Revisiting the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix
It was McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton who destroyed Red Bull’s supremacy this season after denying the Austrian giants victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Hamilton stole the podium from under Mark Webber’s nose to finally bring to a halt Red Bull’s dash of seven successive pole standings this year. Red Bull’s other first choice driver, Sebastian Vettal was not far behind, and finished third in front of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Hamilton’s McLaren teammate beat Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi for the fifth position. Also making it to the top ten were Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, Renault’s Robert Kubica, Nico Rosenberg of Mercedes and Force India’s Adrian Sutil.
Red Bull finished the qualifying session using the more rigid of the tires available, and in keeping with the guidelines the team was obliged to complete the Canadian Grand Prix race with the same tire type that was used to establish the driver’s grid time. Such a tactic may have given the team an edge at the initial stages of competition since the slick Montreal circuit surface conjured difficulties for cars with the more pliable tire type. However, Fernando Alonso was able to use the more malleable tire to considerable advantage on the same track, therefore demonstrating that it might not be as inconvenient as some have suggested.
“We have been a little bit slower in terms of the warm up the tires all weekend,” remarked the Ferrari man, “It seems we need more laps to get the performance out of it. But maybe this plays a good part for us and we can be very consistent in the race. But no-one knows”.
McLaren squad head Martin Whitmarsh favoured the tactic of using the less rigid tire for the initial stages of the race before switching to the harder tire to complete the run. Jenson Button agreed with his boss, explaining that despite the relative swiftness of the stiffer tire, it would not be the most suitable scheme for his team to begin the race with the harder type keeping in view the Red Bull threat whose car is known to gallop incredibly quickly on the straighter parts of the grid. Button’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s inclination towards the more pliable tire type came as something of a surprise to some considering he had managed to out run both the Red Bull’s during the second qualifying round with the stiffer tire.
The Englishman was however adamant that his team were not taking a shot in the dark by adopting such a scheme, elaborating: “It’s a great day for me. We wanted to get as close to the front as we could. We know the option tire is not the best but you might see a different type of race here.”
Hamilton was quickest on the clock after establishing the duration of one minute 15.105 seconds to pip Mark Webber to the lead by 0.268secs. Trailing behind Webber by 0.047secs was his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel who in turn out paced Fernando Alonso by a mere 0.015 as Ferrari regained momentum after a disappointing show at the Turkish Grand Prix earlier this season.
Hamilton, who had been crowned champion at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007, was forced to discontinue the run during the slowing down lap due to a fuel shortage in his vehicle. The Englishman was informed by the McLaren technical staff that he would be unable to make it back to the pits since the Formula One regulatory organization the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) would also be demanding a specimen of their fuel. The McLaren squad were subsequently slapped with a penalty of $10,000 and censured for the episode. The fine was handed down because McLaren’s tactics could possibly have given Hamilton a slight edge since the smaller quantity of fuel meant the Englishman’s car was less ponderous and hence swifter. Mercedes squad boss Ross Brawn said of the incident: “Sounds cheap. Obviously we don’t want a situation where cars are running out on the circuit because that is the lightest way to go.”
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