Lewis Hamilton continued being victorious for the second time in a row this season by winning the Canadian grand prix. He started from the pole and finally managed to finish first in a race that could not be decided before the final lap.
First of all we have to say that Mark Webber took a 5 places penalty due to a gearbox change on Saturday. So Lewis had Vettel, and Alonso right behind him for the start.
Hamilton and Alonso started their race on soft tyres, while the two Red Bulls started on the harder component. The soft tyres lasted for only 7 - 8 laps, making the Red Bull's choice look the right one. Generally, we have seen great tyre wear during the race, which makes us wonder if the tyre component selection has been the appropriate one. We think that Bridgestone should bring a step harder components for this track.
Back on the race, the battle has been intense during the whole race, and drivers have not given up until 8 laps before the end of the race. The first pit stop, found Alonso passing Hamilton in the pit lane. A while later Hamilton overtook the Spaniard within track and kept his advantage till the end. They were closing up on Webber who seemed to be unable to create a safety gap. After the second pit stop, they finally reached Webber and passed him. Hamilton first and Alonso right afterwards as the Australian went into the pits to get a fresh set of tyres.
Alonso fought with Hamilton for a few laps, until Button caught him and found a way to get past him while lapping slower cars. This have been pretty much the end of the race, as the Spaniard slowed down in order to ensure the third place and his points. The two McLaren drivers obviously were not in the mood for fighting each other, so from that point all we had to do was just wait for the end of the race to see the rest of the cars.
On the back of the grid, Felipe Massa had a difficult time after having a contact during the first lap. He dropped back last and started his comeback from there. He managed to catch Michael Schumacher for P10, as the Germans tyres were almost dead by that time. His race practically ended as he touched the German while braking for the last chicane.
The Red Bulls showed that the reliability issues the team has will probably cause them the championship. Both cars had problems. Mark Webber with his gearbox on Saturday, and Sebastian Vettel during the race. Vettel took orders to slow down and short shift during the last laps in order to be able to finish the race. We can clearly see that raw speed is not the most essential thing in F1. Reliability, and being able to have a steady pace is much more important in the long run. And this is exactly what McLaren does at this point. Ferrari showed some improvement, but unless they make a huge difference till the next race, the game will be over in McLaren's favor before we know it.
The race results are as follows :
01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h33:53.456
02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.254
03. Alonso Ferrari + 9.214
04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 37.817
05. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 39.291
06. Rosberg Mercedes + 56.084
07. Kubica Renault + 57.300
08. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
09. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
11. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Massa Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. Petrov Renault + 2 laps
18. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps
19. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps
Did Not Finish
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50
Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 43
De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 31
Senna HRT-Cosworth 14
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2
