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Hamilton flies high after Canada win
Source: Agencies |
June 15, 2010, Tuesday
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LEWIS Hamilton drove a superb tactical race to hold off his McLaren teammate Jenson Button and win Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix and jump to the top of the Formula One drivers' championship.
In a repeat of the last round in Turkey, Hamilton crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of fellow-Briton to leapfrog Australian Mark Webber and world champion Button at the top of the standings.
Spain's Fernando Alonso finished third for Ferrari to join the two McLaren men on the Montreal podium while Germany's Sebastian Vettel was fourth and his Red Bull teammate Webber fifth after a thrilling race.
Hamilton's second win in a row took him from third to first place in the championship with a total of 109 points. Button remained second on 106 while Webber dropped to third on 103 ahead of Alonso (94) and Vettel (90).
"It's the ultimate challenge that I've experienced in Formula One, perhaps in Formula One history," said Hamilton, the fifth driver to lead the title race from eight rounds this season. "There are so many of us up here, pushing right to the wire and I think inevitably that means that the championship will remain close."
With tires falling apart on a demanding street circuit that featured long straights and slow, tight corners, all the teams were forced into a high-speed game of chess.
Tire strategies
Different tire strategies produced a riveting tactical race with the leading five all in contention at different stages but swapping places during extra pit stops, high-speed wheel-to-wheel racing and some breathtaking overtaking, which has been absent from F1 in recent years.
"It was not just a race about being flat every lap," Button said. "You had to really think about every situation."
McLaren and Ferrari both started the race on soft tires, which gave them an advantage in Saturday's qualifying but deteriorated more quickly under race conditions than the harder compounds, which Red Bull began with.
Red Bull looked to have won the tactical battle when the McLarens and Ferraris all pitted early as their tires gave out quicker, but Red Bull got caught in heavy traffic when it made its stops later.
"We were pretty relaxed really," said former team boss and McLaren co-owner Ron Dennis. "We knew we were taking a gamble yesterday ... it was a great gamble that paid off."
Webber's chances of winning were diminished before the race started when he had to change a faulty gearbox and was forced to drop back five places on the grid from second to seventh.
He still managed to weave his way to the front and lead for 22 laps but his advantage was eaten away as his tires started to crumble and he began sliding all over the course before returning to the pits for fresh rubber.
In a repeat of the last round in Turkey, Hamilton crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of fellow-Briton to leapfrog Australian Mark Webber and world champion Button at the top of the standings.
Spain's Fernando Alonso finished third for Ferrari to join the two McLaren men on the Montreal podium while Germany's Sebastian Vettel was fourth and his Red Bull teammate Webber fifth after a thrilling race.
Hamilton's second win in a row took him from third to first place in the championship with a total of 109 points. Button remained second on 106 while Webber dropped to third on 103 ahead of Alonso (94) and Vettel (90).
"It's the ultimate challenge that I've experienced in Formula One, perhaps in Formula One history," said Hamilton, the fifth driver to lead the title race from eight rounds this season. "There are so many of us up here, pushing right to the wire and I think inevitably that means that the championship will remain close."
With tires falling apart on a demanding street circuit that featured long straights and slow, tight corners, all the teams were forced into a high-speed game of chess.
Tire strategies
Different tire strategies produced a riveting tactical race with the leading five all in contention at different stages but swapping places during extra pit stops, high-speed wheel-to-wheel racing and some breathtaking overtaking, which has been absent from F1 in recent years.
"It was not just a race about being flat every lap," Button said. "You had to really think about every situation."
McLaren and Ferrari both started the race on soft tires, which gave them an advantage in Saturday's qualifying but deteriorated more quickly under race conditions than the harder compounds, which Red Bull began with.
Red Bull looked to have won the tactical battle when the McLarens and Ferraris all pitted early as their tires gave out quicker, but Red Bull got caught in heavy traffic when it made its stops later.
"We were pretty relaxed really," said former team boss and McLaren co-owner Ron Dennis. "We knew we were taking a gamble yesterday ... it was a great gamble that paid off."
Webber's chances of winning were diminished before the race started when he had to change a faulty gearbox and was forced to drop back five places on the grid from second to seventh.
He still managed to weave his way to the front and lead for 22 laps but his advantage was eaten away as his tires started to crumble and he began sliding all over the course before returning to the pits for fresh rubber.
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