Canadian Grand Prix – race

June 10, 2007 by
Filed under: Uncategorized 

The grid looks unchanged from yesterday’s qualifying, other than Kovalainen’s penalty for an engine change, so the order is LH, FA, NH, KR, FM, MW, NR, RK, GF, JT, TS, VL, RB, DC, JB, SS, AD, RS, AW, AS, CA, HK.

Hamilton is the first driver to be on the pole for the Montreal Grand Prix in their first year in F1.

My live race notes are after the cut.

Given that Alonso was quicker than Hamilton in both Friday practice sessions, is LH running a lighter fuel load? BMW tend to qualify light, so Heidfeld could well mix things up going into the first corner.

Weather conditions: air temp 26°C; track 53°C; wind 2.1m/s; humidity 56%

Looks like Albers is going to start from the pit lane but then he was P21 on the grid

Formation lap: LH leads everyone away, although FA’s a bit slow to lead his grid spot
Looks like most drivers are starting on the harder of the two tyres (the option tyre is a super-soft compound, same as at Monaco)
NH looks fairly far forward in his grid slot – will he be penalised?

01/70: FA went into Turn 1 very hot and ran wide – rejoined just missing LH
JB had stalled on the grid – he’s being pushed down the main straight :(

02: LH, NH, FA, FM, NR, RK, GF, RK
LH leads NH by 1.5secs
JB is still in the pit lane – sounds like he can’t get the Honda into first gear

03: LH fastest lap 1:18.302
ITV-F1 confirm that JB is out of the race :(

04: LH f/lap 1:17.681
NH f/lap 1:17.48
MW has spun in T1; rejoins behind his teammate having lost a few places
Replay shows KR touching the rear of teammate FM

05: LH f/lap 1:17.127

06: LH f/lap 1:16.939
LH lead over NH now 3.2s; FA is 1.2s behind NH

06: Replay shows CA brushed the wall but continued OK

07: LH f/lap 1:16.744
MW passes DC to take P13

08: ITV-F1 interview JB: “not a great weekend”
MW in the slipstream behind RB on the back straight

09: MW passes RB for P12

10/70: LH, NH, FA, FM, NR, RK, GF, RK; retirements: JB
LH f/lap 1:16.634
SS has smashed the right left suspension and forces the Toro Rosso along the track to find a safe spot to stop
Replay shows SS hit AW, going for a virtually non-existant gap

11: Onboard with AW shows damage to his Williams’ rear wing
KR takes a minor excursion over the grass

13: VL brushes the wall
HK passes AW into the chicane for P15

15/70: LH, NH, FA, FM, NR, RK, GF, RK; retirements: JB, SS
LH leads NH by 10.3s
FA runs wide in T1 again

16: MW passes VL into the hairpin but outbrakes himself and VL re-takes P11
Expect the 2-stoppers to come in around lap 20

17: FM is now under a second behind FA

18: NH personal f/lap 1:16.802 – he’ll be pitting soon

19: LH will be lapping the backmarkers shortly

20/70: FA runs wide in T1 yet again, and this time FM passes him for P3
Pit-car radio for DC: “no traction but lots of fun”! :)

21: NH pits from P2 – 7.8s stop – rejoins ahead of teammate RK
MW looks at passing VL but VL holds on to P11

22: LH leads FM by 19.3s – that’s a 21.3s lead over his teammate
McLaren team getting ready, presumably for LH

23: LH pits from P1 – 9.0s stop – rejoins ahead of KR
Double waved yellows – AS smacked the wall in T4

24: Safety Car deployed
FA pits just before the pit lane closed – that’s a huge advantage for him

25/70 [SC]: FM, LH, KR, GF, NH, RK, FA, NR; retirements: JB, SS, AS
Pit crews for several teams prepare for the pit lane to re-open

26 [SC]: FM, KR, GF, RK, TS, JT, VL all pit
KR has to wait while FM gets fuel & tyres
Safety Car in at the end of this lap

27: SC in – we’re racing again, but LH’s lead is gone
FA locks up his brakes
Cars 1 (FA) and 16 (NR) under investigation for entering the pit lane when it was closed
BIG ACCIDENT for RK!
Safety Car deployed
10 second stop-go penalty for FA & NR

28 [SC]: Replay shows RK was passing a Toyota well before the hairpin, so he went off at full speed
He barely missed the parked Toro Rosso of SS, smashed in to one barrier, skidded across the track upside down, hit another wall and stopped on his side
RK looked to be moving as the car stopped
Marshalls were on-scene fairly quickly

30/70 [SC]: LH, NH, FA, NR, RB, AW, AD, RS — FA & NR yet to serve their stop-go penalties
Pit lane re-opened; RB & AW pit
Looks like some drivers are putting on the super-soft (option) tyre for one lap

31 [SC]: Medics still attending to RK … no, looks like he’s been removed from the car
The marshalls are lifting the monocoque away – it’ll take a few minutes to clear the debris too

33 [SC]: Pit-car radio reminding HK to warm his tyres
SC in at the end of this lap

34: SC in; NH asleep at the wheel – LH has a handy gap before he starts the lap
Did LH close up too much on the Safety Car as it was pulling off?

35/70: LH, NH, FA, NR, AD, RS, MW, FM — FA & NR yet to serve their stop-go penalties; retirements: JB, SS, AS, RK
TS passes KR for P10 – maybe RS won’t be the only being replaced before the end of this season!?

37: FA & NR both pit for their stop-go penalties
Official update on Kubica: he’s “stable” – that’s all

38: LH f/lap 1:16.494
AD pits from P3 and there’s no-one waiting for him in the pits!
NR had passed JT in to T1 but they both spin, even though there’s no contact!

39: DC parks the Red Bull in the garage

40/70: LH, NH, RS, MW, FM, GF, TS, KR; retirements: JB, SS, AS, RK, DC

41: FA passes AW for P12
AS pits again
FA passes RB for P11

42: LH leads NH by 6.4s; NH leads MW by 17.0secs
FA passed CA for P9

43: FA continues storming through the field – passes HK for P8 but his next target is KR

45/70: LH, NH, MW, FM, GF, TS, KR, FA; retirements: JB, SS, AS, RK, DC
Stewards investigating incident between cars 3 & 5 (GF & FM) – is that to do with them exiting the pit lane while the lights were red?
Update on RK: his manager has talked to him – he’s being moved to the local hospital

46: FA f/lap 1:16.395

48: NH pits from P2 – 8.5s stop – takes on super-soft tyres
FA f/lap 1:16.367
McLaren getting ready for LH – he has ~29sec lead over MW

49: LH pits from P1 – 6.0s stop – quick stop – super-softs
FA has closed right up on KR
New nose cone for CA’s Spyker – replay shows he cut a corner and now there’s debris across the road

50/70: LH, MW, NH, FM, TS, KR, FA, GF; retirements: JB, SS, AS, RK, DC
LH still has a 9.6s gap to MW even after his pit stop

51: Safety Car deployed for a third time, presumably so the marshals can clear CA’s debris
TS pits from P5 – chaos as the team can’t decide whether to release him

52 [SC]: Replay shows FA hitting the kerb hard enough that it sounds like the McLaren came out of gear, dropping him back from KR

53 [SC]: GF and FM have both been black-flagged (i.e. disqualified) for exiting the pits against red lights – same penalty as Montoya receieved a couple of years ago for the same stupid mistake
Lapped cars have been given the OK to pass the Safety Car
Pit lane re-opened; KR, FA, RS & TS all pit

54 [SC]: FA & KR exit the pits in parallel – FA was just ahead – that doesn’t count as passing under the SC, does it?
ITV-F1 confirm there is damage to the undertray of FA’s McLaren
SC in at end of this lap

55/70: MW pits from P2
AD seems to be struggling – he’s dropping down the field

56: LH, NH, RB, AW, HK…
VL clouts the wall and retires the Toro Rosso
FA runs wide in T1 again – KR & JT pass him

57: SC deployed again (4th time!) to aid recovery of VL’s car – you could hear the crowd boo, but that car has got to be removed from a dangerous place
VL very animated as he explains to his boss why he wiped out against “The Champions’ Wall”

58 [SC]: Pit lane re-opened

59 [SC]: JT has hit the tyre wall – looks like he ran wide in Turn 1 – hopefully recovering the Toyota won’t keep the Safety Car out longer

60/70 [SC]: LH, NH, RB, AW, HK, KR, RS, FA; retirements: JB, SS, AS, RK, DC, CA, GF, FM, VL, JT (yes, 10 retirements!)
SC in at the end of this lap
LH bunches everyone up as he waits for the SC to pull off

61: AD very close to the wall but just keeps it out of trouble
FA gets a good tow and passes RS for P7

62: FA looks at passing KR on the outside of T1, but that’s not really his lucky corner
Another update on RK: no broken bones, but will he be fit to race at Indianapolis next weekend?

63: TS looks to pass RS but the self-proclaimed “third best driver in the world” closes the door

64: RB pits from P3
TS pushing RS hard

65/70: LH, NH, AW, HK, KR, FA, RS, TS
LH has opened up a 4.1s lead over NH
AW has still only made one stop

66: Williams mechanics look relaxed & enjoying the race, so presumably no 2nd stop for AW

67: TS passes RS for P7

68: TS is closing on FA!
AW is closing on NH too

69: The Super Aguri of TS is pushing the McLaren very hard
TS passes FA into the final corner – TS keeps it clean and doesn’t cut the chicane

70/70 – final lap: LH’s lead 6.8s over NH
It’s about now Murray Walker would put the kiss of death on Hamilton :)
MW pushing RS hard for P8

LH takes the chequered flag and wins his first Grand Prix! :)
P2=NH, 3=AW, 4=HK, 5=KR, 6=TS, 7=FA, 8=RS; 9=MW, 10=NR, 11=AD, 12=RB.
Retirements: JB, SS, AS, RK, DC, CA, GF, FM, VL, JT
Pit-car radio for LH says RK has broken his leg

Provisional results:

  1. L.Hamilton (McLaren)
  2. N.Heidfeld (BMW)
  3. A.Wurz (Williams)
  4. H.Kovalainen (Renault)
  5. K.Raikkonen (Ferrari)
  6. T.Sato (Super Aguri)
  7. F.Alonso (McLaren)
  8. R.Schumacher (Toyota)
  9. M.Webber (Red Bull)
  10. N.Rosberg (Williams)
  11. A.Davidson (Super Aguri)
  12. R.Barrichello (Honda)
  13. J.Trulli (Toyota) [DNF]
  14. V.Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) [DNF]
  15. F.Massa (Ferrari) [DNF]
  16. G.Fisichella (Renault) [DNF]
  17. C.Albers (Spyker) [DNF]
  18. D.Coulthard (Red Bull) [DNF]
  19. R.Kubica (BMW) [DNF]
  20. A.Sutil (Spyker) [DNF]
  21. S.Speed (Toro Rosso) [DNF]
  22. J.Button (Honda) [DNF]

Interviews:
LH: 150th podium for McLaren-Mercedes; “no problems during the race”; “I have to dedicate this to my dad”; “I quietened down towards the end”; “quite a poor getaway” (from the grid)
NH: “fantastic start”
AW: “difficult weekend”; “just keep pushing”; when asked what it was like on the super-soft tyres for so long: “it was hell” :)

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Comments

9 Comments on Canadian Grand Prix – race

  1. paul on Sun, 10th Jun 2007 6:16 pm

    2. Initial reports from team members that Robert Kubica had suffered a broken leg as a result of his accident in Montreal have proved to be wide of the mark. The latest news from the hospital is that the Pole has no broken bones. He is staying in hospital under observation in case there are any questions with concussion but it seems that he is not seriously hurt.

    [source: GrandPrix.com]

  2. paul on Sun, 10th Jun 2007 6:24 pm

    3. BBC News has updated their site too – instead of reporting he had a broken leg, they now say:

    After initial reports he had broken his leg, team officials later said Kubica had “escaped relatively unscathed”.

  3. paul on Sun, 10th Jun 2007 6:34 pm

    4. There’s some good discussion of the race over on the F1 community on LiveJournal.

  4. paul on Sun, 10th Jun 2007 6:41 pm

    5. Same story from ITV-F1.

  5. paul on Sun, 10th Jun 2007 6:45 pm

    6. Apparently Anthony Davidson hit a beaver!

    “It is such a shame about the beaver. It had it in for me for sure! I was running in third place at the time, behind the safety car. I was on a clear, one stop strategy and it damaged the front wing. I couldn’t even see it at high speed and I could not understand why suddenly I locked up the front tyres and so I had to come in to the pitlane.”

  6. paul on Sun, 10th Jun 2007 6:57 pm

    7. I just learned that “The first use of the Safety Car in Formula One was at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix.” [source: Wikipedia]

  7. paul on Mon, 11th Jun 2007 11:10 pm

    8. “Kubica emerged with only slight concussion and a sprained ankle.” [BBC]

    “Miraculously, he emerged from the accident virtually unscathed. Intensive CT scans and other checks revealed only mild concussion and a sprained ankle.” [ITV-F1]

  8. blog.henman.ca » US Grand Prix - practice on Sat, 16th Jun 2007 11:57 am

    9. [...] ony a few days since the Canadian Grand Prix so, as expected, Robert Kubica is not fit to drive. Despite the initial reports of a broken leg, he [...]

  9. Canadian Grand Prix - Results | blog.henman.ca on Sat, 28th Jul 2007 7:53 pm

    10. [...] comes to mind – written by an Englishman in Canada. links for 2007-06-12 » « Canadian Grand Prix – race Canadian Grand Prix – [...]

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