12/06/2016
NEWS STORY
It is only fitting that the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, named after that legendary talent that barely gets a mention in the record books, rarely proves a race that is anything less than entertaining.
Like that French-Canadian, who remained loyal to one team, possibly at the cost of championship success and ultimately his life, it usually provides drama and excitement in spades.
Indeed, how fitting that the sport's other great mercurial talent whose achievements fall far short of what might have been, Jean Alesi, scored his sole GP win here.
Reflecting on Martin Sorrell's comments earlier this week, when the F1 board member dismissed heroes as a "romantic notion", give me a Gilles or a Jean over Virtual Reality and the bloody Kardashians any day of the week.
Though the weather still hasn't made its mind up what to do, we are likely to see heroics today. Then again, every time a man steps in to one of these machines aren't they taking on the mantle of hero anyway.
After all, yesterday a number of them, in almost perfect conditions, joked about kissing the Wall of Champions, which, let's face it, is a wall that could do untold damage... just ask Felipe, or Kevin, or Carlos. And that was in ideal conditions.
Sebastian Vettel joked that he kissed in order to get the 'tradition' out of the way before today's race.
Montreal awoke to rain and dark clouds and while the rain subsequently stopped and the sky brightened, conditions ever since have remained uncertain.
Lewis Hamilton starts from pole after what he described as not a good lap, though countless rivals would have been quite happy with it. Having appeared to lose ground to Red Bull on Friday, Ferrari, with its new turbo, looked much stronger on Saturday, allowing Sebastian Vettel to close to within 0.178s of pole.
Following his shocking performance in Monaco, Nico Rosberg has been looking more like the world championship leader he is this weekend. That said, today will really test his mettle, for not only is his championship lead down to 18 points, he is aware that teammate Hamilton is a four-time winner here.
Though Ferrari, certainly in Vettel's case, has made up ground, Red Bull is not hanging around and both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen will be a serious threat today. In the Australian's case, whatever the conditions, he will be hoping that his team doesn't let him down as it did in Spain and Monaco. Max, on the other hand, merely needs to do what he does best and not get carried away by the hype or get over enthusiastic on what is a true racers circuit.
Kimi Raikkonen starts ahead of the two Williams and remains very much a dark horse. The SF16-H has been improved, and though the Kimster has had a couple of disappointing races we are certain that he is still able to spring a surprise.
Williams has had an up and down weekend, beginning with Felipe Massa's FP1 crash, and while Rob Smedley says he is disappointed to have the fourth quickest car, one has to wonder if he is being too kind to the FW38.
With an eye on the conditions one has to wonder if Force India could spring a surprise. The team usually reacts well to such conditions and Sergio Perez' Monaco podium appears to have given Nico Hulkenberg a much needed kick up the backside.
Another team looking to be in much better shape is McLaren, with Fernando Alonso making it to Q3 for the third successive race weekend. It's been a long, hard slog for the Woking outfit but it is slowly getting there.
Grid penalties for both Toro Rosso drivers - Kvyat for his Monaco silliness, Sainz for a gearbox change - will hamper the Faenza team, but in the right circumstance the team could yet leave her with some points. Kvyat obviously has the motivation, whilst Sainz is a rising star.
Having wrecked two cars in as many weekends, Renault will be happy to get back to Europe, whilst Manor and Sauber face another long afternoon.
Rain or not, conditions are unseasonably cool indeed, it is chilly. This, of course, is going impact tyres in the sense that drivers will face a real task in generating sufficient heat into them.
Track temperature will determine what the optimal strategy is. Consequently, we're looking at a one-stopper: starting on supersoft and then moving to soft on lap 26 is theoretically the fastest way.
If starting on ultrasoft (which all the top 10 will do), the strategy is extremely similar, with the change to soft coming one lap earlier, on lap 25.
Remember, if it is dry, the use of softs at some stage is mandatory, but if it rains...
The pitlane opens and one by one the drivers make their way out to the track. Force India reports a "light drizzle in the pitlane".
Over the years we've seen a number of incidents at the first corner, and over the course of the weekend just about everyone has had a moment there, not to mention the hairpin and final chicane... where the Wall of Champions awaits.
As we await the start of the warm-up lap, air temperature is a chilly 12 degrees C, whilst the track temperature is 23 degrees. It is overcast, dry but quite windy. Indeed the wind appears to be coming off the St Lawrence and across the track.
Race control reports that there is a 40% chance of rain.
All are starting on the ultrasoft rubber bar Perez (soft), Button (super), Haryanto (super) and Magnussen (soft).
Hamilton leads the field away on the warm-up lap, all get away cleanly bar Magnussen who is starting from the pitlane.
"We should have a largely dry race to start with," reports Pirelli, "although the risk of rain is increasing towards the end. Who knows what will happen?" Indeed.
As the grid forms, Hamilton's car is already pointing at the outside edge of T1, the Briton making his intentions crystal clear.
They're away. A sensation start by Vettel who catches the Mercedes duo asleep. Rosberg is forced wide by Hamilton and misses the first corner and consequently drops back down the field to ninth. Elsewhere, Magnussen touches the rear of Nasr's Sauber causing the Brazilian to spin.
Raikkonen is all over Ricciardo, who has lost out to Verstappen.
At the end of lap 1, it's: Vettel, Hamilton, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Bottas, Massa, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Rosberg.
At the end of lap one Vettel missed the final chicane, no doubt due to those cold brakes and tyres, but fully complies with the rules and doesn't have to yield.
Hulkenberg passes Alonso as Hamilton continues to hound Vettel.
Rosberg passes Alonso to take ninth, but there is still much work to do.
After 4 laps Hamilton is 0.9s down on Vettel who is setting a strong pace. Verstappen is a full 3.4s behind the Briton.
Check out our Sunday gallery, here.
Rosberg is all over Hulkenberg but is unable to make an impression on the Force India driver. Raikkonen continues to hound Ricciardo and Button is keen to pass Alonso. Behind the McLarens a train is forming.
At the end of lap 7, Rosberg makes another mistake and has to make full use of the escape complex at the final chicane.
The train behind the McLarens comprises Perez, Gutierrez, Grosjean, Kvyat and Sainz.
In third, Verstappen is now 6.905s adrift of Hamilton with Ricciardo closing in, the Australian seemingly having shaken off Raikkonen.
Grosjean nails his Haas teammate on the straight leading to T14, team orders possibly coming into play.
"Do not hold Daniel up, please," Verstappen is told.
Button pulls to the side of the track with flames leaping from behind. Replay shows his engine giving up the ghost.
The Virtual Safety Car is deployed... Vettel pits. However, as the Ferrari driver arrives in his garage the VSC is withdrawn. He rejoins in 4th, now on the supers. Wehrlein and Raikkonen also pitted, the Finn rejoining in 14th, also on the supers. Both will have to stop again to take on the mandatory softs.
Hamilton therefore leads Verstappen by 8.331s with Ricciardo a further 1.057s behind.
Sainz and Gutierrez both pit at the end of lap 13, both switching to the soft rubber.
In all that excitement, it appears Rosberg passed Hulkenberg to take seventh.
Hamilton is around 0.7s quicker than the Red Bull duo, but Vettel is even quicker.
Vettel makes full use of DRA in the two successive zones but the Australian is unwilling to yield. At the hairpin, despite a slight lock-up from the German, Ricciardo is unable to resist.
At the end of lap 17, Alonso, Grosjean. Kvyat and Palmer all pit. It's a bad stop for Alonso who loses a number of positions.
Vettel makes short work of Verstappen, passing the Red Bull on the run to T13.
It turns out that Palmer didn't pit for tyres, he has actually retired. In a great cloud of brake dust.
Rosberg is still seventh, seemingly unable to do much about the 1.2s gap to Massa.
Verstappen pits at the end of lap 20, switching to the soft. He rejoins in 8th ahead of Raikkonen.
Next time around teammate Ricciardo pits, as do Rosberg and Hulkenberg. Ricciardo rejoins in seventh, behind Raikkonen, whilst Rosberg and Hulkenberg are ninth and tenth.
At the end of lap 22 Massa pits, like everyone bar the Ferraris he switches to the yellow-banded soft rubber.
As Bottas pits and Vettel posts a new fastest lap (17.185), Hamilton is really struggling for grip.
Hamilton pits at the end of lap 23, the Briton rejoining in second 22.243s later, on the soft rubber. He is 13.222s down on the leading Ferrari. Elsewhere, Rosberg passes Perez to take seventh.
With a 13s gap and a pit stop costing around 23s we can see what Vettel has to do. That said, following his mandatory stop the German will be on fresh rubber, unlike Hamilton.
After 26 laps, with all but Perez and Magnussen having stopped, it's: Vettel, Hamilton, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Bottas, Rosberg, Perez, Massa and Hulkenberg.
Sainz is up to eleventh, ahead of Grosjean, Kvyat, Alonso, Gutierrez, Magnussen, Wehrlein, Ericsson, Nasr and Haryanto.
Frustrated behind a slower Raikkonen, Ricciardo is now under pressure from Bottas.
Raikkonen is told to "take it easy", which suggests Ferrari wants the Finn to hold off the Australian. Unimpressed, Raikkonen essentially tells his team that he knows what he's doing.
Perez finally pits at the end of lap 30, rejoining in 11th on the supersoft.
"Get this traffic out of the way," demands Vettel as Hamilton closes to within 10.8s.
Lap 31 sees Rosberg post a new fastest lap (16.867) as he closes in on Bottas who is shadowing Ricciardo, who is all over...
At the end of lap 33, Raikkonen pits, thus freeing up the cars behind him. He rejoins in eighth on the mandatory soft. Elsewhere, Perez misses T13.
Going quickest in S1, Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (16.791) as he reduces the gap to 9.583s.
Ricciardo makes a mistake at the final chicane which allows Bottas through to fourth. Elsewhere, the Finn's teammate, Massa, drives into his garage to retire, his first retirement of the year.
Check out our Sunday gallery, here.
Vettel pits at the end of lap 37, the German rejoining in second, 7.5s down on Hamilton.
Rosberg makes short work of Ricciardo who actually opts to pit. There's a slight problem with the front-right as he rejoins in seventh on the soft.
Does Ricciardo's second stop suggest that we are going to see more drivers take the two-stop option? In which case, Ferrari appears to have called it correctly.
Grosjean makes his second stop at the end of lap 39. Ericsson and Magnussen also pit. Interestingly, Grosjean and Magnussen have both opted for the ultrasoft.
As he closes to within 6.8s, Vettel posts a new fastest lap (16.631). Next time around he posts 16.573.
"Come on, what the hell is going on," he complains as he finds himself losing time behind back markers.
Rosberg closes in on Bottas, the German aware that Hamilton is on the verge of taking another large chunk out of his championship lead.
"You've got to give me more information because of all the warnings I'm getting on my steering wheel," cries Rosberg. "The warnings are real," comes the chilling response.
Verstappen makes his second stop at the end of lap 46, the teenager switching to the ultrasoft. He rejoins in fifth, just ahead of Raikkonen.
At the end of lap 47, Perez makes his second stop. Grosjean also pits, his third stop of the day.
Sainz is the next driver to switch to a two-stop strategy, the Spaniard taking on a set of ultras.
On fresh rubber, Verstappen, posts a new fastest lap (16.319) as he eyes the 10.5s gap to Rosberg who continues to shadow Bottas.
Rosberg makes his second stop at the end of lap 51, having been told he has a slow right-rear puncture. He sticks with the soft rubber as he emerges in seventh.
Out front, Hamilton goes quickest in S2 as he maintains a 4.6s lead over Vettel. Hulkenberg also pits, taking on the softs.
On fresh rubber, Rosberg posts a new fastest lap (15.972) as he closes in to within 0.638s of Ricciardo having taken 1.5s out of the Australia in a single lap.
Job done, the German passes the Red Bull with ease in the final corner, setting off after Raikkonen who is 1.7s up the road.
A big lock-up for Vettel who misses the final chicane as a result. It also cost him around 1.5s.
Great move from Rosberg who nails Raikkonen under braking in the final corner.
Unseen, Perez has passed Alonso thereby dropping the Spaniard out of the points.
Another fastest lap from Rosberg (15.843) as he seeks to close the 3.551s gap to Verstappen.
Once again, Vettel misses the final chicane, again the German losing time to the race leader who now maintains a 6.8s advantage.
Rosberg tries a move on Verstappen in the final chicane but the youngster is having none of it. He also refuses to yield to the German's subsequent attack in T1.
Alonso wants to retire. "I stop now?" he asks, but he is told to continue because points could be become available.
Next time around Rosberg tries again, but again the youngster has the situation under control.
Out front, Hamilton maintains a very healthy 6.727s lead.
Two successive lock-ups see Rosberg lose ground to Verstappen. Brake issues?
"What the **** is the Manor doing?" asks a slightly frustrated Raikkonen.
As Hamilton begins his final lap, Rosberg closes on Verstappen again. He gets around the outside of the Red Bull in T13 but makes a mistake, overdoes it and spins. However, he is able to continue, still in fifth.
Hamilton takes the flag, having scored a superb victory. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," he says, "that's for Ali".
Vettel takes a strong second, but one has to wonder what the team's strategy was, not to mention those lock-ups in the final chicane.
Bottas takes a superb third, giving Williams its first podium of the season.
Another great performance from Verstappen who withstood the intense pressure from Rosberg actually forcing the German to make the mistake.
Raikkonen takes a good sixth, but once again one has to doubt Ferrari's strategy.
Ricciardo takes seventh, ahead of Hulkenberg, Sainz and Perez, the Spaniard having done particularly well considering where he started the race.
In the ante-room before the podium, Hamilton and Vettel discuss their starts. "Mine wasn't too bad," laughs the German, who nudges his British rival. As Hamilton talks of understeer into the first corner - something on which Rosberg might have an opinion - the pair also talk about the size of the seagulls.
And so we head to Azerbaijan to discover what joys the Baku City Circuit has in store for us.
Whatever one might think of the new track, it is one where Nico Rosberg needs to dig deep if he is to stop the Hamilton steamroller.
Check out our Sunday gallery, here.