Canada 2008
MONTREAL 2007 WAS A DISASTER FOR ROBERT KUBICA (COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL). MONTREAL SAW JUSTICE DONE. ROBERT WON WITH HIS TEAM-MATE NICK HEIDFELD SECOND. A HISTORIC DAY FOR ROBERT, POLAND, BMW AND GERMANY. THE FIRST F1 WIN FOR HIM AND THE FIRST BY A POLISH DRIVER, THE FIRST WIN FOR BMW AND A 1-2 AT THAT AND THE FIRST FOR A GERMAN TEAM FOR VERY MANY YEARS.
LEWIS HAMILTON, KIMI RAIKKONEN, FELIPE MASSA AND HEIKKI KOVALAINEN? NOWHERE, FOR VARIOUS REASONS. BIZARRELY, LEWIS TOOK OUT KIMI IN THE PITS! LEWIS HAD COVERED HIMSELF WITH GLORY WITH A BLISTERING QUALIFYING LAP TO CLAIM POLE BY 0.5 SEC AND LED FROM THE START, BUILDING A 7-SECOND LEAD. DURING A SAFETY CAR PERIOD, A NUMBER OF CARS PITTED FOR FUEL, ETC AND KIMI AND ROBERT BOTH FINISHED THEIR STOPS BEFORE LEWIS BUT, WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE PIT-LANE EXIT, THE RED LIGHT WAS SHOWING AND THEY HAD TO STOP. A SPLIT SECOND LATER, LEWIS ARRIVED BEHIND THEM AND HIT THE BACK OF THE FINN'S CAR HARD. HE HAD NOT NOTICED THE RED LIGHT. HE WASN'T THE ONLY ONE BECAUSE NICO ROSBERG COLLIDED WITH THE BACK OF HAMILTON'S CAR.
RAIKKONEN AND HAMILTON WERE OUT, ROSBERG MANAGED TO DRIVE ROUND THE NEXT LAP WITH A BROKEN FRONT WING AND RETURNED TO THE PITS FOR A NEW ONE. THE STEWARDS LATER PENALISED BOTH OF THEM WITH A 10-PLACE DROP ON THE GRID FOR THE NEXT GRAND PRIX IN FRANCE.
FELIPE PITTED AND QUEUED BEHIND KIMI BUT THE PIT-CREW TRIED TO REFUEL HIM WITH THE SAME RIG THEY HAD JUST USED FOR KIMI - IT DIDN'T WORK SO HE HAD TO GO BACK OUT AND CAME BACK IN LATER BUT THE DELAY PUT HIM WELL DOWN. HE FOUGHT BACK TO FINISH 5TH. WHEN HEIKKI CAME IN FOR REFUELLING, HE WAS ONLY ABLE TO REJOIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD AND NEVER REALLY RECOVERED DESPITE SOME SPIRITED DRIVING.
ONE REASON ADDING TO THE DIFFICULTY OF OVERTAKING, INDEED OF SIMPLY STAYING ON THE TRACK, WAS THE FACT THAT THE TRACK WAS BREAKING UP AGAIN AFTER OVERNIGHT REPAIRS. THE HARSH WINTER HAD TAKEN ITS TOLL AND THE ABSENCE OF TRACTION CONTROL MEANT THAT THE DRIVERS WERE SPINNING THE WHEELS UP WHEREAS PREVIOUSLY THE TRACTION CONTROL HAD PREVENTED THAT. RESULT - INCREASED WEAR.
AND WHO CAME 3RD? DAVID COULTHARD EARNED A PODIUM PLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR A LONG TIME (AND HIS FIRST POINTS THIS YEAR).
SO ROBERT NOW HAS TWO MEMORIES OF MONTREAL - THE WORST AND THE BEST. I'M SURE THE BEST MEMORY HAS WIPED OUT THE WORST!
STARTING GRID
| | | |
| 1.
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
| 2.
|
Robert Kubica
|
| 3.
|
Kimi Raikkonen
|
| 4.
|
Fernando Alonso
|
| 5.
|
Nico Rosberg
|
| 6.
|
Felipe Massa
|
| 7.
|
Heikki Kovalainen
|
| 8.
|
Nick Heidfeld
|
| 9.
|
Rubens Barrichello
|
| 10.
|
Mark Webber
|
| 11.
|
Timo Glock
|
| 12.
|
Kazuki Nakajima
|
| 13.
|
David Coulthard
|
| 14.
|
Jarno Trulli
|
| 15.
|
Nelson Piquet
|
| 16.
|
Aidrian Sutil
|
| 17.
|
Giancarlo Fisichella
|
| 18.
|
Sebastien Bourdais
|
| 19.
|
Sebastian Vettel
|
| 20.
|
Jenson Button
|
RESULT
| |
| 1.
|
Robert Kubica
|
| 2.
|
Nick Heidfeld
|
| 3.
|
David Coulthard
|
| 4.
|
Timo Glock
|
| 5.
|
Felipe Massa
|
| 6.
|
Jarno Trulli
|
| 7.
|
Rubens Barrichello
|
| 8.
|
Sebastian Vettel
|
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers :
| |
| Robert Kubica
|
42
|
| Lewis Hamilton
|
38
|
| =Felipe Massa
|
38
|
| Kimi Raikkonen
|
35
|
| Nick Heidfeld
|
28
|
| Heikki Kovalainen
|
15
|
| =Mark Webber
|
15
|
| Jarno Trulli
|
12
|
Constructors :
|
| Ferrari
|
73
|
| BMW
|
70
|
| McLaren
|
53
|
| Red Bull Racing
|
21
|
| Toyota
|
17
|
| Williams
|
15
|
| Renault
|
9
|
| Honda
|
8
|
| Scuderia Toro Rosso
|
7
|
| Force India
|
0
|
| Super Aguri
|
0
|
Race Results posted by
David Little
9th June 2008
The HTML code for this page has been validated by the World Wide Web Consortium.