Hammer24 said:
2012 Race Summary
As required by the qualifying regulations, the top 9 qualifiers all started on the faster red-banded super soft tyres, with 10th placed Jenson Button who did not set a time in Q3 choosing to start on the yellow-banded softs. The remaining drivers had a choice of tyres; Kimi Räikkönen, Nico Hülkenberg, Sergio Pérez, Pastor Maldonado and Pedro de la Rosa opted for the softs, the remainder for the super softs.
The race got off to a clean start, with Sebastian Vettel taking the early lead from pole. There were no big changes behind him, as Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa all staying in their respective places. Pastor Maldonado made up a few places after starting 22nd. Massa passed Rosberg for fifth soon after, with the latter soon losing another spot to Paul di Resta. Di Resta was unable to keep the pace of the top 5, and a gap formed up between the first 5 and the rest of the pack.
Massa had started closing in on Webber after passing Rosberg, but he then spun and dropped down to 12th, at the tail of the second group led by di Resta. At the head of the field, Vettel built a two second lead in the first four laps over Hamilton, but then Hamilton slowly started reeling him back in as the super softs slowly began to wear out. Before the first round of pit stops, Hamilton closed right up to Vettel and started to get held up, with Fernando Alonso taking the opportunity to join the leading two. The stops started as early as lap 13 for Massa, and on lap 14 for di Resta and Michael Schumacher. Vettel stayed until lap 16 before pitting, handing the lead to Hamilton who came in on the next lap and rejoined ahead of Vettel, despite a slow pitstop.
Alonso stayed out two laps longer than Hamilton and, helped by a quick pitstop was able to rejoin in second place, ahead of Hamilton and Vettel and only behind temporary leader Romain Grosjean who was yet to pit. Hamilton immediately attacked him in the DRS zone on the same lap and succeeded to take 2nd place, which became the lead two laps later when Grosjean pitted. Webber was unable to keep up with the leading trio in the first stint and thus, after his stop rejoined behind the yet to stop Sergio Pérez and Kimi Räikkönen, and got held up behind the duo. This left the leading trio of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel with a gap around 15 seconds to the rest of the field, with the McLaren driver being able to edge out a lead over his two pursuers.
On lap 24 Narain Karthikeyan was the first retirement after spinning on turn 1 and pulling over shortly afterwards. Shortly afterwards, his HRT team-mate Pedro de la Rosa stopped in the pits with worn-out brakes and didn't re-emerge.
Räikkönen and Pérez, running 4th and 5th having started on the soft tyres both had a long first stint as they tried to make the race on a single stop. With Webber being held up behind the duo, this allowed both Grosjean and Nico Rosberg to close up on him. Rosberg made his second stop on lap 40, one lap before Räikkönen made his only stop. Räikkönen rejoined in front of Rosberg, but Rosberg was able to pass him in the DRS zone on the same lap, just as Hamilton did on Alonso earlier. Pérez made his stop on lap 42 and rejoined in between the duo, in 8th place. Michael Schumacher's run of bad luck continued when he left the pits on lap 43 with his DRS flap open was running 9th. He returned to the pits but the team were unable to close the flap, forcing his retirement.
Hamilton was able to open up a 4 second lead over Alonso, with Vettel being initially held up by the Spainard, but unable to keep up with him as the Ferrari driver found the grip in his tyres. As the stint wore on, Alonso was able to pull clear of Vettel and close down Hamilton's lead to just over 2 seconds, and Hamilton decided to make a second stop for new tyres. He rejoined in third, 9.5 seconds behind Vettel and 13 behind Alonso, and just ahead of Webber and Grosjean who were fighting for 4th. Both Alonso and Vettel realized that they do not have enough of a gap to make another stop and rejoin ahead of Hamilton, so they stayed out and attempted to complete the race without stopping again in an attempt to win.
The battles continued to rage behind the leading trio, as Grosjean started to attack 4th placed Webber. The Red Bull driver decided to make a second pitstop for new tyres and rejoined in 8th place, behind Rosberg and Pérez, but ahead of Räikkönen. Felipe Massa, who was unable to regain the places he lost due to his spin, was now back up to 5th place as he too attempted a one-stopper. That did not work out however, and Rosberg had closed right up to him by lap 55, and brought Pérez, Webber and Räikkönen along. Rosberg attacked Massa on the DRS zone, but overshot the last chicane and had to give the position back. Pérez took advantage of this and was right behind Massa, which meant that he too was able to get the jump on Rosberg when he handed the place back to Massa. He then passed Massa on the same lap, with Rosberg also going through, this time doing the job cleanly. The Brazilian had enough, and pitted for a new set of tyres and rejoined in 10th place, where he stayed till the end.
Hamilton on his newer tyres was rapidly gaining on Alonso and Vettel at the front at over a second a lap. As the race entered the latter stages, the tyres of Alonso and Vettel had began to totally wear out, and their lap times now dropped by 3 seconds a lap. Hamilton passed Vettel on lap 62, and Alonso two laps later to take the lead, but the tyres of the latter two were so worn that they were vulnerable to the rest of the field. Vettel decided to stop for new tyres on lap 64 and rejoined fifth behind Grosjean and Pérez, who had broken away from the battle between Rosberg, Webber and Räikkönen. Alonso decided to stay out on his totally worn tyres and was passed by Grosjean on lap 66, Pérez one lap later, and a charging Vettel on the penultmate lap. Lewis Hamilton had no trouble reeling off the last 6 laps once he had taken the lead and became the 7th different winner in 7 races. Grosjean and Sergio Pérez achieved their 2nd career podium finishes as they finished second and third respectively. Vettel recovered to 4th, only 2 seconds behind Pérez at the flag. A frustrated Alonso dropped to 5th ahead of Rosberg who had an up and down race finishing 6th, fending off Webber and Räikkönen. Kamui Kobayashi finished a respectable 9th place in the other Sauber with Massa getting the final point in 10th.
Circuit Info
[Click for Onboard]
Laps
70
Circuit length4.361 km (2.709 mi)
Race length305.270 km (189.694 mi)
Lap RecordRubens Barichello - Ferrari - 2004 - 1:13.622
Most Wins (Drivers)Michael Schumacher (7)
Most Wins (Constructors)McLaren (13)
Previous Winners & Pole Positions
2012 - Winner: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes
Pole: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Renault - 1:13.784
2011 - Winner: Jenson Button - McLaren MercedesPole: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Renault - 1:13.014
2010 - Winner: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren MercedesPole: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes - 1:15.105
2009 - Race Not Held2008 - Winner: Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber
Pole: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes - 1:17.886
2007 - Winner: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren MercedesPole: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes - 1:15.707
2006 - Winner: Fernando Alonso - RenaultPole: Fernando Alonso - Renault - 1:14.942
2005 - Winner: Kimi Räikkönen - McLaren MercedesPole: Jenson Button - BAR Honda - 1:15.217
Video Highlights
History of F1 from the drivers perspective
Highlights from the 1988 Canadian GP (30 Minutes)
Highlights from the 1982 Canadian GP (30 Minutes)
Highlights from the 2012 Canadian GP
Highlights from the 2011 Canadian GP
Highlights from the 2008 Canadian GP
Changes from 2012
-Gravel and grass around the outside of turn eight and the apex of turn nine has been replaced with asphalt.
-A speed bump approximately 50mm high and 500mm wide has been installed parallel to the track edge on the drivers left before the apex kerb in turn nine (around the outside of turn eight). Another has been installed to the drivers left after the apex kerb in turn 14.
-Additional guardrail posts have been installed in places where the spacing between them was greater than 2m.
GP Facts
-McLaren is the leading constructor at the Canadian Grand Prix with 13 victories, to Ferraris 11 and Williams seven. Nine of McLarens total came at this circuit, including a hat-trick of victories in the past three years.
-Michael Schumacher is the leading driver at this race by some distance, with seven victories. Lewis Hamilton is the only multiple winner in this years field. He has three victories here (2007, 2010, 2012). Other winners racing this year are Kimi Räikkönen (2005), Fernando Alonso (2006) and Jenson Button (2011).
-Of the seven braking points at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, four have loads in excess of 5G, the harshest of which is the approach to the hairpin, at which cars will brake from 300kph down to a first-gear 60kph for the tight turn.
-The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve offers a rare opportunity to compare various elite series. Champ Car made its final appearance here in 2006 and Sébastien Bourdais took pole position with a time of 1:20.005. When F1 visited in the same summer, Fernando Alonso had pole with 1:14.942 (though went quicker in Q2). The 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series race had Alex Tagliani on pole with a time of 1:40.865, in contrast to Sebastian Vettels 2012 F1 pole time of 1:13.784.
-Unlike the previous grand prix, held on the streets of Monaco, the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve does not confer any particular advantage on pole position. Since 2000, the race has only been won from pole on four occasions. It has also been won from second on the grid four times in this period.
-On his way to victory in 2011, Jenson Button occupied last place as late as lap 40. That notwithstanding, the race doesnt particularly favour a charge through the field: it has never been won by anyone starting outside the top ten, and then only once from the fifth row, when Jacques Laffite won from tenth position for Ligier in 1981.
-Originally named the Île Notre-Dame Circuit, it was renamed in honour of Gilles Villeneuve after his death. In 1978 Villeneuve won the inaugural grand prix held on the island. Of the current F1 calender, the other circuit named in honour of a former driver is the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, home of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Like Villeneuve, Pace was a grand prix winner and local hero at the circuit now bearing his name.
-Villeneuves win was the first of his six grand prix victories. Four other drivers have taken their debut win at this circuit: Thierry Boutsen (1989), Jean Alesi (1995), Lewis Hamilton (2007) and Robert Kubica (2008).
'Wall of Champions' Victims
-Alexander Wurz, two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, in 1997
-Damon Hill, 1996 F1 World Champion, in 1999
-Michael Schumacher, 7 time F1 World Champion, in 1999
-Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 F1 World Champion, in 1997 and 1999
-Ricardo Zonta, 1998 FIA GT sports car Champion, in 1999
-Nico Rosberg, 2005 GP2 Champion
-Nick Heidfeld, 1999 International Formula 3000 Champion, in 2001
-Jenson Button, 2009 F1 World Champion, in 2005
-Juan Pablo Montoya, 1999 CART Champion, in 2006
-Vitantonio Liuzzi, 2004 International Formula 3000 Champion, in 2007
-Kamui Kobayashi, 2008-09 GP2 Asia Series Champion, in 2010
-Sebastian Vettel, 2010-12 F1 World Champion, in 2011
-Pastor Maldonado, 2010 GP2 Series Champion, in 2012
Drivers Championship Standings
Constructors Championship Standings
Fantasy Championship Standings
