8 posts tagged “canadian grand prix”
When you try to work out the degree of danger of the McLaren team in the Formula 1 today, you’ll find them in great danger. The black team has fallen to the third place in the constructor’s standings. Both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen dropped on the driver’s standings. Here’s the more troubling part on the standings, the BMW team is 23 points ahead of Hamilton’s team and that’s mainly because of the disappointing race in Montreal. And on the driver’s standings, another BMW-related problem called Robert Kubica has taken over the top spot which was once Hamiton’s. Another problem that poses such a huge threat to the team and Hamilton is that Felipe Massa is tied with him and Kimi Raikkonen is just three points behind. Just by looking at the standings, I know the black team is very worried about their current status.
One of the reasons of McLaren’s slow downfall is Hamilton being so hasty and Kovalainen aftermath of bad luck. Hamilton ended his Sunday’s race by crashing onto the back of Raikkonen’s Ferrari. The Finn was pretty irritated with the fact that Hamilton was unable to see the red light up in the pit lane. The collision between the Finn and the Brit caused them a race where they could’ve won. And another troubling result of that pit lane blunder was the penalty given to Hamilton, which places him in the tenth place in the grid in the next grand prix. Well, I don’t think being in tenth place affected Hamilton in any way. He even said that the penalty won’t make any difference. As far as Hamilton’s skill is concern, I pretty much agree with him. Hamilton has definitely improved a lot after his rookie years. And what’s very impressive about him is his determination. Not even the slightest tinge of doubt can be seen in him before and after every race.
Even his fellow F1 driver, Raikkonen has noticed the improvement in Hamilton in both the physical and mental aspects of the race. The three-time world champion also agrees but says that it’s impossible for Hamilton to be Einstein at once. It’s like going straight to a university after being a kindergarten.
I haven’t watched the Canadian GP because something came up in our house and so I browsed through the official website of Formula 1. As I was browsing the results of the race, I was a bit shocked with the results because I couldn’t find Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on the top three. Instead, the results read that BMW’s Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld dominated the race. So, what happened to the two infamous drivers of Formula 1? Hamilton and Raikkonen crashed on the pitlane. The fault, I think, was because of Hamilton not seeing the red light on the pitlane and crashing on the rear of Raikkonen’s car. The damage caused the two cars and their drivers to retire. Raikkonen accepted the fact that each of us makes mistakes but was quite annoyed by the fact that such mistakes can happen on the pitlane. He also said that his chances of winning were ruined and that his car was doing pretty well.
Indeed, the Finn has failed to score in two straight races and the continuous domination of BMW should worry the red team. And yes, is worried not because BMW has the faster car but because of the blue team’s consistency. The Ferrari team certainly has the fastest car in F1 but with their lack of consistency they could eventually lose their lead. Raikkonen obviously has lost his lead on the driver’s standings but I don’t think he’ll give up that easily. He knows what a Ferrari car could do and that’s all up to him to use that to his and his team’s advantage. Raikkonen has to win and the best to start a winning streak is on the next grand prix in Magny-Cours, France.
As I’ve written on one of my previous posts, expect the unexpected. And so, the unexpected occurred in Montreal. Well, it’s not that I’m not expecting BMW’s Robert Kubica to perform so well, given that he’s the third in the grid. It’s just that, well, I was kind of wanting McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to execute well during the Canadian GP. I guess luck was way out of reach from the two ace drivers of Formula 1. Kubica stood holding the first place trophy at the podium, standing right next to him was teammate Nick Heidfeld, who was unexpectedly followed by Red Bull's David Coulthard. Where were Hamilton and Raikkonen? Well, they were no where to be found due to an accident, which I’m going to talk about that later on.
Kubica’s maiden win in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve positions him on top of the driver’s standings. Only four behind him are Hamilton and Felipe Massa, who was also followed by Raikkonen. Heidfeld, though he won second in Montreal still fell short in fifth place but that also puts him in a secure place right on top of Heikki Kovalainen. The constructor’s standings showed a lot of change maybe not in position but in points. The McLaren team has remarkably fallen way behind Ferrari and BMW. And despite the red team staying on top, the blue team remains to be a threat with only three points behind.
The BMW team has been very consistent on the previous races and with this they could win the world championship. But Willy Rampf, the team’s technical director, said that his team doesn’t really think much about the odds of achieving the championship and said that he’s proud of what the team has achieved in Montreal. Now, BMW is starting to concentrate on the upcoming Grand Prix de France that’ll take place in Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. The humility that the team and its drivers are showing are beginning to pay off and it’s happening at the right time. I say my cheers to the BMW team for their Canadian GP victory.
Three of my favorite Formula 1 drivers are on top of the Canadian GP and I’m pretty satisfied with the qualifying results. Hamilton is in pole position, followed by Robert Kubica, and next is Raikkonen. These three representatives from the three elite names in F1 will definitely give their viewers in Montreal a great race. The 70-lap circuit of Montreal and the domination of the ace drivers of McLaren, BMW, and Ferrari, will definitely give the rest of the F1 community a must-see race. If I’m going to rate it from one to ten, ten as the highest, I’ll be giving the upcoming Canadian GP an eight. Here’s my preview on each team regarding their performance during the qualifying race.
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McLaren – the team has been very consistent and I love the way Hamilton has carried his team all the way to the top. But despite the Brit’s success, his Finnish teammate Heikki Kovalainen remained pretty quiet and getting the seventh spot on the grid. That’s not really bad for the team, but if Kovalainen remains incompetent the McLaren team will soon say goodbye to the number one spot on the constructor’s standings.
- BMW-Sauber – I know I should be talking about the word consistency when talking about the infamous red team of F1. But as far as my eyes can see, the team who’s been very consistent during the previous races was blue team. Yes, BMW is a consistent team and that’s all because of Kubica. I know I’m a bit overrating the blue team despite Nick Heidfeld in eighth place. But you see, with our eyes glued to McLaren and Ferrari, we have forgotten about BMW and how good and consistent they’ve been. I’m definitely going to watch for these two as soon as the Canadian race begins.
- Ferrari – well, well, well. The domination of the red team has wavered since Raikkonen failed to be inconsistent. His teammate, Felipe Massa, remained competent but I don’t think it would be enough to keep the team among the top teams. If Raikkonen continues to be ineffective, Ferrari will have to start thinking for a solution.
- Renault – I was expecting the Renault team to do well in Montreal mainly because of Fernando Alonso. Alonso has an outstanding record in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and I know he’ll do well this Sunday.
- Williams – I just don’t know what to say for this team. They’ve literally had their ups and downs and that made the team appear like a wall between the good and the not-so-good teams.
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Honda – I don’t expect much from this team. After Rubens Barrichello left Ferrari, which I’m glad he did, he’s been performing poorly. I know both Barrichello and Jenson Button are good drivers but I don’t think their cars are good enough for them.
- Red Bull – Mark Webber has expressed his pleasure for his car but that eventually ended after his car went slightly off the track. This kept him out of the remaining sessions of the qualifying race and the actual race.
- Toyota – the team is literally struggling and I think they cars need a little refurbishing here and there.
- Force India – the team, I think, is satisfied with their place in the race and that’s being mediocre. And I also think they’ve thrown a lot of chances on getting a pole position. Wake up Force India!
- Toro Rosso – this unlucky team just experienced their worst qualifying race ever and I think their going to experience a lot worse in this Sunday’s race.
So, these are my team previews and I think I’ll have to watch out for the Sunday’s race, where I expect the unexpected.
It’s really good to know that Lewis Hamilton got to win the Monaco GP. But the downside of that race was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who just managed to be in ninth. The results were simply not good enough for the Finn to earn points for his, which made feel more disappointed.
What I’m trying to say here is that Raikkonen will definitely do his best to win the Canadian GP. The last time he won in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he was still driving a McLaren. So, I’ve finally settled on whom to put as my podium finishers. It’ll be Raikkonen in first, followed by Hamilton, and next would be Fernando Alonso. I actually find my list odd but anyways that’s my final podium finishers and I hope that this time I’ll get it right. It’s not really a big deal if I get this right or not, I just find it enjoyable to kind of predict the results for the upcoming races.
If there’s one that I really wanted to come across while reading an article related to Formula 1, it would be consistency. Consistency is the secret to winning the world championship in a race where teams and drivers are very close to each other. Right now, the driver’s standings is dominated by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, three points behind him is Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. And behind Raikkonen is his teammate Felipe Massa, who is just two points ahead of BMW’s Robert Kubica. Just imagine the closeness of each driver, one wrong move and one will definitely descend while one will ascend. This picture is also similar on the constructor’s standings. So, the change of scenario in the upcoming race will be the same on both standings.
Talk about consistency, the one driver that I think has been very consistent all-through the season is Massa. He doesn’t get to the top of the podium that often but he’s definitely consistent in earning points for his team, which is most important especially in obtaining the world championship. Oh so now I get it, the reason why Raikkonen was so disappointed about his race in Monte Carlo was due to the reason that he’s earned no points at all. Raikkonen’s teammate even pointed out that earning points are more important than victory. And if a driver wants to earn points for himself and his team, consistency will be needed. The two Ferrari drivers have been very consistent on the previous races, with the exception of the Monaco GP, which have helped the team top the standings.
I’m not a big fan of Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. I can’t even remember how the circuit looks like. Oh well, I can’t do anything about it anyway. So, after the Formula 1 celebrated the first victory of Lewis Hamilton in Monte Carlo, the drivers are back into action. But now, they’re racing in less demanding circuit the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. I’m not saying that the circuit in Canada isn’t great. Don’t get me wrong, okay. I’m merely comparing the one in Monte Carlo to the one in Montreal. Last season’s victor was Lewis Hamilton, who was having a great rookie year. And this year, he’s boldly expressed that he’s determined to try his best to win each and every race. But I don’t think it is possible. There’s just a lot stumbling blocks, namely: Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, and Robert Kubica. Should I still be counting in Fernando Alonso? I guess I should, he’s the previous Canadian GP champion anyway before Hamilton took it from him last season.
But did you know who got the most win in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve? If you guessed Michael Schumacher, you’re right. Schumacher has the most wins in Montreal. Imagine having seven wins, he’s actually surpassed Nelson Piquet, Jacky Ickx, Jackie Stewart, Alan Jones, and Ayrton Senna. If Hamilton wins this season’s Canadian GP, he’ll definitely be standing in line with Ickx, Stewart, Jones, and Senna, who all had two wins apiece.
In the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, you’ll also find the Wall of Champions. This is actually no ordinary wall because this is the wall where infamous racers have crashed. Among the World Champions that have crashed on the Wall of Champions were Damon Hill and Schumacher. Other crashes on the final corner of the circuit also include Jacque Villeneueve, Nico Rosberg, and Juan Pablo Montoya. I just hope Hamilton doesn’t crash during race day because it’ll definitely ruin his chances. He definitely has a lead to protect especially against the infamous Ferrari team.
I’m pretty sure the Ferrari team has done a lot of preparations for the upcoming Canadian GP. Remember the team has won several times on that same circuit. And with Raikkonen’s disappointing race, he’s definitely going to make a comeback. But hey, I’m not giving out my podium finishers yet. I still have a lot of thinking to do after my previous podium finishers got busted on the previous race. I almost got it right; I just missed out on Massa. What I’m pretty sure is that the town will be painted in red.
Hmmm. Does the name Robert Kubica ring any bell? Of course it does. Robert Kubica was the one who had an accident on lap27 during the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. It was terrible crash. I thought he was dead because his car was crushed after terribly hitting the wall of the hairpin. The safety car came out easily and so the race was delayed. The medical staff of Formula One came to rescue R Kubica and took him to the medical centre. It was later announced that R Kubica’s status was stable. I was very thankful he did not die because if he was it would make me feel terrified. Because after that incident, I remembered what I told my sister, “I’d rather crash on a race track than on the road.”
When I think about it, I think it is really better to crash on a race track because of the medical staff standing by. I am not saying that I’d love to experience such life-threatening situation, it is just that if you crash on a race track help will be there within seconds while if you crash on the road help will come if someone sees the crash and calls 911. The ambulance’s time of arrival depends on how far you are. So, it is really scary. So, it is very important to be cautious. Even if your car is equipped with state-of-the-art safety features, it is still best to be aware of everything around you. I am a bit of a speed freak, so, when I get a new car I will try my best to control my speed.
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Formula One Updated: Nov 12, 2009
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