Although many F1 pundits expected that the F-duct-adorned McLaren-Mercedes team would win the Canadian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Montreal was hard-fought and well deserved… especially because Fernando Alonso gave him hell!
The gearbox maladies that struck Mark Webber (during qualifying) and slowed Sebastian Vettel may have blunted Red Bull’s challenge, but there was never any chance that the Renault-powered team would be able to match the pace of the Mercedes-Benz powered Maccas. Instead, the surprise package of the Montreal weekend came in the shape of Alonso’s Ferrari, which the Spaniard pushed to its absolute limits. Much is expected of an upgrade that Ferrari is set to introduce for the next race in Valencia, but Alonso drove his heart out to finish third on the podium in an obsolete car… Heck, he could even have won had he not been wrong-footed by traffic and backmarkers and fallen prey to the McLaren duo.
Apart from the fact that the McLaren crew almost caused a pit lane collision by releasing Lewis just as Fernando’s car emerged from its box (how did they get away with that?), I have no complaints about Hamilton’s victory. Whereas he was gifted the winner’s trophy in Turkey, the Briton’s gutsy driving finally paid dividends in Montreal and when he needed to deal with opposition he did so decisively and without having to make a Schumi/Massa-esque or Webber/Vettel-like mess out of it.
I can’t help but wonder what the outcome of the race would have turned out if Lewis and Jenson Button had started alongside one another. I’ve always rated the talents of the defending world champion, especially his tactical acumen, but it seems that in a straight dice Lewis is likely to come up trumps, and in a tactical race with changeable conditions, Button holds the advantage. Of course we have been denied a bit of argy bargy between the pair, even though the boys almost banged wheels in Istanbul. Surely, now that they are one and two in the driver’s championship standings, it is likely that the bon ami will gradually turn to an intense rivalry.
In the meantime, the Red Bull boys must be scratching their heads in bewilderment… How on this earth can a team with such a clear performance advantage over the rest of the field have both its pilots trail the McLaren boys in the driver’s championship standings? Although good ol’ Lewis has been mouthing off about the Woking-based team seizing the upper hand following the MP4-25’s dominant performance in Montreal (McLaren should be hard to beat in the upcoming race in Valencia as well), circuits that are more reliant on aerodynamic efficiency than straight line speed should still suit the Red Bulls best.
With such a close race for the title, Vettel and Webber will hope that Hamilton and Button will get in each other’s way, and vice versa of course. At some point of the season, the two championship-leading teams will have to make a call on which driver to promote in order to devise race- and title-winning strategies… But seeing that both teams are still playing it fair and all above board, don’t expect THAT to happen soon – and when it does, become a matter for public record.
All of which leads me to believe that if Ferrari gets its act together and give Alonso a competitive car, the Spaniard could make a genuine challenge for the championship. The fact that he is currently 15 points behind Hamilton in the standings will things difficult for the double world champion, that’s for certain, but he’s clearly established himself as the most competitive driver at the Scuderia… C’mon, even the most dedicated McLaren or Red Bull fans must relish the prospect of a red car mixing things up at the front… That’s what classic Formula One racing’s all about!
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