Canadian GP: An absolute Gem

The Canadian grand prix, according to me, was the best race of the season so far and maybe will be the most talked about race of the 2011 season as well. The race had all the elements in it, all the drama, action, excitement. It was an absolute gem of a race for the fans and they would have got their every penny worth of entertainment. As was expected, it did rain in Montreal on Sunday and it rained pretty heavily which made the driving conditions a real challenge to the drivers.

The race started with Sebastian Vettel on P1, Alonso and Massa on P2 and P3 respectively on the starting grid followed by Webber, Hamilton, Schumacher and Button. Vettel once again continued to dominate the race and consolidated his lead on the other drivers. Mark Webber lost some significant places when his car brushed Hamilton’s McLaren who was maybe over aggressive in his approach and was pushing too hard on the car right from the start. And he also paid the price for his tactics when his car crashed into the wall, completely taking out the McLaren’s rear suspension after his car entangled with his own team mate Jenson Button. He was forced to retire very early into the race.

Soon after, the safety car had to be called on when the rain started to pour on heavily on the circuit and then the race had to be temporarily called off only after 25 laps out of the 70 lap race. Uncertainty was still looming round the corner and for a moment it looked like the race could not be continued any longer considering the safety for the drivers. If that would have happened, then according to the FIA rules, the race leaders at that point of time who were Sebastian Vettel, Kamui Kobayashi and Felipe Massa on the first, second and third position respectively would have been awarded half of the points that are actually given to the podium finishers.It would have been a disappointing day for the fans who had turned up to watch the race live in Montreal in such a large number but it was also the officials primary responsibility to check the conditions and allow the race to continue further only when they were fully convinced that it was completely safe for the drivers to go out there on the track. But the track marshals and the race officials did a commendable job in clearing off the flooded track and after a short delay, the race was finally commenced.

It was once again looking like a comprehensively well deserving victory for Sebastian Vettel until the race took one of the most unexpected turn, a turn that anyone would have hardly imagined. Lady luck shone on Jenson Button just when it mattered and on the last lap, on the last corner when race leader Sebastian Vettel accidently chose the wrong wet line and lost grip on the car. This gave an easy pass to Button who was holding his racing line and overtook Vettel to take the chequered flag. But of course credit has to be given to Button for constantly putting the pressure on Vettel and coming ahead from a 4 second gap. That was not all, the circuit lived up to its reputation and the spectators witnessed some accidents including Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld. Renault driver Nick Heidfield’s crash was a potentially dangerous crash when he tipped his front wing against the rear of Kamui Kobayashi’s car and went straight down the emergency exit lane and ended his race. It was a very good race for Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher who also gave his fans some moments to cheer about, took a double over take on Felipe Massa and Kobayashi to get on to a 2nd position but just couldn’t hold on it for much longer. The Mercedes car certainly was lacking in pace as compared to the rivals Red Bull and McLaren when it came to the two longer sections of the circuit and that was where Schumacher lost out.

So it was celebrations all round in the McLaren camp except for just one thing that Hamilton could not score any points in this race, which he had won the precious year. Even though Vettel and team Red Bull may be well ahead of the other teams in the points table but it certainly was confidence booster for the other team especially McLaren, Ferrari and not to forget Team Force India. Paul di Resta was looked very impressive and has been constantly performing better than his fellow driver Adrian Sutil. So all eyes are now set for the next race, the European Grand Prix in Valencia and the competition is only going to be better here on.