Button Blasts through the rainy chaos to mesmorize Montreal
12th June 2011
MONTREAL – Gilles Villeneuve Circuit
PRE RACE
It is race day. The St. Lawrence River/Seaway is still. The forecasted rain has not yet materialized, but there is evidence of it brewing on the horizon.
The man-made island (on which the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is built), was originally constructed from building rubble: access to the island is mostly via various watercrafts; though there are also bridges. The Casino dominates the surrounding landscape.
The driver steward for the weekend is Emerson Fitipaldi. The race has attracted a good turnout of spectators who have travelled from near and far to support Formula 1 in North America. There are a number of well-known personalities also present, from Colin Farrell to George Lucas and Rihanna.
START
The cars have taken their slots on the grid. The threatened rain has arrived, in force. The teams have opted to start the race on the “full-wet” Pirelli tyres. The F. I. A. stewards have been carefully monitoring track conditions, and have prudently decided to start the race behind the safety car. Berndt Mylander and his co-driver patiently wait in the silver Mercedes-Benz SL65 at the head of the pack: they will lead the field around the circuit, and then “release” the pack and the Grand Prix will commence with a “rolling start”. It is an unusual way to start a G. P., but in this case, due to the adverse weather conditions, it is the best way: there is a very short run down to Turn 1 off the start/finish straight.
Lap 4
The cars have been trailing the safety car for four laps now… drivers peering through the fine spray of water thrown up by the car ahead of them… anxiously awaiting the all clear for racing.
Finally the safety car pulls off the track – and –
We are racing in Montreal!
Vettel leads the chasing pack into Turn 1.
Hamilton has a minor collision with Mark Webber.
Lap 5
Schumacher takes Button – good move.
Lap 6
Hamilton spins off the track, but recovers his McLaren-Mercedes car quickly.
Vettel sets the fastest lap: 1:34:827
The Order after 6 Laps is as follows:
Vettel leads, followed by Alonso (@4,066s), Massa, Rosberg, Schumacher, Hamilton, Button, Di Resta, Kobayashi and Heidfeld.
Lap 7
Vettel has a minor “off” and skids across the grass.
Lap 8
Hamilton crashes into his team mate, Button, on the start/finish straight.
The accident could have been a lot worse than it was. The mechanics holding out the pit boards on the pit wall take hasty evasive action as bits of carbon-fibre bodywork come flying their way.
Cars 2 and 3 are under investigation by the stewards.
Hamilton parks his McLaren-Mercedes car at the side of the track, with a suspected rear suspension failure.
The safety car is once again deployed to give the marshals a chance to clear Hamilton’s car.
Lap 9
Button pits.
(Pit Lane time: 23,650s. Pit-stop time: 4,7s).
The Order after 10 Laps is as follows:
Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Rosberg, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Heidfeld, Petrov, Webber and Di Resta.
Lap 12
The safety car comes in and we are racing once more.
Lap 14
Button serves his drive through penalty.
Lap 15
Button takes Barichello for 13th position.
Webber takes Petrov – great move.
Lap 16
Barichello pits from 22nd position.
(Pit Lane time: 23,305s. Pit-stop time: 4,0s).
Lap 17
Alonso pits – from 2nd – rejoins 7th.
(Pit Lane time: 23,893s. Pit-stop time: 4,4s).
Webber takes Rosberg.
Rosberg pits.
(Pit Lane time: 23,105s. Pit-stop time: 3,4s).
Maldonado pits.
D’Ambrosio pits.
Those drivers that have pitted, have opted to switch to the “intermediate” tyres, as the track appears to be slowly drying out.
The Order after 17 Laps is as follows:
Vettel leads, followed by Alonso (@5,024s), Massa, Rosberg, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Webber, Heidfeld, Petrov and Di Resta.
Lap 19
Alonso takes Heidfeld for 6th position.
Schumacher pits – from 11th position.
(Pit Lane time: 24,474s. Pit-stop time: 5,0s).
The heavy rain has now arrived – conditions are treacherous on the track.
Lap 20
There is organized chaos in the pit-lane: the safety car has once again been deployed, and the drivers have taken the opportunity to switch tyres.
Massa pits.
Alonso pits – rejoins 9th.
(Pit Lane time: 26,348s. Pit-stop time: 6,0s).
Button pits.
(Pit Lane time: 23,868s).
Trulli pits.
Maldonado pits.
Vettel pits.
(Pit Lane time: 23,872s. Pit-stop time: 4,0s).
Webber pits.
(Pit Lane time: 29,546s. Pit-stop time: 9,0s).
The drivers have opted to switch back to “full wet” tyres.
Lap 21
Buemi pits.
Massa pits.
(Pit Lane time: 24,886s. Pit-stop time: 2,3s).
The Order after 21 Laps is as follows:
Massa leads, followed by Vettel, Kobayashi, Heidfeld, Petrov, Di Resta, Webber, Schumacher, Alonso and De La Rosa.
Lap 22
Schumacher pits.
(Pit Lane time: 24,196s. Pit-stop time: 4,5s).
Alguersuari spins out but recovers his car.
Lap 24
The safety car is still deployed – conditions are not improving.
Lap 25
The race is red flagged.
(The cars form up once again on the grid, and await further instructions from the stewards).
When racing resumed, it was helter- skelter all the way: numerous pit stops as the drivers switched from “full wet” weather tyres to “intermediate” to “super soft” tyres.
There was overtaking aplenty and plenty of on-track incidents – but this is the nature of Formula 1 racing. Heidfeld had a big accident as his drove over his nose cone, after touching the Kobayashi’s Sauber.
The safety car was used often throughout as marshals struggled not only to clear the track of standing water, but also to clear those cars that had crashed out of the race.
Lap 70
Button takes the win!
2. Vettel
3. Webber
4. Schumacher
5. Petrov
6. Massa
7. Kobayashi
8. Alguersuari
9. Barichello
10. Buemi
Retired: 17/24 cars finished the race. Hamilton, Alonso, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Maldonado, Sutil and Di Resta retired.
SUMMARY
There was a long delay (1hr 30mins plus) due to the torrential rain which caused flooding at numerous locations on the track. The marshals and stewards worked extremely hard to make the track “race-able” again: from brooms, to water pumps, to special machines with rollers etc. The stewards also sent out various vehicles to literally drive water off the “racing line”, and feel what the general level of traction and grip was like on the track.
After racing resumed it was all about levels of grip on the track. Under an F. I. A. directive the cars had to restart the race on “full wet” weather tyres. It wasn’t long before the water started to slowly but surely disappear, and the “intermediate” tyres were used. From there it was a question of who would be brave enough to try a set of dry weather “super soft” tyres first. An avalanche of pit stops contributed to some great racing as it really mixed up the field.
In the end, what a brilliant race from Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes)!
He drove an awesome race: at one point he was running in 21st position, he made 6 pit stops (changing tyres under the variable track/weather conditions – even serving a drive through penalty); and raced his way through the field to claim victory on the last lap. What a great drive!
Michael Schumacher, the wet weather specialist, had a superb drive, and very nearly claimed a podium position. Sebastian Vettel had a good rive, and led the race for most of the way, but was caught and passed by a charging Button in the last few laps of the Grand Prix. His team mate, Mark Webber, had a good drive and finished in 3rd position.
Button cruises into “Parc Ferme” after his victory lap. He is clearly elated as he salutes the crowd and then rushed over to greet his team. This has been quite possibly the greatest victory of Button’s F1 career. The top 3 saunter past the “honour guard” formed by the beautiful grid girls; and prepare themselves for the podium ceremony. Paddy Lowe from the McLaren-Mercedes team joins them on the podium. After the various national anthems, the trophies are presented: they are very original and stylish. The various dignitaries quickly clear the podium stage to avoid the champagne shower… champagne everywhere: this is Formula 1!
NEXT STOP
Despite the weather conditions, Montreal proved to be an exhilarating race. There was action aplenty, and after a long rain delay, we were treated to some brilliant driving.
Next, it’s back to Europe, for the Grand Prix of Europe – in Valencia, Spain. Valencia is a street circuit and a great place to race.
Written by Mark Batchelder, Road and Race’s F1 Connoisseur
