F1-Blog

Canadian GP

Well by now you know that the win went to Lewis Hamilton, and well done to him. However besides the crushing victory by the McLaren under Lewis’s control there are other things to speak of.

First and foremost we wish Robert Kubica a speedy and trouble free recovery from his hurt leg, after a massive crash entering the hairpin section of the track.

The Kubica crashed caused a lengthy outing of the pace car, as the stewards, medical staff and officials tried to clear first Robert from the car, and then the massive amounts of debris the crash caused.

The amazing thing about the crash however is that Robert suffered no more than a sprained ankle, and bruises and abrasions.

The medical staff were on the scene very promptly, and the BMW Sauber seemed to hold up to the massive 180MPH accident well considering the number of walls and rolls it was subjected to.

The question is now, do BMW run Robert in the Indi race, or one of there other drivers, Timo Glock and Sebastian Vettel are both under contract at the team and could step in take the second seat.

The other news is the attrition rate at this years Canadian GP. Only 12 of the cars that started actually finished the race.

Most of the cars were lost due to accidents or incidents with the walls.

The Toyota’s and Ferrari’s showed no improvement in pace,  however they seem to be the only teams not taking steps forward.

Both of the Honda teams showed improvement, with the Super Aguri showing a lot of improvement, and again besting the factory team. The gearbox on the Honda of Jenson Button could not find first gear, and as such was pushed from the grid and never lapped the track.

 The Renault’s both showed a definite improvement in pace, however Fisi was black flagged as was Massa when they left the pit’s under a red light.

It seems that Alonso struggled all race, after damaging the floor of his car in the very first corner of the race while trying to stop a fast starting BMW of Nick Heidfeld from taking his second spot, because of this he left the track at turn one multiple times and eventually was overtaken by Takuma Sato in the Super Aguri.

So accidents and Safety Car’s aside it was a powerful display from Lewis Hamilton, and one he can be truly proud of. He not only bettered every other team and driver, but blew his team mate to the weeds (even if he did have issues with the car).

The Ferrari’s are again showing signs of a struggle, Kimi was not on the pace all weekend, and even Massa struggled to make the car look good around the circuit.

Alonso is now heading to his least favorite circuit of the year with the knowledge that he has to put his upstart rookie team mate in his place, or risk loosing his number one status in the team.

The BMW cars are now the default number two team behind McLaren, as they have out performed the Ferrari’s on multiple occasions, without a decent reply from either of the Ferrari drivers.

Nick Heidfeld’s second place was a truly deserved one as was the third spot for the Williams team and Alex Wurz.

The British media have gone all Hamilton Crazy, but hey who can blame them, we now do, truly have a rising star in our midst. Something we have not really had in any sport for a while (Beckam withstanding). Lewis will make a mistake at some point, so I advise you to keep that in mind. The thing is though, that he will be strong enough to come back from that and still run well at the next event, and that is the sign of a true talent.

The season is starting to come together for the McLaren boys, they have the strongest car, and the two strongest drivers on the grid. Can the other teams fight back, can Kimi get to grips with the Bridgestone tyres and show he is the quickest man on the grid (as he is), or will Massa crush Kimi’s spirits and make the Ferrari team his own.

Time will tell, but for now, it looks like we are set for one of the best season’s of F1 for a while.

Results

1  L. Hamilton   Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
2  N. Heidfeld   BMW Sauber F1 Team
3  A. Wurz       AT&T Williams
4  H. Kovalainen ING Renault F1 Team
5  K. Raikkonen  Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
6  T. Sato       Super Aguri F1 Team
7  F. Alonso     Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
8  R. Schumacher Panasonic Toyota Racing