Montreal played host to the Canadian Grand Prix and the most exciting race of the season thus far. Lewis Hamilton and McLaren emerged victorious once again and retook the lead in both championships.
When the year opened in Bahrain with a processional race the expectation was the Formula 1 was in for a dangerously poor season and one that would see millions of fans switch off their televisions and search for a new form of excitement on a Sunday afternoon. This expectation has been proven very wrong with each race since Bahrain proving thrilling for various reasons; this race though was the best of the year so far.
Tyres prove crucial to the outcome of this race
There were numerous factors that led to this race proving to be classic but the primary reason was that the tyres were on a knife-edge throughout the weekend. Drivers were unable to make their tyres last for a substantial number of laps. In Formula 1 the regulations state that drivers must use both compounds of tyre throughout a race, most races have seen the best strategy being a single pit stop as early as possible that would allow a driver to gain or maintain track position over rivals until the flag.
In Montreal the soft tyre was barely able to last for 15 laps and the harder was not able to last more than 30 laps so it was clear that drivers would need to make multiple pit stops for tyres. With this being the case teams needed to decide how best to tackle the strategy of the race and when to use the softer tyre.
McLaren and Ferrari both decided that their best option was to use the soft tyre at the start. They did this to minimise what they felt was their weakest segment of the race and to get this part of the race over as early as possible. Red Bull started the race on the harder compound because they expected to be able to go until around lap 20 but with the conditions on race day hotter than at any other time during the weekend Webber and Vettel were forced to stop on laps 13 and 14 respectively, experiencing issues with the harder tyre. Both drivers expected that the opening stint would put them out of reach of the McLarens and Ferrari’s Alonso but by being forced into a shorter stint the team negated their potential advantage and ended up finishing in fourth and fifth.
When the chequered flag fell Lewis Hamilton was first past the line ahead of his teammate Jenson Button as McLaren achieved a second consecutive one-two. This victory was very different to Hamilton’s opening win of the year in Turkey which was overshadowed by the controversial clash of the Red Bull drivers. This race showcased the quality of this season’s racing with the leading five drivers all challenging for the win at various stages of the race.
Ferrari was in the hunt for this win; Fernando Alonso challenged for the lead on various occasions. The Spaniard actually led prior to his second pit stop and were it not for trouble lapping backmarkers Alonso could have repeated his 2006 victory, as it was the time lost in traffic gave his former teammate Hamilton the opportunity needed to emerge victorious at the scene of his first win in Formula 1.
A month ago it seemed unlikely that anyone would catch the Red Bulls, which had a clear advantage of over half a second per lap, but after the pace of development shown by McLaren the pressure has now turned on Red Bull to recapture their pervious standing as pacesetter. So far this season Red Bull has failed to maximise their potential for what has been the fastest car in Formula 1. The teams now embark on a summer in Europe and Red Bull’s shortcomings have opened the door to their rivals.
Ferrari will bring a major aerodynamic upgrade to the Valencian race and with their form on low grip surfaces strong they will be confident of challenging for victory. As it is, the form of Hamilton and McLaren is exceptionally strong and the pace of development by the team shows no sign of letting up with their mid season upgrade expected for the British Grand Prix in July. The McLaren is yet to usurp Red Bull as the fastest car on the grid but the team has shown itself able to win races through better reliability and strategy and the different strengths of the leading teams looks set to guarantee a summer of excitement in F1 that could not have been predicated after Bahrain.
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