 seconds off of the the fastest effort in afternoon practice. The 30th year since the loss of Canadian Formula 1 driver Gilles Villeneuve, a Ferrari victory at the Canadian Grand Prix would be honourable to the Ferrari pilot of the past.

Also showing speed during the Friday practice sessions is the Force India-Mercedes cars of Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg who were firmly in the top-10 fastest after by the end of the day. The Sauber-Ferrari of Kamui Kobayashi was also strong posting a 6th quickest time during practice two. The Top-10 of day one also had the Mercedes GP cars of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher searching for speed for a second win in 2012.

Two accidents on the tough Circuit Gilles Villeneuve occurred on Friday with one in each practice session. In practice one, the Caterham-Renault of Heikki Kovalainen 50 minutes into the session with an incident in turn 9. Bruno Senna crashed his Williams-Renault into the final corner of the track in the vicinity known as the 'wall of champions' during the later afternoon practice. The Senna crash required a 14-minute red flag to clean up the racetrack.

The two friday practice sessions were conducted under typical June temperatures in Montreal. Weather favoured the first day as rain only proceeded to fall near the end of the second practice. Unfortunately for many Canadian race fans and the welcomed motorsport guests from other countries, the 2012 Grand Prix of Canada is being disturbed by the actions of activists relating to a provincial unrest relating to tuition fees. A major event for drawing tourists to Montreal, the fear of the escalating protests within the province of Quebec had forced race organizers to cancel a free off-track event. On Thursday, protesters were nonetheless able to find locations to use their actions to disrupt other smaller events occurring in the city of Montreal. Increased security and contingency plans have been set in place through the Formula 1 race weekend intent on maintaining a near routine grand prix if any actions are in place to counter hostile threats against the event. Earlier this year, the Bahrain Grand Prix was also met with large protests outside of the race track. A much different situation where violence and death amounted from peaceful demonstrations against the Bahrain government, the controversial race returned in 2012 and ran without incident within the Formula 1 competition circuit.

After a late morning practice, Saturday qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix is set for 1pm Eastern time.

Friday Practice for Canadian GP Breeds Interesting Developments

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

The 7th race on the 2011 Formula 1 championship calendar, the Canadian Grand Prix represents the only time this season the most premier open wheel racing series visits the North American continent. Situated in the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on an island off the coast of Montreal, 24 drivers and cars arrived Friday to start the race weekend with two practice sessions.

An accustoming site throughout 2011 is the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel at the top of every Formula 1 chart (practice, qualifying and the race). Following the first practice for the Canadian Grand Prix, the sight of Vettel's Red Bull-Renault against the start/finish line stretch represented a rare mistake in a near flawless season. While Sebastian Vettel started the grand prix weekend on a sore note, the reigning Formula 1 World Champion immediately rallied. In the second practice session Friday, Vettel recorded the second fastest time at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve course. “Canada is a very unique place. It’s not a real track because it’s on an island and also used for public roads." Vettel said detailing the track which has hosted the Canadian Grand Prix since 1978. The German racer compares the race course to the Australian Grand Prix's track saying "It’s a bit similar to Albert Park in Melbourne, as it’s mainly used for traffic with a second function as a race track. It’s very slippery there, the asphalt is very smooth and we saw last year that tyre degradation is huge, but it’s always good fun to go there." Racing in Canada, Sebastian Vettel shares "It’s a great race, the atmosphere is fantastic and the fans are very special"

Fully prepared with a counter-attack against the dominant Red Bull-Renault, the Friday practices shined light on a possible change to the course of the entire Formula 1 season to date. In the first practice, Mercedes GP showed some serious muscle in Montreal. The German factory team's Nico Rosberg was fastest with 7-time world driving champion Michael Schumacher piloting his Mercedes GP to a third fastest run. The track where Schmacher holds a Canadian Grand Prix record 7 wins, the driver comments “Montreal is a great city to visit and the Canadian Grand Prix is always one of those races where it feels like the whole city gets involved and creates a really nice atmosphere. The circuit itself is very much a stop-and-go scenario with much of the focus on top speed and braking."

Separating the Mercedes GP cars was the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa also flew quickly around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for a fourth fastest time. In the second afternoon practice Friday, Alonso bettered his effort from the previous track session by placing the Ferrari at the top of the time sheet. Lapping the track at 1 minute, 15.107 seconds, Fernando Alonso was 0.369 seconds faster than the resurging Sebastian Vettel. Felipe Massa's Ferrari again was close to Alonso on the time charts just 0.494 seconds slower than the lead Ferrari Formula 1 car. In 4th and 5th, the Mercedes-Benz engined McLaren cars of Lewis Hamilton as well as Jenson Button were strong. In contrast to the strong showing in the first Friday practice, Mercedes GP team were deep down the session's results in 19th and 20th place.

A new ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend was the health of Sauber driver Sergio Perez after a hard crash near the end of the Monoco Grand Prix qualifying. Given medical clearance to run the Canadian Grand Prix, Perez returned to the track Friday driving his Sauber-Ferrari. Posting a very respectable 11th fastest time, it became evident to the Formula 1 rookie Perez that his recovery was not quite completed. Sergio Perez will sit out the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix and the Sauber F1 team has sought the services of last season's team driver Pedro de la Rosa to substitute.

The top-four drivers and cars were separated by just a little over one second in the first practice but the gap decreased to 0.8th of a second after practice two.

Canada Welcomes the 2011 Formula 1 Tour

Photo Credit: Lorenzo Bellanca/LAT Photographic

As a Canadian motorsport journalist, forgive me for giving an extra loud cheer as the 2011 Formula 1 season makes its stop at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. For the most part a staple on the world grand prix tour from 1978 to 2011, the race had only been absent from the Formula 1 racing schedule twice in 1987 and 2009 due to sponsorship issues.

For 2011, the Canadian Grand Prix plays host to a 24-car Formula 1 contingent led by a dominant Sebastian Vettel. Winning five of six races, the defending Formula 1 World Champion Vettel has spent a great deal of 2011 at the front of the field for Red Bull Racing. 

Though the chances that Sebastian Vettel could continue his tear on the 2011 Formula 1 racing schedule with lasting strength in Montreal, the race has been an unpredictable affair in the past. Based on 2010, the Canadian Grand Prix could the dent in the Red Bull Racing armour teams such as McLaren and Ferrari are intent to exploit. The only driver other than Vettel to win a grand prix in 2011, Lewis Hamilton has 2 wins on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve circuit including the future world champion's first Formula 1 victory in 2007.

For Ferrari, the Italian team literally owned the race through Michael Schumacher's Formula 1 reign in the early 2000s. Schmacher and Ferrari won the Canadian Grand Prix 6 times together. Ferrari as a team has won 10 times total since the race was held at the track on the island off the coast of Montreal. The first driver to win on the circuit for Ferrari was Canadian and the current track namesake the late Gillles Villeneuve. In 2011, Ferrari is paired with 2006 Canadian Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso.

The best time for Formula 1 racing fans in North America to enjoy the live spectacle of the globe's most premier form of open wheel racing, many drivers and teams also share excitement in the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. Williams F1's Rubens Barrichello shared prior to heading to Montreal that "Canada is always a very special event. The atmosphere is so relaxed and the racing is fantastic.". Barrichello continued to express interest in one of two exciting segments that delight the fans as much as the drivers. "The hairpin is probably one of the most exciting parts of the track as the fans that base themselves there are great." Barrichello said. Rookie teammate Pastor Maldonado is visiting the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the first time as a Formula 1 competitor but has fond memories of a 1998 visit in go karting.

Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

Team Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen himself calls the Formula 1 visit “Canada is one of the highlights of the whole season.." Impressed by the race track, Kovalainen is well acquainted with the spirit and following of the series in the French-Canadian province. "It’s obviously not the same intensity as Monaco when you’re away from the track, but the whole city buzzes when we’re in town and they get behind the whole event right across the city so there’s an amazing atmosphere wherever you go. The crowd are also very knowledgeable and you can see what it means to them when the race takes place in their back yard as it’s packed from Thursday right through to Sunday." Team Lotus' Heikki Kovalainen complimented. Kovalainen's Team Lotus team is looking forward to the Canadian Grand Prix as presenting an opening which the sophomore team can claim their first manufacturer points.

A challenging 4.361 kilometer (2.71 mile) temporary street course that burdens tires and brakes, the Formula 1 drivers will find little relief after competing in the tough Monoco Grand Prix. New Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli is likely to become a major focal point during hte weekend. Throughout the 2011 season, Pirelli's first year adapting to the grand prix schedule has left teams making more guesses at the start of the race weekend. Friday and Saturday practices will be most important in understanding best set-up the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix.

With two practice session on Friday, teams will be zeroing in on finding speed for Saturday's qualifying as well as the race on Sunday afternoon.  

Hamilton's The Man in Montreal; Wins 2nd Canadian Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing


Saying bonjour to the Formula 1 drivers and teams for the 8th race of the 2010 season, the Canadian Grand Prix returns to the F1 circuit and Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after a one-year hiatus.

Gaining the pole through a fastest lap time Saturday around the 4.361 mile road course, Lewis Hamilton and McLaren Formula 1 team starts in a handsome position on the race grid. Even before the race began however, Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber lost his front row starting spot when the team addressed a gearbox problem on his Red Bull-Renault.

Once the race got underway, the start was shaken by contact between the Ferrari of Felipe Massa and the Force India-Mercedes belonging to Vitantonio Liuzzi. Though requiring pit service to fix car damage, the incident was not enough for the FIA to call out the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG pace car. In fact, uncharacteristic for a the past F1 outings by Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the 2010 edition of the race went on without a safety car period at any point in the event.

Head to head, the McLaren and Ferrari fought to get their driver out first. Unleashed, both Alonso and Hamilton stormed down the pit road side-by-side with Fernando Alonso just edging out the McLaren. However, shortly afterwards, Hamilton thrusted past the Ferrari F2010 for what would be a defining pass in settling the race's victor.

Remembered as a demanding track on the mechanicals of a Formula 1 car, an engine failure on Pedro de la Rosa's BMW Sauber-Ferrari and a brake issue on the Lotus-Cosworth of Jarno Trulli were the only major technical-related retirements in the race along with Bruno Senna. The only real physical attributes drivers and teams were contending with in the Canadian Grand Prix were the Bridgestone tires. While the primary compound was the hardest compound selected for the teams to run in the race weekend, several drivers faced trouble preserving their rubber. In the standout case in the Canadian Grand Prix, Mark Webber attempted to run longer on a set of primary tires only to see his nearly 11 second lead reduced to a few car lengths over Lewis Hamilton. As Webber's Red Bull-Renault fell into the grasp of Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes, the tires on the Red Bull Racing tire were showing severe signs of shredding. Losing the large interval lead, Webber also lost any hope of a podium finish. When Webber pitted, the top-3 were led by the two McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in third spot.


Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

As the race was going well for younger drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, 7-time Canadian Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher pressed through one of the toughest days the 41 year-old German had experienced since his F1 return. Starting 13th, Schumacher was able to lift himself into a top-10 spot inside the Canadian Grand Prix running order past halfway but would fall quickly into the gunsights of mid-mark F1 teams.

On lap 61, Sabastien Buemi in the Toro Rosso-Ferrari was able to vault himself past Schumacher started with a determined charge down the front stretch into the Senna curves. Falling to Buemi, when Felipe Massa charged on Schumacher's Mercedes GP car on the final laps, the German was intent not to away anymore championship points. As Massa attempted a move on the outside of Schumacher through the Casino stretch, the Mercedes gave no room to the Ferrari causing Massa to clip Schumacher's rear tire. Massa's Ferrari suffered a damaged front wing and would require a late race pit stop for a replacement nose piece costing him also a point-scoring finish. The incident questions whether Felipe Massa made a misjudgement or if Schumacher made a second blocking move into the corner; a move which is a no-no.

Completing the bad day for Michael Schumacher ended with a dream moment for both Force India Formula 1 team cars. Into the final lap, Vitantonio Liuzzi was working on a way past with his teammate Adrian Sutil in tow. Through a well-timed last lap move, Luizzi found an opening around Schumacher's Mercedes which provided a path for his Force India teammate to follow capturing the 10th and final point-scoring position for the Canadian Grand Prix.

For his second win in a row for 2010, Lewis Hamilton brought his McLaren-Mercedes to victory excitedly celebrating in the site of his very first Formula 1 pole and victory in 2007. A 1-2 for McLaren, the team effort allowed the group to launch over Red Bull Racing in the Formula 1 Constructors Championship. Joining the McLaren pair, Fernando Alonso brought Ferrari a podium effort while his teammate Massa suffered hard-luck throughout the Canadian Grand Prix event. Happy with his 3rd place finish, Alonso will be looking to the next Formula 1, the European Grand Prix in his home country of Spain. The race on the Valencia Street Circuit is on June 27th.

Performed in front of a crowd of 300,000 race fans through the 3 days of race action, the weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix has once again proven that Canadian and even American Formula 1 audiences are substantial.


2010 Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 Unofficial Race Results

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7. Robert Kubica Renault F1
8. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
12. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari
16. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault
18. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
19. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
22. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
23. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
24. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari

Hamilton and McLaren Takes Canadian GP Pole; Red Bull Qualifying Streak Ended

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

After sweeping the pole position spot for the first 7 races of the 2010 Formula 1 season, the Canadian Grand Prix rates as significant for Red Bull Racing as the event where their consecutive 1st place start streak ends. However, it did not occur without a stubborn fight from Red Bull Racing teammates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Entering the final Q3 session, Sebastian Vettel stood only 3/100ths of a second slower than Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes. However, as lap times continued to fall at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Hamilton lowered his own Q2 time by 4/10ths of a second. Enough to fend off the charge of the Red Bull-Renaults, his 1 minute, 15.105 second lap time in Montreal gave the Brit his first Formula 1 pole his the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.

Making the Formula 1 pole in Montreal even more memorable for Lewis Hamilton was the fact his McLaren-Mercedes ran out of fuel coming back to the pits at the end of the Q3 session. Providing for an amusing picture as Hamilton was pushing his McLaren down the stretch along the Casino de Montreal. While an entertaining sight for fans, the F1 officials were not the least bit amused by the scene. The McLaren team was fined $10,000 for what is called exceeding the maximum allotted time for returning to pit road.

Settling with 3rd fastest, Sebestian Vettel was able to close on Hamilton with a time just 3/10ths slower than the McLaren-Mercedes, his teammate was able to sandwich his way between the two cars through Q3. 5th fastest after Q2 Mark Webber leap-frogged Vettel to led the Red Bull Racing's grand prix charge mustering a 2nd place front row position thanks to a strong Q3 showing.

In 4th and 5th Ferrari's Fernando Alonso as well as the second McLaren of Jenson Button are in excellent striking position to take advantage of any first turn collisions which might occur between the front row vehicles. With Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's first lap leading into a tight, slow Senna turn hairpin section, often breeds chao.

Deserving a chance to be mentioned, Vitantonio Liuzzi for Force India stormed to 6th on the starting grid. The defending race winner (the 20o8 race winner since there wasn't a 2009 event) Robert Kubica posted a 8th fastest effort. Winning the race with BMW-Sauber in 2008, Kubica's former team starts deeper in the grid with team cars in 17th and 18th place.



Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic


In 2008, the team now known as the Mercedes GP team was the Honda F1 factory team. Since then, Brawn brought that shell of that team taking it to a championship in 2009 before selling majority control to Mercedes-Benz. Essentially the first race for the Mercedes factory team, the team had some encouraging runs in Friday practice and even a 4th fastest speed for Michael Schumacher in Saturday morning, the silver arrows were off target in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying. 10th fastest and about a second slower than the pole sitter, Nico Rosberg leads the team with Michael Schumacher shut-out of the Q3 time trial session in 13th place. Ross Brawn offered some perspective to the tough qualifying outing for Mercedes GP. "A very disappointing qualifying session for us today, particularly as I was quite encouraged by our performance yesterday and this morning. However when it came to qualifying, we just weren't able to put our laps together."



Photo Credit: Mercedes GP


Almost mid-way through the season, race teams of HRT, Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing are still presiding at the rear of grand prix events as they continue to search for competitive speed. However, in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, the speed differential between the teams have been closing. Within the top times of the top-23 Formula 1 times, 4.8 seconds separate much of the 2010 Formula 1 field.


Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying Results 2010 Formula 1

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari
8. Robert Kubica Renault F1
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
11. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
12. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault
15. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
16. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
17. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
18. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
21. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
23. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
24. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth