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BMW 1-2

A curious race, the Canadian Grand Prix.

All started well with Lewis Hamilton leading from pole position and Robert Kubica behind from second, with the main beneficiary of the start being Nico Rosberg in the Williams.

The German had jumped to fourth, behind Kimi Raikkonen, and settled down there as further back a couple of overtaking manoeuvres made the first few laps more enjoyable. Heikki Kovalainen was first to make up a place, passing Rubens Barrichello for seventh on the first lap, with Nick Heidfeld also passing the Honda a few laps later.

Even this early it looked as though Hamilton had things under control s he eased the McLaren away from the rest. When Adrian Sutil pulled a smoking – and soon burning – Force India to the side of the road on lap 15, the Safety Car was deployed in order to deal with the problem, and the entire context of the race was about to change.

When the pit lane opened – on lap 19 – the four lead cars all pitted, and Raikkonen and Kubica got away ahead of Hamilton. The Ferrari and the BMW found the red light on at the and of the pit lane as the snake was passing, and duly came to a halt, side by side. Hamilton came next, and was surprised to find two stationery cars. He had not seen the light, tried to take avoiding action, but it was too late. The McLaren slammed into the back of the Ferrari, taking both out on the spot.

Nico Rosberg, next to emerge from his stop, joined in the fun, too, ramming the back of the stricken BMW and losing his front wing. He toured around for lap and pitted for repairs, any chance of a decent result gone.

Kubica must have seen all this going on beside him and wondered if Christmas had come early. His three main rivals were gone, and suddenly a very real shot at victory was on the cards. First, though, he had to set about the men in front – those who had not stopped under the safety car.

Hen the Mercedes peeled off into the pits – on lap 21 – it was the second BMW, driven by a somewhat rejuvenated Nick Heidfeld, at the head of the pack, with a strange list of runners following behind. In second ran Barrichello, in third Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams, and in fourth and fifth the Red Bull pair, Mark Webber ahead of David Coulthard.

Next in line came the Toyota duo, with Jarno Trulli ahead of Timo Glock, Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India, and Sebastian Vettel – who had started from the pit lane – in the STR. In tenth, and he first man to have pitted, was Kubica.

BMW had decided during the safety car period to switch Heidfeld on to a single stop, hence the two BMW’s were now on very different strategies. Nick now set about pulling out a lead in order to make his stop with the least damage available, and found it surprisingly easy. Over the next few laps he pulled out ten second.

Heidfeld made his stop on lap 28 – as did Webber from fourth – leaving a no doubt bemused Barrichello out front. The German filled up the tanks and managed to rejoin just ahead of Kubica.
With a car fuelled for more than half the race distance he had no chance against the lighter sister car of Kubica, and the Pole duly despatched him a couple of laps later, Nick wisely opting not to make things difficult for his team mate.

Over the next few laps the lead changed hands as each front runner made a stop – both Toyotas having a stint at the front – and when all fell into place the two BMW’s were out front, with Kubica making an easy job of extending his lead and Heidfeld under pressure from Fernando Alonso who found himself third in the Renault. The Spaniard spun, having failed a little earlier to get past Heidfeld, and hit a wall hard enough to end his race.

When Kubica made his second stop he had enough time in hand to come out ahead of his teammate, and the two now looked unchallenged for a remarkable debut win and one-two.

Behind them a few scraps took place over the course4 of the final laps – notably Felipe Massa taking advantage of a battling Kovalainen and Barrichello to jump them both – but this was Kubica’s day.

The Pole crossed the line comfortably ahead of Heidfeld, who was similarly ahead of third placed man David Coulthard, the Scot driving a quiet and measured race to sneak a podium.

Fourth went to Timo Glock, a fine performance from a young man who needed one, ahead of his teammate Trulli, and sixth to a decidedly lacklustre Felipe Massa in the Ferrari. Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel made up the points scorers, both well deserved after excellent drives.

Kubica now leads the driver’s championship, a situation few would have envisaged at the beginning of the season. Granted, this was a fortunate victory, one inherited through the mistakes of others. Sometimes, though, those istakes are the key to the title, and what is clear is that Hamilton and McLaren cannot afford to make many more.

Written: Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:50:40