Canada 2010

LEWIS HAMILTON TOOK POLE POSITION ON SATURDAY, THUS BREAKING THE RED BULL STRANGLEHOLD - ONE OF THEIR CARS HAD OCCUPIED POLE IN EVERY PREVIOUS RACE THIS SEASON. THE FACT THAT HE RAN OUT OF FUEL ON HIS IN-LAP TENDS TO SUGGEST THAT HIS PREVIOUS LAP HAD BEEN HIS INTENDED 'HOT' LAP BUT, HAVING FAILED TO TAKE POLE, HE THEN CHANGED HIS INTENDED IN-LAP TO ANOTHER 'HOT' LAP. NO EVIDENCE BUT IT IS VERY RARE FOR CARS TO COME TO A HALT ON THE IN-LAP.

MARK WEBBER INITIALLY QUALIFIED IN 2ND PLACE BUT AN UNFORTUNATE NEED TO CHANGE THE GEARBOX INCURRED A 5-PLACE DROP TO 7TH THUS PROMOTING THE NEXT FIVE DRIVERS.

TYRES WERE A DEFINITE PROBLEM HERE, MAINLY BECAUSE THE TRACK HAD NOT BEEN USED FOR TWO YEARS AND THERE ARE NO SUPPORT RACES TO HELP RUBBER-IN THE TRACK. THE TRACK WAS ALSO WASHED CLEAN EACH NIGHT BY RAIN. BOTH THE PRIME AND OPTION TYRES SUFFERED SEVERE GRAINING. NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING FROM A SPECTATOR'S POINT OF VIEW BECAUSE THIS LED TO TEAMS TAKING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES - RED BULL AND ALSO ROBERT KUBICA QUALIFIED AND THUS STARTED THE RACE ON THE HARDER PRIME TYRE WHILE THE REST OF THE TOP 10 STARTED ON THE OPTION TYRE.

THERE WAS CONSTANT ACTIVITY IN THE PITS AS CARS PITTED FOR FRESH TYRES (AND NEW NOSE CONES - THIS IS CANADA, AFTER ALL). IT WAS QUITE DIFFICULT TO WORK OUT WHO HAD THE BEST STRATEGY. IN FACT, THE PITS WERE ALMOST AS BUSY AS THE TRACK AND, INDEED, THE PIT-LANE SAW A WHEEL-TO-WHEEL RACE BETWEEN LEWIS HAMILTON AND FERNANDO WHEN THEY BOTH PITTED AT THE SAME TIME.

MARK WEBBER SEEMED TO HAVE A STRONG HAND WHEN HE INHERITED THE LEAD ONCE SEBASTIAN VETTEL PITTED FOR NEW TYRES BUT, DESPITE ESTABLISHING A 10-SECOND LEAD HE WAS FLATTERING-TO-DECEIVE BECAUSE HE NEEDED TO CHANGE ONTO THE OPTION TYRES, THE WEAKER OF THE TWO, DROPPING HIM DOWN TO 5TH.

SO THE FIGHT WAS REALLY BETWEEN LEWIS HAMILTON, FERNANDO ALONSO, JENSON BUTTON AND SEBASTIEN VETTEL. JENSON MANAGED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TRAFFIC TO GET PAST FERNANDO (AS LEWIS HAD DONE EARLIER) AND THAT IS HOW THEY FINISHED. A SECOND CONSECUTIVE MCLAREN 1-2.

THERE WAS PLENTY OF WHEEL-BANGING LOWER DOWN THE ORDER, WITH MICHAEL SCHUMACHER UP TO HIS OLD TRICKS TO NO AVAIL (AFTER ONLY QUALIFYING 13TH) AND THE STEWARDS, HEADED BY EMERSON FITTIPALDI, WERE KEPT BUSY WITH PIT-LANE SPEEDING, ACCIDENTS, FALSE STARTS, ETC., BUT THE ONLY PUNISHMENTS HANDED OUT WERE REPRIMANDS AND, IN THE CASE OF LEWIS'S STOPPING ON THE TRACK AFTER HIS QUALIFYING LAP, MCLAREN WERE FINED $10,000.

SO IT WAS A RACE PACKED WITH INCIDENT AND VERY EXCITING TO WATCH BUT THE ONLY THING MISSING WAS THE ONE THING THAT ALL THE TEAMS WERE SURE WOULD OCCUR - THERE WERE NO SAFETY CAR INCIDENTS. FOR CANADA, THIS IS ALMOST UNHEARD OF - THERE ARE USUALLY MULTIPLE SUCH INCIDENTS!

Race Results posted by
David Little
14th June 2010

  The HTML code for this page has been validated by the World Wide Web Consortium.