Canadian Heavens Open For A Divine Grand Prix

 What a deluge of entertainment. Where to start after that one? The Canadian Grand Prix of 2011 is a classic not 48 hours after its climax, having had quite literally everything a motor race could feature. Crashes, retirements, team civil war, unpredictable weather, stewards giving penalties, incredible overtaking and defending, breathless drama and a wonderfully Hollywood ending.

Having consumed the maximum amount of F1 coverage possible on Sunday, it was for me without a doubt the most entertaining race I've ever seen. Other races have had elements, large chunks even, of the same drama. Brazil 2008, Brazil 2009, Hungary 2006, and so on. But for a race to be so utterly absorbing to withstand a 90 minute red flag period after one-third distance, Canada 2011 truly was something special.

Sitting down to watch the build up on the excellent BBC1 coverage, there were signs we were in for a blinder. The weather was very wet, and the track notoriously unforgiving, as seen in qualifying; only Kamui Kobayashi's drift heroics at the Wall of Champions showed a clear taming of the Cirque Giles Villeneuve. Appetites whetted, race fans may well have been disappointed to begin with. A safety car start was only livened up by maverick Lewis Hamilton's altercation with Mark Webber, causing an impromptu pirouette for the Red Bull and yet another steward's inquiry against the 2008 World Champion.

Yet this single event started a chain reaction: Hamilton was left frustrated behind a resurgent Michael Schumacher,expertly piloting his underachieving Mercedes through the worsening rain. Having finally got past the old master, Hamilton's sights were squarely on his McLaren teammate, but the opportune moment for a pass lead to the nightmare scenario of a teammate collision, as a spray-blinded Button forced Hamilton into the pit wall (and boards) causing damage deemed terminal by his team, but not by the driver.

Hamilton was ordered to retire by McLaren who predicted suspension damage, when in fact the car only had severe rim damage to its left rear wheel and could have likely continued, albeit in stone dead last, if allowed to limp back to the pits. With Hamilton out, his critics were unleashed once more to riotously attack his tactics and demeanour, with Niki Lauder telling German television the young Brit is 'completely mad' and likely to cause F1's next fatal incident.

I do not subscribe to this. Lewis Hamilton had been involved in four contacts in the last 2 races, all of which have been investigated by stewards inquiries. All four were caused by him lunging his car down the inside of a competitor, leading to his McMerc interfacing not at all well with other cars and ending his, and other driver's afternoons. How can he be defended? Simply with a quote, from another maverick driver who donned a yellow helmet to showcase other-wordly driving talent.

When questioned about his notorious move on Prost in 1990 at Suzuka which won him the world title by default, Senna famously replied to Jackie Stewart:

"By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, competing to win."

I truly believe this is exactly Lewis Hamilton's philosophy. Whether a move seems viable is subjective, to Lewis, to his peers, and to armchair pundits watching endless replays in slow motions from several angles with expert commentary. Whether or not a gap is closing, or if Lewis has to 'put a lot of faith in his opposer' is larely irrelevant, because Lewis has already made his mind up - he's seen a gap, he wants the success, and he's gone for it. All the naysayers preaching he's a motorised death trap out for blood with no regard for safety is total, utter bollocks. He simply possesses a killer sporting instinct, lacked by so many (British) sportsmen. Senna and Schumacher, had it too, and attracted much criticism for dirty tactics during their careers. Yet they will be forever remembered as two of the all time greats of motorsport. Lewis Hamilton is waiting in the wings to join that elite list.

Of course, the man to beat in order to achieve that is the seemingly unassailable Sebastian Vettel. Ironically, it was Hamilton's cool-headed teammate who would eventually mount the charge to tackle the reigning champion, but not before a monumental rain-stops-play-delay.


As Vettel pleaded over the radio that the flooded track was 'undriveable', we were all greeted with the unwelcome spectacle of a red flag, for the second time in as many races, and although this time there was plenty of racing left to do, the weather seemed to be doing its level best to put paid to any hopes of a continuation. 


As drivers disembarked their tarpaulined machines and disappeared from the grid, a similar exodus from the circuit's grandstands, and likely the televisual audiences, followed suit.


More fool them. You can't really blame anyone turning off what was ostensibly a wet traffic jam to go and do something else with their Sunday afternoon,  but aside from the sterling job done by BBC's Martin Brundle, David Coulthard and Ted Kravtiz to keep us all entertained, there was plenty waiting in store for the patient. Anyone who missed it must be on a level footing with the Liverpool fans who left the 2005 Champions League Final at half time due to their self-assurance it was all over.


At the eventual restart, the likely fireworks were to be from second placed Kobayashi, gallantly flying the Sauberflag in tribute to the injured Sergio Perez in supreme style. In fact, it was to be a battle of tactics on tures and supreme chasing from Jenson Button that would grab the last gasp belated headlines, long after the frustrated newspapers had gone to press in the weather delay.


Ten laps from the finish, a result seemed set in stone, and a remarkable one at that. Aside from Vettel typically leading from the front, Michael Schumacher looked on for his first podium finish since his comeback, while Webber held off six-time pitter Button (including one drive through penalty). It was a slightly hilarious incident which predictably involved Kobayashi which shook things up. 


On lap 68, Nick Heidfeld rammed a hesitant Kobayashi as he dawdled in turn two. The damaged Renault's front wing was then pulled clean off the bottom of the car as it accelerated off the turn, ripped asunder by the downforce it was created to generate. Jettisoned from the nose, the intricate, state of the art aerodynamic carbon fibre became little more than a ramp, launching the unfortunate Heidfeld down an escape road as the wing shot under the car. 

The resultant safety car bunched the field right back up again, leading to a nail-biting finish for all expect the bruised and battered track marshal who took two tumbles in his blind panic to clear debris from the track.

The final episode of ten laps is one of the most watchable climaxes to a sporting event you will witness this year. As Vettel cruised at the front, Webber tried to make a move on the desperate Scumacher. His overcooked sweep past meant he had to relinquish the position at the first attempt, and his second try led to Button pouncing with superb directional change reactions as Webber struggled to slow the Red Bull down. Then, as Webber set about gaining his eventual third place, Button took off at Vettel, eating 1.5 seconds a lap out of his lead. The pressure on the German finally told on the very last lap.

Vettel, checking his mirrors, wary of Button, turned in fractionally too late on the run down to the hairpin. As the Red Bull undeersteered wide, then oversteered as he furiously reapplied the power, the silver streak of McLaren slid by to claim victory from what had been 21st place only 20 laps earlier. 


To say Vettel gifted Button the win would be harsh; the McLaren was close enough to have made attempts to pass the struggling Vettel both before and during the DRS zones later in the lap. 


Also, while Vettel lead from the front the entire race, Button had 5 pit stops, a drive through, a team collision, and still managed to help punt off Fernando Alonso in the latter stages, when the Spaniard pulled a Hamilton esque move to slice by in a narrow turn. Jenson Button was well worth the win, and his new second place standing in the driver's championship.

Formula One had a renaissance on Sunday, with an eclectic mix of old and new. Experienced drivers like Webber, Button, and Schumacher showed their immense talent. Good old fashioned wet weather created turmoil. 


Yet new tyres and aero allowances made overtaking on the ageing Cirque Giles Villeneuve not just possible, but an enticing inevitability. This bodes well for the serially underwhelming Valenica circuit in two weeks time. 


I sincerely hope Lewis Hamilton manages to stay the course and answer his critics in a  fortnight, and continue a wonderfully entertaining period of Formula One.


Special mention, and my personal 'Driver of the Day' goes to Bernd Maylander, for faultlessly helming the Mercedes SLS AMG safety car four times throughout the race, in appalling conditions. The use of another red SLS and a CLS AMG to clear standing water was also a brilliantly brawny way to dry a track out, and not a bad advert for those mega-Mercs either.

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