Canadian GP – Race: Button Unexpectedly Wins!

And the first news of the day is that it rained in Montreal, and at the moment when the vehicles come to the grid, the track is soaked. The drivers have done several tests: some did a lap on intermediates and others on wet tires. The choice is quick since all drivers opt for wet tires. The race will start under the safety car regime, even though it is not raining at the time of the start.

Risk-taking reduced to zero, once again. A decision that does not please the many F1 fans who are following this race. Lewis Hamilton claims the conditions are « OK ». The Safety Car finally clears out after four laps, and the race can finally begin. Vettel slowed the pack, but Alonso doesn’t fall for it and sticks to the Red Bull, although he can’t overtake the reigning world champion. Behind them, Hamilton attacks Webber in the first corner and there’s a collision. Hamilton drops to seventh and Webber to the pack. The incident will be investigated but will not result in any penalties.

The McLarens are chasing the Mercedes. It’s tense between Hamilton and Schumacher and, once again, the Englishman makes a mistake. He goes back behind his teammate, in eighth position. Behind Vettel, who already has a comfortable lead, Massa is putting pressure on Alonso. The unthinkable happens as Hamilton and Button collide on the straight! Lewis hits the wall and irreparably damages the McLaren. “What is he doing?!?” shouts Jenson Button who seems to have squeezed his teammate against the wall. Hamilton stops on the side of the track, which leads to the race being neutralized and the safety car being deployed again. The incident will be reviewed by the stewards after the race. Button enters the pits to fit intermediate tires. Webber is unlucky and now has a problem with his steering wheel.

A new start is given and Vettel quickly takes the lead this time. Behind him, the two Ferraris have opened a slight gap with the rest of the pack, led by the two Mercedes GP. Button receives a drive-through penalty for speeding under the safety car. Another rule whose benefit remains to be proven. Webber, ninth after 15 laps, is battling with the two Renaults. Meanwhile, Button is back with a vengeance, with the intermediate tires seeming more effective. He is 11th after 16 laps.

The rain is lightly falling on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, but the intermediate tires still seem to be the most effective. Mark Webber took two laps to get past the two Renaults and Button is already there. On the 18th lap, Alonso and Rosberg dive into the pits to switch to intermediates. The Ferrari driver rejoins between Heidfeld and Petrov and manages to overtake the German. Schumacher heads to the pits as well, while he was in third position.

It’s raining cats and dogs now! The safety car comes out again on the 20th lap. Alonso, Rosberg, Button, and Vettel dive into the pits, and it’s Felipe Massa who takes the lead on the track, the Brazilian having kept his rain tires. A leadership of short duration since the Paulista changes his tires as well. Kobayashi takes advantage of these circumstances to move into second position while the race is still neutralized. The Mercedes team, which had been having a good race until then, loses significantly and returns to 11th for Rosberg and 12th for Schumacher. Vettel reports on the radio that his car is undriveable between turn 9 and turn 13.

The red flag is deployed on lap 25 to put an end to the sad and unnecessary spectacle of a procession of single-seaters under the Canadian rain. The cars stop on the grid, the teams are allowed to work on them, and the race clock is stopped. There will be 45 laps remaining or, more likely, 1h14 before the two-hour limit. At this point in the Grand Prix, the top 10 is as follows: Vettel, Kobayashi, Massa, Heifeld, Petrov, Di Resta, Webber, Alonso, de la Rosa, and Button.

Stopped at 1:45 PM Canadian time, the race was finally restarted at 3:50 PM, behind the safety car of course. The single-seaters were required by the FIA to fit rain tires; a decision full of common sense. The still-present public is delighted and cheers the F1 cars as they pass in front of the stands. On the racing side, the cards are completely reshuffled since the teams were able to intervene, drivers like Kobayashi, Heidfeld, or Petrov, who did not stop, could fit new tires and reset their strategies. On the radio, Massa indicates that visibility is correct. Meanwhile, Kovalainen seems to have a problem with his Lotus which is slowing down. As the safety car is about to release the beasts, Jérome D’Ambrosio is the only driver to take the gamble on intermediates.

Kobayashi gets surprised by Vettel who quickly takes the lead, but holds off Massa well. Schumacher and a few drivers immediately dive into the pits right after the restart to put on intermediates. After another racing lap, Button, Heidfeld, and de la Rosa also switch to intermediates. Then it’s the leaders’ turn, with the notable exception of Vettel, to attempt the intermediates strategy. Schumacher is on fire, and Alonso is in a bad spot at the chicane! Safety car deployed. Button has a problem with the front left, a consequence of the collision with Alonso. The Spanish driver is forced to retire as the English driver has to pit. After 40 laps: Vettel, Kobayashi, Massa, Heidfeld, di Resta, Webber, Schumacher, Petrov, Rosberg, and Sutil are in the top ten positions.

The race is back on! Vettel pulls away, behind him it’s a single file. Schumacher puts pressure on Webber, who in turn puts pressure on di Resta. Webber makes a small mistake on acceleration after the hairpin and Schumacher passes him. Heidfeld and di Resta make contact in the last chicane (this incident will be reviewed by the stewards after the race). Di Resta has a real wing problem and is overtaken by his pursuers. Ahead, Kobayashi is in trouble but holds off Massa. Schumacher passes Heidfeld and takes fourth place on lap 46. The seven-time world champion is on a rampage! Now it’s Webber’s turn to put pressure on the Renault driver, but with less success than Schumacher who is consistently setting the fastest laps. The racing lines are starting to dry significantly in some sections and the question of slick tires arises.

After 50 laps, the standings are as follows: Vettel, Kobayashi, Massa, Schumacher, Heidfeld, Webber, Petrov, Rosberg, Barrichello, and Button. Some drivers pit to switch to slick tires: Webber opts for super softs. Schumacher overtakes both Massa and Kobayashi. He is second! He closes in on Vettel but pits to switch to slicks, just like Felipe Massa. Kobayashi stays on track. Webber sets the fastest lap with his slicks, three seconds better than Vettel, who pits while Massa has a completely destroyed front wing after sliding in a straight line. He gets away with it.

Webber has caught up to Schumacher with long strides. It’s a battle for second place between the German and the Australian, who are ten seconds behind Vettel. Button is like a fighter jet on the track as he is fourth in the 56th lap and catching up to the Schumacher-Webber duo. Kobayashi is grappling with Heidfeld. They make contact, and the front wing of the Renault goes over the wheels of the German driver, who goes straight into the run-off area without damage. There is a lot of debris on the track, and the safety car is out again! A drama is narrowly avoided when a marshal collecting debris on the track almost gets hit by de la Rosa and Heidfeld, who, in a reflex, manage to avoid him. By the 60th lap, the standings are as follows: Vettel, Schumacher, Webber, Button, Kobayashi, Petrov, Barrichello, Alguersuari, Rosberg, and Maldonado.

The race resumes once more! Vettel outplays Schumacher and calmly approaches the first corner. Webber sticks to the Mercedes. Button should quickly catch up with both men. The three drivers are wheel to wheel with only ten minutes remaining in the race. Webber passes Schumacher but then cuts the chicane before the pit straight after having passed. However, the Australian driver seems to give his position back to Schumacher a few corners later. Button passes Webber who misses the chicane once again. Button catches up with Schumacher and overtakes him on the long straight. The Briton is closing in on Vettel with only a few minutes left in the race! Schumacher is under pressure from Webber. The Australian overtakes the German and pushes him off the podium!

More than two laps to go for the two leading drivers! Button is less than a second behind the German in the final lap! Vettel makes a mistake under pressure from Button, and the Brit passes him!!! VICTORY for JENSON BUTTON! And it’s not over behind them since Massa overtakes Kobayashi on the line for 6th place. Incredible race in every sense of the word!

Results of the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix: