Canada – Race: Hamilton seventh winner of the season

In line with the teams’ forecasts, temperatures are rising again this Sunday as the cars set off for the formation lap: 27°C in the air and 44°C on the ground. The sky is clear, and there’s little chance of experiencing the long wait from last year due to a heavy downpour. Let’s recall another difference from last year: the DRS, which can only be activated in the straight before the final corner and over a shorter distance. As for tires, all the Top 10 drivers are on Super Softs, except Jenson Button, who is on an alternate strategy.

At the lights out, Vettel takes a significant lead. The start is extremely clean, with everyone giving each other space. Only di Resta manages to overtake Romain Grosjean during the maneuver, while Massa is on Nico Rosberg’s tailpipes almost throughout the first lap and tries again at the first pass on the pit straight, without success. At the back, Heikki Kovalainen’s good start is noted, in 15th place.

Sebastian Vettel leads after 2 laps by 1.4 seconds over Lewis Hamilton, while Massa finally managed to overtake Rosberg before the last chicane, without DRS, moving up to 5th. The drag reduction system is now available, allowing Paul di Resta to overtake the same Rosberg at the end of the 3rd lap. The German is certainly a prime target at the start of this race.

After 5 laps, it’s Lewis Hamilton who narrowly sets the fastest time, keeping the gap with Vettel around 2 seconds. And while the top five are grouped within less than 6 seconds, Massa makes a mistake in the first corner. He can only rejoin in 12th place, in the second group led by Paul di Resta, 5th, who might be on an offset strategy with 1 stop, requiring attention to tire wear, extending to his teammate Nico Hülkenberg in 14th position.

Felipe Massa is definitely the entertainer at the start of this race, sliding into the last chicane, while complaining on the radio about vibrations following his spin. And while the gaps are stable, with lap times all in the 1-minute 20 seconds range, Nico Rosberg is asked to take advantage of Paul di Resta’s slipstream to save fuel. Only Webber, in 4th place, is caught between the two groups, 4 seconds behind Alonso but 6 seconds ahead of di Resta.

The standings at the 10th lap are as follows: Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Webber, di Resta, Rosberg, Grosjean, Schumacher, Button, Räikkönen, Kobayashi, Massa, Perez, and Hülkenberg, for the two main packs, all within 18.8 seconds.

Di Resta tells his pit crew that he’s suffering with his rear tires. Massa, stuck in the pack, is the first to dive into the pit lane hoping to take advantage of clear laps and reduce his vibrations. He goes back out on Softs and it would be surprising if he doesn’t stop again. The following lap (12th), it’s the turn of di Resta and Schumacher to fit the hardest compound.

As Romain Grosjean sets the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:19.634, the second pack springs to life, with Kimi Räikkönen overtaking Jenson Button thanks to DRS. The Englishman is then threatened by Kamui Kobayashi on the pit straight but manages to hold his position. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has closed in within a second of Sebastian Vettel, within DRS range. And as his teammate stops to switch to Super Softs, and Vettel misses his braking at turn 10, Alonso also catches up.

It takes no less for Sebastian Vettel to stop at the pits, returning on Softs. It seems that one-stop strategies, mentioned by some teams, will be very complicated. Lewis Hamilton imitates him the following lap, struggling but losing minimal time, while Alonso sets the fastest lap at 1:19.478. The Spaniard doesn’t stop the next lap and continues his series of laps, as Sebastian Vettel, reemerging behind Hamilton, tries to overtake him in the DRS zone. Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean are then interposed between Alonso and the Vettel/Hamilton group. The Spaniard chooses to stop, and his strategy works: he comes out ahead of Lewis Hamilton, in 3rd position, despite the Englishman’s fastest race lap of 1:18.994. But the Ferrari driver doesn’t stay at the front for long: he is overtaken by Lewis Hamilton in the DRS zone at the end of the 20th lap.

After the pit stops of Romain Grosjean and Nico Rosberg, only Räikkönen, in 4th, and the Saubers behind him, have not pitted. Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest lap in the race on the 22nd lap with a time of 1:18.940. He leads Alonso by 1.4 seconds and Vettel by 1.8 seconds. Mark Webber is already 9 seconds behind, trailing those on different strategies. Karthikeyan causes a yellow flag by spinning in turn 1 but has to stop in turn 4, fortunately near an entrance allowing for quick evacuation of his car. The yellow flag is quickly removed.

And as Lewis Hamilton widens the gap, Kobayashi makes his first pit stop and comes out 12th, just ahead of Michael Schumacher. The Englishman drives the point home on the 26th lap, lowering the best lap performance to 1:18.698, with the gap increasing to 3.1 seconds. Pedro de La Rosa retires, his front brakes releasing an impressive amount of carbon dust.

On the 27th lap, the ranking is as follows: Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Räikkönen (-1 stop), Perez (-1 stop), Webber, Rosberg, Grosjean, Massa, Maldonado (-1 stop), di Resta, Kobayashi, Schumacher, Hülkenberg, Button, Ricciardo, Vergne, Kovalainen, Petrov, Senna, Pic (-1 stop), and Glock.

Webber grabs the fastest lap of the race on lap 29 with a time of 1:18.345, the gap to the leader being 9.4 seconds. While Maldonado and Pic make their first pit stops, the Australian gradually closes in on Sergio Perez, whose tires are starting to weaken after 30 laps of good and loyal service. The gap at the front is stable (3.3 seconds), and Lewis Hamilton is informed that plan A is still in effect. Perez’s race engineer tells his driver that he has 10 more laps to go on his set of tires, much to Mark Webber’s frustration.

Button, anonymously in 15th place, makes a second stop and goes back out on Super Softs, therefore worn since he had used up his stock yesterday to reach Q3. As we reach the halfway point of the race, the gap between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, still in 2nd place, reaches 4 seconds. Rosberg and Grosjean are the major beneficiaries of this relative lull, with the German achieving the fastest lap by going under the minute 18 mark, and gradually closing in on the pack led by Kimi Räikkönen. Sensing that his comeback might be hindered by traffic, the German dives into the pits and re-emerges without incident on Soft tires.

Romain Grosjean, then in 7th place, returned to the exhausts of Mark Webber, who went a bit wide in turn 8. The Frenchman shifts in the straight to signal his presence. On the following lap (40), his Finnish teammate finally makes his first and only stop, fitting the Super Soft tires. At the same time, Michael Schumacher overtakes Kobayashi before the hairpin, before the Japanese driver takes back his position thanks to DRS. Nico Rosberg gets past Räikkönen at the same spot but on the outside, while Perez exits the pits. The Mexican initially comes out in front of both drivers, but is overtaken by the German in the short straight leading to turn 3.

Michael Schumacher stops at the pit, with the DRS visibly not closing. He leaves, probably by mistake, despite his mechanics’ attempts to close it. Forced to return the following lap, after an excursion into the grass in turn 8, he retires, unable to close it. Meanwhile, Jean-Eric Vergne, then in 16th place, receives a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

We are then on the 47th lap, and approaching the pit stop window for those on a two-stop strategy. The gap at the front has slightly decreased, with Alonso being 3.2 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, but having led Sebastian Vettel by 3 seconds.

The ranking is then: Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Grosjean, Massa, Rosberg (2 stops), Perez, Räikkönen, Kobayashi, Ricciardo, di Resta (2 stops) for the top 10.

On lap 50, Lewis Hamilton dives into the pit lane. He gets going again after 5.0 seconds of stoppage, an average time. He is asked to give it his all in the next 3 laps. The slow-motion replay of the Englishman’s stop shows yet another wheel problem, this time on the rear right. Bad luck definitely sticks to McLaren number 4. The only consolation: he comes out with a clear track ahead.

Mark Webber stops two laps later, while Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest lap in the race at 1:17.244. He gains 0.7 seconds on Alonso and Vettel. The Stevenage native improves on the next lap, 1:17.135, this time gaining a full second on his opponents, and repeats the feat on the following lap (1:17.279). He is then 12.0 seconds behind and should see Alonso comfortably rejoin behind him. That is, if the Spaniard stops! The Scuderia, as well as Vettel and Romain Grosjean, 4th at 15 seconds, seem to hesitate and appear on the verge of taking the gamble, with 15 laps remaining, to go all out on the track. The Frenchman is also setting a good pace and improving his best times lap after lap.

The Perez/Massa/Rosberg pack comes to life: Rosberg attempts a maneuver on Massa with the DRS but has to cut the chicane. But when it’s time to give the position back, Sergio Perez is there and overtakes Rosberg. On the next lap, the Mexican gets rid of Massa, once again thanks to the DRS. The Brazilian, struggling with his tires, stops and rejoins on Super Softs.

In the meantime, Hamilton maintained his pace and closed in, with 12 laps remaining, to within 6 seconds of the race lead. To hope for victory, he must get past Vettel and Alonso, four titles stand in his way!

Sergio Perez, 5th on Super Softs, sets the fastest lap in the race at 1:16.889. Hamilton has caught up to Vettel’s exhausts, with 9 laps remaining. In the DRS zone, the Englishman easily moves into second position and sets his sights on his Spanish target. And it only takes him one more lap to catch up to the Ferrari. The gamble seems lost, moreover, Vettel pits and comes out 5th. Romain Grosjean is then on the podium. Hamilton, after attempting to brake at the hairpin, completes his task in the DRS zone and retakes the lead without difficulty.

Alonso is now the target of Grosjean, on fresher tires. He has 1.7 seconds to make up with 5 laps remaining, and he leads Sergio Perez, who once again sets the fastest lap of the race in 1:16.772, by 7.5 seconds. Just as easily as Lewis Hamilton, the second position is his in the DRS zone. He is 3.8 seconds behind Hamilton.

Perez’s pace allowed him over the last 3 laps to claw back nearly 10 seconds on Fernando Alonso, while a replay of Vettel shows him in full attack mode, skimming the famous Wall of Champions. With 3 laps to go, the gap between the Mexican and Alonso is 2.6 seconds, but with 2 laps remaining, Perez has already moved into the DRS zone, and it’s now Vettel who is threatening Alonso.

Alonso is simply in agony, while Ricciardo treats us to a spin in turn 3, without consequence. Vettel passes the Spaniard even before he can use his DRS, before the hairpin. We are now entering the final lap. And it could be that the Ferrari is overtaken again, this time by Nico Rosberg. But the German is stuck 0.4 seconds behind the native of Oviedo.

The victory goes to Lewis Hamilton, the 7th different winner in as many Grand Prix, ahead of Romain Grosjean, achieving his best result, and Sergio Perez. Vettel is 4th, setting the fastest lap in the race on the last lap, ahead of Alonso, Rosberg, Webber, Räikkönen, Kobayashi, and Massa for the points.

Results of the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix: