The Canadian Gran Prix « A Meaningless Confession

The Canadian Gran Prix

Formula1.com

In a race that saw four Safety Car periods, several major rule violations, unlikely passes, and multiple crashes, including one by Robert Kubica that was perhaps the most horrendous crash in recent Formula 1 memory (video and more photos below)…there certainly was no shortage of entertainment.The race began with Fernando Alonso getting a great start on teammate polesitter Lewis Hamilton. As Alonso came rocketing around the outside of Hamilton into turn 1, the Spaniard quickly found himself in bad position for turn two and went off into the grass. Nick Heidfeld passed Alonso through turn 2, and Felipe Massa nearly made it around as well, just being squeezed out by Alonso at the last second. This was the first of Fernando Alonso’s many mistakes at the turn 1 and 2 complex. Each would cost him positions.

Alonso, having the first of his many off-road excursions. AP Photo/Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz

From there the race remained relatively uneventful…and then the Safety Cars came. The first came on lap 23, when Adrian Sutil smacked his Spyker-Ferrari into the wall. Immediately before the crash Lewis Hamilton made his first pit stop. This left him in a perfect position for the race win, and he went on to do just that. His teammate, however, would not be so lucky.

(I need to get my one Formula 1 conspiracy theory in here. Did anyone else find it amazingly coincidental that Lewis Hamilton pitted almost exactly at the same time the Sutil crash occured. Obviously the stewards seemed to be scrutinizing just about everything during the race today, but I found the timing to be pretty extraordinary. FOX has taken over American F1 coverage for the next few races and decided to break right at this point in the race, so I didn’t get to see how these events transpired. Anyone with insight, please share it!)

Shortly after the restart, BMW Sauber driver, Robert Kubica went wide on the approach to turn 10, got up onto the curbing and crashed into the retaining wall, the sliced back across the track, rolling over once and finally crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the track. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you get air underneath a car at 180mph, here you go.

Remarkably, Kubica suffered nothing more than a slight concussion and a sprained ankle. Truly amazing. Here are some more photographs that show how extreme the impact was.

Formula1.com

AP Photo/Canadian Press, Jacques Boissinot

Formula1.com

After Kubica’s crash, the second, and longest, Safety Car period began. This was when Alonso and McLaren made a huge error.

The 2007 FIA Sporting Regulations stipulate that all cars on track must line up behind the safety car before the Pit Lane will open. McLaren tried to take liberty with this rule, and it cost Alonso dearly. Alonso pitted before the Pit Lane was open and as a result, he was issued a 10 second stop and go penalty. Coincidentally, Nico Rosberg and Williams-Toyota made the same mistake, also resulting in the same penalty.

However, those wouldn’t be the only penalties handed out on the day. On lap 49, Christian Albers crashed his Spyker-Ferrari into the wall, littering the track with pieces of carbon fibre. This brought on the third Safety Car period of the day, during which, race control made it known that Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella were both disqualified from the race for exiting the pit lane under a red light. Another crucial violation by two of the top teams in Formula 1.

The race resumed at normal pace…once again briefly, until Antonio Liuzzi crashed his Toro Rosso into the famed “Champions Wall,” exiting turn 14. Yet ANOTHER safety car period ensued, which was then extended by Jarno Trulli bizarrely crashing his Toyota into the wall at turn 2, after exiting the pits, while under yellow. Notverysmart.

The final remaining highlight of the race, to me the absolute highlight of the race, was Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato’s outside pass of the world champion Fernando Alonso into the Turn 14 braking area.

Hamilton, of course, went on to win the race. Alonso finished 8th. With Felipe Massa black flagged and Kimi Räikkönen finishing an uninspiring 5th, Ferrari falls further behind in the race for both the drivers and constructors championships.

Official Results

Drivers Championship

Constructors Championship