10/06/2007
NEWS STORY
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Trying desperately (honest) not to sink to the level of frenzied hysteria witnessed elsewhere, we have to admit that this might be one of those days that goes down in history, one of those special days we'll refer to in the future, the day Lewis Hamilton won his first Grand Prix.
Now hold on! Before you think that we've handed over to the Daily Telegraph or even The Times, let us assure you that this is your regular correspondent and not an intruder. However, the fact is that Hamilton is a remarkable talent, and we might be on the verge of witnessing the dawn of a new era in F1 history.
There have been many such eras, most recently that of Schumacher, and before that Senna. However, over the years there have been many others… and today we might just witness the beginning of the age of Hamilton.
Yes he is in the best car, but even so, scoring five consecutive podium results - four of them on the second step - and giving the reigning (double) World Champion a run for his money - himself not lacking in the talent department - is no mean feat, especially for a twenty-two-year-old.
Having taken pole, and with the MP4-22 looking bullet-proof, it is highly likely that today Lewis will convert a well-earner pole position to win, and what should be the first of many.
While some have only recently caught on to the Hamilton phenomena, others have been aware of him for some time, if only since he stepped up to GP2. However, winning the feeder series was no guarantee that he would make the next step - that to F1 - quite so successfully.
The fact is, young Lewis is breaking all the rules, he is doing what he shouldn't, and F1 can only benefit. If he wins today, many of us, particularly in the UK will face a media frenzy of unparalleled levels, some of may not survive. However, once the dust settles, and they rediscover football, cricket, rugby or whatever other sport we happen to be good at at that time, the rest of us can say… 'I remember the day'.
Of course, before Lewis makes history, there is the little matter of dealing with his teammate Fernando Alonso, not to mention Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Nick Heidfeld. Indeed there is the little matter of the fist corner at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a corner that has witnessed countless 'mishaps' over the years.
Ferrari was disappointing in qualifying but only a fool would write them off, indeed Felipe Massa has hinted that strategically the Italian team is strong here, while Kimi Raikkonen appears to have a glint in his eye this weekend.
No disrespect to Hamilton, but Heidfeld deserves something, if only for his remarkable performance yesterday, when it mattered most. Furthermore, keep an eye on Robert Kubica, as BMW continues its strategic experiments with its drivers.
Another driver who gave a great performance yesterday was Webber. However, after his recent problems the Australian will be happy merely to finish far less think about points or even a possible podium.
Rosberg, Fisichella and Trulli will also be hopeful of points finishes, all three appearing to carry the hopes of their respective teams this season.
With no hope of a significant improvement before Magny-Cours, for Honda duo Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello today will be about damage limitation, yet again, while Super Aguri has another opportunity to upstage its Brackley rivals, yet again.
Kovalainen has had a crap weekend thus far, and he really needs to pull something out of the bag, as do Alex Wurz and Ralf Schumacher, both of whom are under pressure to raise their games, in particular the German, who, according to Pitpass sources could find himself watching the French GP on TV.
The other thing worth keeping an eye on - other than that notorious first corner - is Turn 8, which is where Jarno Trulli had two suspension failures on Friday. These failures put the Italian's performance of Saturday fully into perspective, brave stuff.
There drama even before the grid has fully assembled, with Albers' car appearing to have suffered some sort of failure and being pushed into the pitlane. Note that following his engine change Heikki Kovalainen is starting from the very back of the grid.
As the cars prepare to head off on the warm-up lap the air temperature is 26 degrees C, and the air temperature is 53 degrees. Conditions are ideal, sunny and warm.
Christijan Albers is starting from the pitlane.
The field heads off on the warm-up lap, headed, for the first time in his career, by Lewis Hamilton. Back on the grid marshals are kicking away lumps of dry ice that have been dropped by one of the cars. Watching from the pit-wall is seven-time world Champion Michael Schumacher.
They're away! And as Heidfeld climbs all over the back of Hamilton, Alonso gets it all wrong and overshoots the first corner. He rejoins, almost collecting his teammate, in third behind Heidfeld, somehow holding off Massa. Elsewhere, Button had a problem on the grid and didn't get away. He is pushed into the pitlane, his race seemingly over.
At the end of lap one it's Hamilton, Heidfeld, Alonso, Massa, Rosberg, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Kubica, Webber and Sato. In the pitlane the Honda crew works on Button's car, but it's not looking good, the Englishman is shaking his head.
Hamilton is lapping over half-a-second quicker than Heidfeld, extending his lead to 2.2s, while Alonso shadows the German. Mark Webber, who was running ninth, spins, thereby losing several positions. He rejoins behind his Red Bull teammate.
Heidfeld posts fastest lap, as Kovalainen passes Davidson to take seventeenth. Only the leading four are lapping in the 1:17s.
Fisichella is told that "Raikkonen and Rosberg are shorter" than him, and is urged to stay with them. We can only assume that they are referring to fuel loads as opposed to stature.
Webber passes Coulthard to take thirteenth, and immediately sets off after Barrichello. The Australian is on a charge.
After 7 laps, Hamilton leads Heidfeld by 4.6s, with Alonso a further 2s down the road. Elsewhere, Webber passes Barrichello and sets about closing the gap to Liuzzi, who is 5s up the road.
Hamilton is lapping 1s a lap quicker than Alonso as Speed has damage to his front left wheel, bringing his day to an early end. He parks the car safely, thereby avoiding a safety car period. A replay shows that the American was involved in an incident with Wurz.
Sato is still running ninth, ahead of Trulli, Liuzzi and Webber, as Raikkonen has an unforced trip across the grass.
Following the incident with Speed, the rear wing on Wurz' car is damaged, however, his team opt to leave him out. On the pit-wall Michael Schumacher watches the progress - or lack of it - of the red cars.
The first ten are strung out quite evenly, with Liuzzi, in eleventh under increasing pressure from Webber. Coulthard is climbing all over Barrichello.
As Alonso makes his second mistake of the afternoon at Turn 1, Webber follows suit, cutting a corner and passing Liuzzi, but having to give the position back to the Italian.
After 16 laps Hamilton leads Heidfeld by 11.5s, with Alonso a further 4.8s behind and falling into the clutches of Massa.
Hamilton works his way through the backmarkers as Alonso falls further behind.
Unbelievably, Alonso gets Turn 1 wrong once again, but this time Massa's there to take advantage, the Brazilian slipping through to take third. Thank you very much.
Watching the replay it appears as though there's something wrong with the McLaren as opposed to driver error.
At the end of lap 20 Heidfeld is the first driver to pit. He rejoins in seventh ahead of his BMW teammate.
Not for the first time, there's a train forming behind Jarno Trulli, the 'passengers' being Liuzzi and Webber. "I have big trouble," Trulli tells his crew, "no grip, no grip!".
At the end of lap 21 it is Hamilton that pits. Nine seconds later he's heading down the pitlane, rejoining in fourth ahead of Raikkonen.
Sutil hits the wall hard, leaving debris on the track. The safety car comes out but not before Alonso and Rosberg pit, thereby not breaking the new rules.
Therefore, with the silver Mercedes leading the pack, Massa is the race leader, ahead of Hamilton, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Heidfeld, Kubica, Alonso, Rosberg, Sato and Trulli.
The timing of the safety car is ideal for Alonso, and indeed Rosberg, but bad news for Ferrari. Meanwhile, there are some ominous clouds in the distance.
The pitlane opens and Massa, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Sato, Trulli, Liuzzi and Albers all stop.
There is concern that Alonso and Rosberg might have jumped the gone after all… we're sure the race stewards will soon let us know.
To add to the fun, several cars appear to have left the pits whilst the red lights were still on… which was enough to see Montoya penalized a couple of years back. We could see some fun and games later today.
Indeed, Alonso and Rosberg are "under investigation".
A massive crash involving Kubica, which means the safety car is brought out again, just seconds after being brought back in.
It's a massive crash, at the slight kink just before the hairpin. As marshals attempt to extract the Pole from his car he is moving, and therefore, thankfully, ok. It doesn't appear that anyone else was involved, but it was high impact.
Meanwhile, both Alonso and Rosberg have been given 10s stop and go penalties.
A horrible crash which really takes one's breath away. At moments like this all the bitching about the emasculation of the sport, the constant quest for safety, fly out of the window. Accidents such as this are a stark reminder of the bad old days.
After 29 laps, and still behind the safety car, Hamilton leads Heidfeld, Alonso, Rosberg, Barrichello, Wurz, Davidson, Schumacher, Webber and Massa. Raikkonen is twelfth, behind Fisichella. Alonso and Rosberg still have to serve their penalties. Wurz, Coulthard and Liuzzi all pit, indeed, the only drivers yet to stop are Davidson and Schumacher.
A classic comment from Coulthard: "It won't go, it won't turn and it won't start," says the Scot, "but otherwise its great I'm having lots of fun". Priceless, absolutely priceless.
Kubica has been removed from the car, which is utterly destroyed, just the main monocoque surviving. The Pole has been taken to the circuit's medical centre.
At the end of lap 33 the safety car pulls off, Hamilton heads off into the distance hoping that there will be no more 'interruptions'.
Raikkonen gets it wrong on the cement dust at the hairpin, which allows Takuma Sato to nip through. Could it get much worse for the Finn?
At the end of lap 36 Alonso and Rosberg both come in to serve their penalties. As if to prove a point, Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (16.543).
Nest time around it another fastest lap from Hamilton (16.494), as Davidson pits. However, it would appear to be a problem for the Englishman as opposed to a regular stop. Elsewhere, Rosberg and Trulli trip over one another. Or at least they appear to, the replay shows that they both had individual spins at the same corner, at the same time, totally unrelated.
David Coulthard drives into his garage, his race over.
The only driver that hasn't stopped is Schumacher, who is now up to third. Following their penalties, and Rosberg's spin, Alonso is running twelfth while the German is sixteenth.
At the end of lap 40 Schumacher pits, while Davidson finally heads back to the track.
Therefore, after 41 laps, it's: Hamilton, Heidfeld, Webber, Massa, Fisichella, Sato, Raikkonen, Kovalainen, Alonso and Albers.
Alonso makes short work of Kovalainen, who might as well be driving a GP2 car such is the ease with which the McLaren passes him. The Spaniard now sets off after Raikkonen, who is 3s up the road.
The battle to watch now is that for third, with Massa and Fisichella closing in on Webber, who is unlikely to yield as easily as Kovalainen. Sato, in a superb sixth, has Raikkonen and Alonso closing in.
Kovalainen makes his second stop of the afternoon, as Schumacher makes short work of Liuzzi.
Alonso is a man on a mission, the Spaniard posting a new fastest lap (16.395), as he hunts down Raikkonen who is 4s up the road. Next time around the World Champion posts another fastest lap (16.367).
At the end of lap 47, Heidfeld makes his second stop of the day. A lap later the race leader makes his second stop. Both drivers are on the supersofts.
The Englishman rejoins the race still leading, with Webber second ahead of Heidfeld. Meanwhile, Albers has to stop for a new nose after having a moment on the far side of the circuit.
Alonso is all over Raikkonen, both men having a point to prove.
As Albers climbs out of his car, his race over, the safety car is brought out again, presumably to remove the detritus from Albers' mishap.
Hamilton leads Webber, who is ahead of Heidfeld, Massa, Raikkonen, Alonso, Fisichella and Barrichello. Sato has pitted, but there appeared to be a problem, consequently he has dropped to twelfth. However, several of the cars ahead of him who have still to stop.
More drama! Fisichella and Massa are both black-flagged (disqualified) for leaving the pits whilst the red lights were still on.
Phew!
Therefore, after 52 laps, with the safety car on track, it's Hamilton, Webber, Heidfeld, Barrichello, Wurz and Liuzzi, as Raikkonen and Alonso both pit. To add to the drama, both cars almost collide as they leave their pits.
For the fourth time this afternoon the safety car dives back into the pitlane and the race gets underway. Shortly afterwards Liuzzi goes into the 'wall of champions', as at the other end of the pit straight Alonso goes cross-country yet again.
With Liuzzi's Toro Rosso stuck in the wall, the safety car is brought out yet again. In the Ferrari garage Felipe Massa is less than amused, giving the situation the 'thumbs down'. Fernando Alonso must be having similar feelings, it's been a nightmare race for the Spaniard.
After 57 laps, it's: Hamilton, Heidfeld, Barrichello, Wurz, Kovalainen, Trulli, Raikkonen, Schumacher, Alonso and Sato. Barrichello and Wurz still have to make their second stops. For reasons best known to their respective teams neither driver pits during the current safety car period.
Misery for Jarno Trulli who goes off track into the barriers at Turn 1 while the safety car is on track. After the monotony of Monaco, this race has everything, and then some.
At the end of lap 60, with 10 laps remaining, the safety car dives back into the pits… the race is on, again.
Alonso makes a move on Schumacher as Kovalainen challenges Wurz. The Finn fails to make it stick, leaving the Austrian leading a 'train' that includes the Renault, Raikkonen, Alonso and Schumacher.
At the end of lap 63 Barrichello finally pits, as Sato closes in on Schumacher. Wurz posts a personal best but surely he still has to stop.
With six laps remaining, Hamilton leads Heidfeld by 4.1s, with the German clearly unable to respond.
Sato continues to shadow Schumacher, with a whole string of cars holding station behind.
At the end of lap 66, at the end of the main straight, Sato makes his move and Schumacher is unable to respond. The Japanese driver thoroughly deserves the points he's just won for his team.
Unbelievably, Sato closes in on Alonso, and is clearly intent on taking him on. The fact that he is on the softs, while Alonso is on the supersofts, means that it's not entirely impossible that her could upstage the World Champion.
Absolutely stunning, he makes his move at the end of the main straight and makes it stick, utterly brilliant.
As Hamilton begins his last lap, it is clear that Wurz will not have to stop, which means a fantastic, and much unexpected podium, for Williams.
Hamilton takes the chequered flag and thus the 'Hamilton era' begins. A magnificent drive that would bring a smile to the faces of many previous champions. Funnt thing is, even if Lewis hadn't won, this race would have gone down in F1 history, such was the never-ending drama. However, he did win, and he won fair and square, no team orders, no strategy, merely a measure professional performance.
Superb drives also from Heidfeld and Wurz, while let's not forget that Kovalainen started from the back of the grid. Then again, there was Takuma a performance that surely overshadows - or comes pretty damn close - to that of Hamilton.
We started off by saying that this could well be one of those races F1 fans to would talk about for years to come, and so it was. What with the horrific accident involving Robert Kubica, which starkly brought back to mind just how dangerous this sport really is, there were the numerous safety car periods and even a couple of disqualifications.
After the monotony of Monaco this is exactly what F1 needed. The Principality might be the jewel in Formula One's crown, but is it track such as Montreal, tracks with genuine character, that still spring surprises.
This was a special day, not merely for Lewis, but for F1… lets hope the powers that be were watching and paying attention.
Great stuff!
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