Our home and native land

[meteorite]

Everyone has been assuming that Champioonship leader Lewis Hamilton would be an automatic shoo-in for his seventh Montreal pole and the others might as well mail in their performances. But as in motor racing, there were other factors at work.

Canada is the seventh race of the season. The FIA allows each team three engines per car for the season. If any in excess of this number are fitted, the entry is subjected to draconian penalties that can leave it stating from 21st place, with even a place in the point stanfings at risk for the driver. But for strategic reasons they don't discuss, when a team has its legal changes ready for the second engine, it likes to run it a race early. Everyone did that this week except Mercedes - and Hamilton paid the price. In addition, Pirelli came out with a new "hypersoft" tread compound which seemed to perform far better on the Red Bull cars than on either Ferrari oor Mercedes.

Ferrari, with ne new engine, thus finally got Vettel on the pole with a course-record speed. Raikkonen would have joined him but bobbled on the critical run, letting a highly charged-up Bottas to dig down deep for a bette time in his Mercedes. The irrepressible Max Verstappen with is daring moves and on tirees possibly giving his a starting advantage slots in between Vettel and Raikkonen, with both of whom he has some history, beside Hamilton for the start. Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull completes row three. Given these positions and the track configuration, on e could run an interesting lottery on who will complete lap one.

Montreal is a very fast track with treacherous turns and the instiable Wall of Champions wating to administer a lesson to even rhe most expert of drivers should he make the slightest of miscalulations. Take nothing for granted, except that Le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will produce racinng that would please the ghost of the Champion for which it is named.


FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX HEINEKEN DU CANADA 2018 - QUALIFYING

08 10 Jun 2018 Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal
Heineken
Race sponsor

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Car Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:11.710 1:11.524 1:10.764 18
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:11.950 1:11.514 1:10.857 20
3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:12.008 1:11.472 1:10.937 16
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.835 1:11.740 1:10.996 21
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:11.725 1:11.620 1:11.095 20
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:12.459 1:11.434 1:11.116 18
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:12.795 1:11.916 1:11.973 15
8 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:12.577 1:12.141 1:12.084 14
9 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:12.689 1:12.097 1:12.168 15
10 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:12.702 1:12.395 1:12.671 13
11 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:12.680 1:12.606 22
12 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:12.587 1:12.635 17
13 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari 1:12.945 1:12.661 22
14 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Renault 1:12.979 1:12.856 14
15 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Renault 1:12.998 1:12.865 14
16 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:13.047 8
17 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:13.590 8
18 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams Mercedes 1:13.643 10
19 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:14.593 6

Q1 107% time - 1:16.729

Note - Grosjean failed to meet 107% Q1 requirement - races at stewards' discretion.

[meteorite]

Forty years ago Gilles Villeneuve, a driver who had established his name as a snowmobile racer before moving up the ladder of single-seater racing car formulae, joined the Ferrari formula One team. He scored his maiden win for his new team when he became the first Canadian ever to win a Formula One race on the then relatively new racing circuit built on the St.Lawrence River island that had been constructed to house Expo 67 in Canada's Centennial year. Gilles went on to become one of the most beloved Ferrari drivers of all time prior to his death in a practice crash in 1982.

Today his son Jacques, Indycar series winner and Indanapois 500 winner, and a World Champion in Formula One, was given Gilles. original racer to driver in the lead of the drivers parade around the track named in his father;s honour thirty years ago. For those of us who have followed Canadian racing for the past half-century and more, it was a graceful moment of supreme emotion. It was an especially poignant sight for the Ferraristas packing the sold-out grandstands.

The race went as it should on this day. Vettel with the new upgraded engine led from start to chequer (which was thrown half a lap early but without impact on the placings). Bottas could do no more than keep him honest, his race engine being due for replacement aft.er the race end. Verstappen and Ricciardo had the Renault engine upgrades but their tires did not live up to the promise of their qualifying perfo,rmance, though Ricciardo finally made it by Hamilton who was struggling with an end of life erratic engine. Raikkonen's Ferrari completd the leader group.

The weather stayed gorgeous all weekend, the results were consistent with the natue of the event. Montreal was wearing its best harming face and the air was festive. Once again Quebec's capital showed why it is one of the most popular venues on the Formula 1 circuit, sending the fans home happy ad satisfied.


FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX HEINEKEN DU CANADA 2018 - RACE RESULT

08 10 Jun 2018 Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal

Race
Pos No Driver Car Laps Time/Retired Pts
1 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 68 1:28:31.377 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 68 +7.376s 18
3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 68 +8.360s 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 68 +20.892s 12
5 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 68 +21.559s 10
6 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 68 +27.184s 8
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 67 +1 lap 6
8 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 67 +1 lap 4
9 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 67 +1 lap 2
10 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari 67 +1 lap 1
11 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 67 +1 lap 0
12 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 67 +1 lap 0
13 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 67 +1 lap 0
14 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 67 +1 lap 0
15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 66 +2 laps 0
16 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Renault 66 +2 laps 0
17 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams Mercedes 66 +2 laps 0
NC 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Renault 40 DNF 0
NC 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 0 DNF 0
NC 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 0 DNF 0