McLaren 1-2 In Tire Dominated Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has led Jenson Button home in a McLaren 1-2 at the Canadian Grand Prix. The race was dominated by tire issues for all the teams and a host of pit stops.

McLaren is in the middle of a three race stretch where it should dominate. The races involve fast tracks without the technical turns. This allows the McLarens to get the most from their F-Ducts while minimizing their lack of down force. The team was a bit lucky to win in Turkey what with the two Red Bulls deciding to run each other off the road. Canada was a different story, but not in the way most of us had anticipated.

Canada set up perfectly for McLaren. The big down force advantage of Red Bull would mean next to nothing given the lack of technical turns. Then the race started and all that went out the window. It was difficult to tell who was really the fastest as the race turned into a tire fiasco that almost made a mockery of the event. The Red Bulls made a mess of it, while McLaren and Ferrari did very well. Ultimately, it was a well earned victory for Lewis Hamilton with Fernando Alonso getting a little unlucky as back markers allowed Button to pass him. Still, there was little doubt McLaren was the team of the weekend.


Best Drive – Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton took pole and won the race, so this would seem obvious. I am not actually giving it to him for that. Winning from pole does not mean a “best drive” award in my book. The reason I am giving it to him is his ability to control his aggressiveness and not destroy his tires. This has been his downfall in other races, so seeing a professional drive of this sort from him was rather remarkable. A Hamilton that can drive smartly instead of just aggressively is a driver that could win a ton of championships. Well done, Hamilton.

Return of the King – Fernando Alonso

Where did that come from? Alonso finished third and arguably should have been second if he hadn’t been balked twice by slow traffic. Still, who would have guessed a podium finish after the atrocious performance of Ferrari in Turkey? Personally, I thought the team was about to implode as only Ferrari can. Given the pedestrian performance of Felipe Massa, the drive by Alonso was all the more shocking.

Worst Driver Ever [this weekend]

…and Ferrari gave Massa an extension why? Yes, he was involved in a racing accident at the first corner and dropped back through the field. From there, however, he didn’t exactly charge through the field did he? While Alonso is getting the most from what looks like a car with some serious problems, Massa isn’t getting much from it. He made a push at the end, but all and all it just raises more questions about why Kubica is not getting fitted for a red driving suit for 2011.

Worst Team – Red Bull

Has any team ever done so little with such a great car? Brawn showed how to take an advantage and drive it home to an insurmountable point lead last year. Red Bull should go review the tapes. The team makes dodgy strategy decisions. You have to wonder if Sebastian Vettel is starting to look around at other big teams for a driving opportunity. His car blows up, misfires, has the brakes go bad and so on. This time it was his gearbox. To say the Red Bull is fragile is to insult fine china. The car is blindly fast, but it doesn’t really matter if you can’t get it home or have a good strategy. The decision to leave Webber out when he was 3 seconds a lap slower than Hamilton was another head scratcher. Red Bull has moved up to play with the big boys. The car has the ability to do it. Too bad the team is still very amateurish.



Best Moment of Race

The best moment of the race was undoubtedly the communication between Vettel and his team. If you didn’t hear it, Vettel asked his race engineer what the fast lap was in the race. This was why Vettel was conserving the car because of a mechanical problem. The engineer responded “Don’t even think about it. We have a broken car!” It was absolutely classic.

Was Lemmy’s  Prediction Right?

Nope, but I wasn’t far off. I though Button would come from back on the grid. He got up to second, but that was it. I will voluntarily admit that I didn’t even remotely anticipate Alonso putting in a drive like that nor the tire issue.

Up Next – Valencia

Valencia is another high speed, non-technical track. It is the last of three consecutive races of this type. This means McLaren should again be the favorites. Red Bull should give them a run so long as the car stays in one piece [doubtful]. I’m not a fan of the Valencia track as I think it makes for boring racing, but hopefully I’ll be wrong this year.

Until then…

Lemmy
June 13, 2010

Here's the finishing order:

1 Lewis Hamilton (GBR)
2 Jenson Button (GBR)
3 Fernando Alonso (ESP)
4 Sebastian Vettel (GER)
5 Mark Webber (AUS)
6 Nico Rosberg (GER)
7 Robert Kubica (POL)
8 Sébastien Buemi (SUI)
9 Tonio Liuzzi (ITA)
10 Adrian Sutil (GER)
11 Michael Schumacher (GER)
12 Jaime Alguersuari (ESP)
13 Nico Hülkenberg (GER)
14 Rubens Barrichello (BRA)
15 Felipe Massa (BRA)
16 Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)
17 Vitaly Petrov (RUS)
18 Karun Chandhok (IND)
19 Lucas di Grassi (BRA)

Retirement

Timo Glock (GER)                                               
Jarno Trulli (ITA)                                              
Pedro de la Rosa (ESP)                               
Bruno Senna (BRA)                                         
Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)

<< Formula One Race Results