Hamilton wins dramatic Montreal race
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton emerged triumphant from a dramatic Montreal F1 race on Sunday which saw everything which could happen actually happen - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) were black flagged, Robert Kubica (BMW) had a...
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton emerged triumphant from a dramatic Montreal F1 race on Sunday which saw everything which could happen actually happen - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) were black flagged, Robert Kubica (BMW) had a horrific crash and suffered a broken leg, the safety car was deployed four times and several drivers committed costly mistakes, notably champion Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton was unchallenged throughout the drama to win his first grand prix in only his sixth race and establish himself as the clear championship leader.
Joining him on the podium were BMW's Nick Heidfeld and Alexander Wurz of Williams. Renault's Heikki Kovalainen saw a tough weekend end with joy at coming fourth. Kimi Raikkonen salvaged some points for Ferrari with fifth while Takuma Sato again won points for Super Aguri, coming in sixth after overtaking Alonso with two laps to go. Ralf Schumacher came in behind Alonso on eighth to win the last point. The race was held under fine conditions, with an ambient temperature of 26 centigrade and track temperature of 53.
Pole sitter Hamilton had a clean getaway at the start but Alonso ran wide and into the grass, much like he did in Barcelona although with less pressure, allowing BMW's Heidfeld to move to second before he rejoined in third, just ahead of Felipe Massa. Rosberg (Williams) meanwhile passed Raikkonen to fifth. Jenson Button(Honda) did not get off the starting grid while Fisichella (Renault) moved to seventh from ninth.
Hamilton quickly built a cushion on Heidfeld. Mark Webber (Red Bull) almost lost the car and lost several places while trying to overtake Kubica (BMW) early in the race. He recovered to pass team-mate Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello (Honda) to P12. Scott Speed (Toro Rosso) brought out the yellow flags on lap 10 after touching Wurz (Williams) and retiring. Wurz suffered a damaged rear wing but kept going. Hamilton at this time was a second a lap quicker than his rivals while Raikkonen had a scare and an excursion into the green as he pressured Rosberg on lap 12. By lap 13 Heidfeld was 10.2s behind Hamilton, Alonso was 11 seconds and Raikkonen 20.3s back. Alonso appeared to be nervous, running wide a second time on lap 15 as Massa closed in on him.
Alonso ran wide again, on lap 19, and Massa profited to move to third, despite the Spaniard's attempts to block.
Heidfeld was the first to pit, on lap 21, emerging seventh. Hamilton came in on lap 23 and rejoined in fourth ahead of Raikkonen.
The safety car came in on lap 24 when Sutil (Spyker) crashed into the wall at turn four as Alonso and Rosberg went into the pits. An investigation was launched and they suffered a 10 second stop and go penalty for going into the pits during the initial safety car period. At this time Massa was leading from Hamilton, Raikkonen, Fisichella and Heidfeld. Most went in when they could under safety car rules and Hamilton retook the lead but he had lost his advantage now. Heidfeld was second again. Kubica then had a huge incident on lap 27, his BMW hitting a Toyota, getting airborne, hitting a wall at high speed then rolling several times back across the track and coming to rest minus engine and three wheels. Medics huddled around the cockpit as the safety car came out again. He was rushed to hospital by helicopter and was later said to have suffered a broken leg.
The race resumed on lap 33 when Sato (Super Aguri) passed Raikkonen for P10 after the Finn ran wide. Hamilton again started to build his lead ahead of Heidfeld, Ralf Schumacher, Webber, Massa, Fisichella, Sato and Raikkonen.
Alonso and Rosberg went in for their penalty, Alonso rejoining on P15. Rosberg attacked Trulli on lap 32, both cars ending up spinning without hitting anything. Massa moved to fourth when Ralf Schumacher went into the pits, the last to do so. He emerged eleventh.
Alonso was in a hurry now, moving to eighth by lap 41. Now Fisichella and Massa were under investigation for emerging on the track after their pit stop under safety car conditions when the lights were red.
The champion was meanwhile setting fastest laps, reining in Raikkonen. Heidfeld started the second round of pit stops on lap 48 losing second place to Webber (Red Bull). Hamilton came in a lap later but kept the lead. Alonso was on Raikkonen's tail at this time while Coulthard retired with gearbox problems. The busy safety car came in again, for the third time, on lap 56, after Christjan Albers' Spyker hit the wall, showering the track with debris. There was further drama when Fisichella and Massa were shown the black flag – eliminated from the race, for emerging on the track under a red, as had happened to McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya in the same race two years ago.
Several drivers dashed into the pits and Alonso emerged ahead of Raikkonen after a pit lane duel. Hamilton remained first followed by Heidfeld, Barrichello, Wurz, Liuzzi, Trulli, Kovalainen, Alonso and Rakkonen in ninth. Liuzzi(Toro Rosso) hit a wall and retired, Alonso tried and failed to overtake Trulli. He ran wide and lost two positions, ending up behind Raikkonen Ralf Schumacher. The safety car came out again because of Liuzzi's crash.
Trulli hit a wall after a pit stop and retired while the safety car was still on track.
The race resumed on lap 60 with Alonso again trying to redeem himself. He quickly passed Ralf Schumacher and was again behind Raikkonen with nine laps to go while Kovalainen battled Wurz right in front. Sato meanwhile passed Ralf Schumacher for seventh and incredibly, started to gain on Alonso as his super soft tyres deteriorated. He passed him with two laps to go! Could Alonso suffer further humiliation after several mistakes and a penalty? This was a day to remember for Sato, having overtaken both Alonso and Raikkonen.
Hamilton meanwhile marched on and took the chequered flag without ever having been challenged. Behind him for the podium came Nick Heidfeld (BMW) and Alexander Wurz for Williams, the first podiums for BMW and Williams this year.
Hamilton was unchallenged throughout the drama to win his first grand prix in only his sixth race and establish himself as the clear championship leader.
Joining him on the podium were BMW's Nick Heidfeld and Alexander Wurz of Williams. Renault's Heikki Kovalainen saw a tough weekend end with joy at coming fourth. Kimi Raikkonen salvaged some points for Ferrari with fifth while Takuma Sato again won points for Super Aguri, coming in sixth after overtaking Alonso with two laps to go. Ralf Schumacher came in behind Alonso on eighth to win the last point. The race was held under fine conditions, with an ambient temperature of 26 centigrade and track temperature of 53.
Pole sitter Hamilton had a clean getaway at the start but Alonso ran wide and into the grass, much like he did in Barcelona although with less pressure, allowing BMW's Heidfeld to move to second before he rejoined in third, just ahead of Felipe Massa. Rosberg (Williams) meanwhile passed Raikkonen to fifth. Jenson Button(Honda) did not get off the starting grid while Fisichella (Renault) moved to seventh from ninth.
Hamilton quickly built a cushion on Heidfeld. Mark Webber (Red Bull) almost lost the car and lost several places while trying to overtake Kubica (BMW) early in the race. He recovered to pass team-mate Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello (Honda) to P12. Scott Speed (Toro Rosso) brought out the yellow flags on lap 10 after touching Wurz (Williams) and retiring. Wurz suffered a damaged rear wing but kept going. Hamilton at this time was a second a lap quicker than his rivals while Raikkonen had a scare and an excursion into the green as he pressured Rosberg on lap 12. By lap 13 Heidfeld was 10.2s behind Hamilton, Alonso was 11 seconds and Raikkonen 20.3s back. Alonso appeared to be nervous, running wide a second time on lap 15 as Massa closed in on him.
Alonso ran wide again, on lap 19, and Massa profited to move to third, despite the Spaniard's attempts to block.
Heidfeld was the first to pit, on lap 21, emerging seventh. Hamilton came in on lap 23 and rejoined in fourth ahead of Raikkonen.
The safety car came in on lap 24 when Sutil (Spyker) crashed into the wall at turn four as Alonso and Rosberg went into the pits. An investigation was launched and they suffered a 10 second stop and go penalty for going into the pits during the initial safety car period. At this time Massa was leading from Hamilton, Raikkonen, Fisichella and Heidfeld. Most went in when they could under safety car rules and Hamilton retook the lead but he had lost his advantage now. Heidfeld was second again. Kubica then had a huge incident on lap 27, his BMW hitting a Toyota, getting airborne, hitting a wall at high speed then rolling several times back across the track and coming to rest minus engine and three wheels. Medics huddled around the cockpit as the safety car came out again. He was rushed to hospital by helicopter and was later said to have suffered a broken leg.
The race resumed on lap 33 when Sato (Super Aguri) passed Raikkonen for P10 after the Finn ran wide. Hamilton again started to build his lead ahead of Heidfeld, Ralf Schumacher, Webber, Massa, Fisichella, Sato and Raikkonen.
Alonso and Rosberg went in for their penalty, Alonso rejoining on P15. Rosberg attacked Trulli on lap 32, both cars ending up spinning without hitting anything. Massa moved to fourth when Ralf Schumacher went into the pits, the last to do so. He emerged eleventh.
Alonso was in a hurry now, moving to eighth by lap 41. Now Fisichella and Massa were under investigation for emerging on the track after their pit stop under safety car conditions when the lights were red.
The champion was meanwhile setting fastest laps, reining in Raikkonen. Heidfeld started the second round of pit stops on lap 48 losing second place to Webber (Red Bull). Hamilton came in a lap later but kept the lead. Alonso was on Raikkonen's tail at this time while Coulthard retired with gearbox problems. The busy safety car came in again, for the third time, on lap 56, after Christjan Albers' Spyker hit the wall, showering the track with debris. There was further drama when Fisichella and Massa were shown the black flag – eliminated from the race, for emerging on the track under a red, as had happened to McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya in the same race two years ago.
Several drivers dashed into the pits and Alonso emerged ahead of Raikkonen after a pit lane duel. Hamilton remained first followed by Heidfeld, Barrichello, Wurz, Liuzzi, Trulli, Kovalainen, Alonso and Rakkonen in ninth. Liuzzi(Toro Rosso) hit a wall and retired, Alonso tried and failed to overtake Trulli. He ran wide and lost two positions, ending up behind Raikkonen Ralf Schumacher. The safety car came out again because of Liuzzi's crash.
Trulli hit a wall after a pit stop and retired while the safety car was still on track.
The race resumed on lap 60 with Alonso again trying to redeem himself. He quickly passed Ralf Schumacher and was again behind Raikkonen with nine laps to go while Kovalainen battled Wurz right in front. Sato meanwhile passed Ralf Schumacher for seventh and incredibly, started to gain on Alonso as his super soft tyres deteriorated. He passed him with two laps to go! Could Alonso suffer further humiliation after several mistakes and a penalty? This was a day to remember for Sato, having overtaken both Alonso and Raikkonen.
Hamilton meanwhile marched on and took the chequered flag without ever having been challenged. Behind him for the podium came Nick Heidfeld (BMW) and Alexander Wurz for Williams, the first podiums for BMW and Williams this year.