Highs and Lows of the Canadian Grand Prix
2013 Canadian F1 GP podium: 1. Vettel 2. Alonso 3. Hamilton
Once again, Canada played host to an exciting F1 weekend. Saturday’s damp qualifying was followed by bright sunshine on Sunday – and plenty of overtaking during the race.
Whilst this isn’t the most testing track for F1 drivers, a combination of long fast straights and tight corners puts an immense amount of strain on the cars’ brakes. The challenge for teams is to modify their cars in a way that extends the lifespan of the brake discs, without compromising performance.
Wet qualifying
Nothing shakes the grid up more than a wet qualifying session, and Montreal circuit was no exception. The damp track hampered Felipe Massa’s chances, and he wiped out on the tyre wall during the second session. This placed him 16th on the grid. When session two restarted, Kimi Raikkonen failed to start from the fast lane of the pit lane, and earned a two place penalty which pushed him back to 10th on the grid.
Sebastian Vettel took pole, with Lewis Hamilton 2nd. Third place was surprisingly taken by Williams’ driver, Valterri Bottas. This was a great boost for Williams who have had a poor start to the season, and so far have yet to earn any points.
An impressive win for Vettel
Sebastian Vettel once again demonstrated that his driving and Red Bull’s car are virtually unstoppable. Even a light tap on the wall in lap 11 and cutting across the grass on lap 53 (which lost him 4 seconds) couldn’t stop him. He powered past the line at the end of lap 70, securing Red Bull’s first ever win at Montreal.
Ferrari gain places and points
Despite Vettel leading from the beginning, Montreal was far from a dull race. There was plenty of action throughout the field. A few drivers made their way impressively through the pack to finish well ahead of their qualifying positions; including Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
Despite starting 6th, Alonso overtook Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton to finish 2nd. He deftly avoided a collision when Hamilton swerved slightly towards his car during Alonso’s overtake in lap 63.
Massa‘s qualifying crash meant he started 16th, but his raceday performance was impressive and he finished 8th, even overtaking Raikkonen on the back straight during lap 69.
Force India score double points
Tyre performance has plagued some teams this season. Red Bull particularly have complained about the quality this year’s tyres. But Scotland’s Paul di Resta, who drives for Force India, proved everyone wrong. He started on medium tyres, which lasted him an unprecedented 56 laps before he pitted for super-soft tyres. This one-stop strategy and his impressive drive took him from 17th to 7th.
Pastor Maldonado crashes into Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil, who also drives for Force India, achieved more than expected too. He qualified 20th, but fought his way back to 10th place. He managed this despite being involved in an accident with Pastor Maldonaldo and later earning a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags.
Crashes and racing incidents
But not everyone was a fortunate as Force India and Ferrari. Despite qualifying third, Bottas was unable to maintain the pace and finished 14th. Once again Williams failed to win any points.
Whilst lapping Giedo van der Garde, Mark Webber lost his front wing when the Caterham driver ran into him. Van der Garde earned a 10 second stop-and-go penalty for ignoring blue flags and causing a collision.
Van der Garde made contact again in lap 47, this time with Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg’s suspension and van der Garde’s wing were damaged, forcing both drivers to retire.
A fatal accident
Tragedy hit in lap 66, when Esteban Gutierrez misjudged his braking and hit the wall at turn two, taking him out of the race. Whilst Gutierrez was fortunately uninjured, marshal Mark Robinson, 38, was crushed by the crane that arrived to retrieve Gutierrez’s car from the track. Sadly, Mr Robinson later died in hospital from his injuries.
The future of racing a Montreal
Despite providing F1 fans with 70 laps of thrilling racing, the future of the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal is currently being debated. The current agreement ends next year, although promoter, Francois Dumontier, is currently negotiating a 10-year deal with Bernie Ecclestone. After 2013’s race, this is a track that most F1 fans would hate to lose. Let’s hope they reach an agreement soon.
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