F1 – Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying : Hamilton Fastest on a Different Strategy
The pendulum has swung in favour of Hamilton at Montreal after he broke the Red Bull domination for pole positions in all of the races this year. However, it’s a job half done after the two Red Bulls were on primes as opposed to the McLarens on options. It was split in terms of strategy and this could be the real story for tomorrow.
Tyre choice was the trickiest part as teams showed indecision in the run up to Qualifying 3. Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes were switching and evaluating tyres for the final race strategy tomorrow.
McLaren’s decision to put Hamilton on soft might just work considering he had secured the best position on the grid. We believe the softer compound will be faster in the first few laps only before it will start to experience some graining. However, on the assumption that the faster Red Bulls on primes will get stuck behind Hamilton, the strategy might just work flawlessly. On another story, Hamilton’s McLaren was out fuel after completing his final run. His car was unable to arrive for scrutineering. According to the rules, FIA need a sample for the fuel, it must have at least 1-litre in the tank for scrutineering purposes. It will be interesting to see the outcome because there have been rumors flying around the paddock that this will incur some form of penalty.
The 7 times winner of Canadian GP failed to make the cut for final Qualifying. To add insult to the injury, he was out-qualified by Rosberg yet again in a humiliating fashion. I won’t take anything away from Rosberg, he is a brilliant driver. However, the manner of Micheal’s defeat to Rosberg is the question supposed to be asked. Webber and Vettel despite outperforming each other this season, both were very close in terms of lap-times. Only few tenths was the difference of the day.
The momentum hasn’t stop for this man. Webber almost get the pole only to be beaten by the clock as Hamilton manage to squeeze one extra lap just barely before the time is over.
As for Vettel, not only does he had to answer for the Turkey incident, out-qualified by Webber four times in a row only added up to the mounting pressure in the German speaking side of the team. Will they collide yet again?
The possibility of safety car is always there in Canada, and with early battles all over the field it’s safe to assume if there is going to be an incident, it will be likely in the early part of the race. If it does happen, this will favour both McLaren hugely.
Heikki leads Lotus charge for best of new teams at Montreal. Montreal is a step in the right direction after disappointment in Turkey.
1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2 6 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
4 8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
5 1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
6 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
7 7 Felipe Massa Ferrari
8 11 Robert Kubica Renault
9 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
10 4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes
11 9 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
12 10 Nico Hülkenberg Williams-Cosworth
13 3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes
14 12 Vitaly Petrov Renault
15 16 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari
16 17 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari
17 22 Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari
18 23 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
19 19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
20 18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
22 21 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
23 25 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
24 20 Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
Editorial : Mu’az Zakaria
Image Source : McLaren, Mercedes, Renault, Red Bull, Lotus
