Rate the race: 2011 Canadian Grand Prix

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What did you think of the Canadian Grand Prix? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (49%)
  • 9 (32%)
  • 8 (10%)
  • 7 (3%)
  • 6 (1%)
  • 5 (1%)
  • 4 (0%)
  • 3 (0%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (1%)

Total Voters: 704

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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2011 Canadian Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    304 comments on “Rate the race: 2011 Canadian Grand Prix”

    1. Tough call.

      Such a long wait, but well well worth it! I’ll give it an 8. Without the stoppage, would have easily been a 9 or 10.

      1. Same, would have been 10 if it wasn’t 6:40am

        1. just 23:10 here so I’ll give it a 10 :)

          1. it finished at 4am here!

            1. i think its the longest race ever …..but worth the pain

        2. Good point. Guess I have the benefit of being in Canada and it being a midday race here.

          1. same here. 10

            1. The safety car was out for too long, so I gave it a 9. Other than that, it was very gripping in the last half of the race, after the red flag.

            2. Any race interrupted by safety car after lap 5 can score a maximum of 5 on my scale. This race managed a 4.

            3. McLaren Fan 17
              13th June 2011, 16:56

              @DVC I think that’s a bit harsh.

        3. Great action when there was action, but I don’t understand all the 10/10 marks… unless you also enjoyed the two hours of watching birds and drain covers.

          1. The Channel 10 (Aus) replay cut all of that out with no explanation. We didn’t even see the red flag. It was very confusing.

            1. Well they are useless, I guess that can be there explanation.

          2. Agree, 7/10 for going around in circles behind the safety car is high enough. But I liked the birds.

          3. Safety car definitely out to long, I switched straight to recorded coverage of Silverstone motoGp where they were racing on 2 wheels on a wetter track than than the stewards went round on in Montreal, semi horizontal at 200 K on 2 wheels.

            1. Afraid I’m gonna disagree on that one… Silverstone for the MotoGP was bone dry in comparison… I don’t think Bridgestone or Michelin would’ve wanted their tyres in that much water in Canada… Let alone the untested Pirellis…

              There was a wet day of testing though… Why didn’t the teams use that opportunity to get some laps on the wet tyres??

      2. The end was very, very good. However I sat and watched nothing happen in a pub for what felt like most of the night. I’ll give it a 7, max.

        1. A Full 10. they kept spectators up at 1.20 so they delivered an awesome race. Michael’s awesome drive, Massa’s photo finish, Button from last to first, nick heidfeld’s crash, 2 SLS AMGs, falling marshals, EVERYTHING!

          I just woke up, and I’m still excited! :D

          1. I have got to second you on that and add a few other ( In the words of the great Murray Walker) comings together. And although far from being a schumacher fan i have to take my hat off to him as he was more than entertaining for the majority of the post restart race! Shame lewis crashed out but well done jenson a well deserved and entertaining win!

      3. supernicebob
        12th June 2011, 22:18

        What a super nice race.

        1. Pretty sure I didn’t write that, but I totally agree (apart from the stoppage, but better that then everyone ending up in the barriers).

      4. WOOOOOOAHHH. people are giving this 10?! cmon mclaren fans, don’t rate based on Button winning. or vettel not winning…

        Way too many precautionary laps behind the safety car for red flag restart. dodgy driving down the field. huge red flag period.
        but great strategic win from the back, lots of action, last lap lead change. great race! 8/10.

        not 10 tho, no way!

        1. C’mon guys. I understand that you’re happy with Button winning an unexpected race, but it was nowhere near Turkey this year. For me it was ruined by a DRS zone ridiculously long. They are not passing, they are just swapping places. Button was lucky enough (after the trouble he was involved in, no matter if it was his fault or not) to find himself in the fastest car at the end of a race with the leaders really close by thanks to all the safety cars. All credit to him for pushing it, but all I saw was DRS changes of position (I wouldn’t dare to call it a pass the move he made on Schumacher, and I don’t think Lewis will call it a pass either. He was ahead before they started braking), and a few drivers making mistakes in front of him (Webber, Sebastian).

          All praises to Button for winning it. I think he’s a nice chap and I’m glad for him, but I don’t think this is the best one he drove. It is likely that this is his most surprising win, but I don’t think it was the best one he drove.

          1. BTW, can anybody tell me why McLaren was so fast at the end of the race? I mean Button qualified more than 8 tenths behind Vettel and the conditions at the end of the race were close to those in qualifying (low fuel, supersofts and I don’t think Vettel had pushed them so badly, since we had that many safety cars, and he was comfortably in front for most of the race). Is it just that the circuit had no rubber what made all that difference, did McLaren change anything in their setup during the red flag, or is it that Vettel did not consume as much fuel behind the safety car as Button did (and thus he’d have a heavier car)? Still I don’t get it

            1. Ah, and why did they make so many laps behind safety car after the re-start with the red flag? How many were they 9, 10? I understand the safety issues, but can’t these cars run in wet tracks? I mean, why do they have full-rain tires? To go behind the safety car? If anybody had a full-wet setup, they surely ruined his race!

              What I find most ridiculous is that cars were already coming into the pits to switch their tires to intermediates even before the safety car came in, and Vettel actually did the fastest lap of the race right after the safety car came in. And he did it with full-rain tires. Since they had already put the intermediates before the red flag came out, I believe that the track was not that wet at all (regardless the fuel loads).

              Anyhow, I think they tend to abuse the use of the safety car these days.

            2. I think it’s mostly on the drivers, and partly McLaren’s superior race pace compared to qualifying. Button is incredibly fast on a damp track, while Vettel’s incredible qualifying speed is in large part based on how early he can get on the throttle, which is neutralised on a damp track, since if he tried that he’d spin.

            3. Well, that’s exactly my point. If a team has a better race pace (McLaren, Ferrari…), then you usually see it in the early laps of the race (like Hamilton’s closing on Vettel at the end of the last stint in Australia), but as they start getting low on fuel, conditions get more similar to qualifying, and the advantage comes back to Red Bull. We’ve seen that a few times this year, but today it was surprisingly the opposite.

              McLaren’s seem to struggle in the early part of the race, but were the car to beat in the end, which seems to indicate that they didn’t have a wet setup… so why did they show such a poor performance in the qualification?

              Also, it doesn’t seem to be a tire issue, Vettel stopped 2 laps after Button and he didn’t have to battle his way up the field, so his tires must have been fresher by the end of the race.

              And regarding the conditions of the track, it was certainly not the same as Saturday, but they clearly had a dry line (Schumacher was able to overtake and pull away from Webber while the track was wet, but he did have a hard time during the dry period). I guess you’re right and it’s just that no rubber on the track and colder temperatures suited the McLaren better than the Red Bull. Thanks for the comment!

            4. The answer to your query lies in the Red Flag rules. On Saturday different teams gambled on a wet or dry race for qualifying because of the parc ferme rules. But once you get a red flag you can do anything, McLaren opted for a drier set-up than the others at that point I think.

            5. The only explination for buttons performance is what I have expected for a while now

              The Mclarens are the best at getting the most out of the tyres

              I also expect they run more down force than others and this help warm the tyres

        2. I don’t think you contribute the high ratings to Mclaren fans…. I’d point out what happened to Lewis.

          It was just a very exciting race.

          1. yes but it wsan’t the ‘perfect’ race. (10 means ‘perfect’ don’t forget- see descriptions)

        3. d1sciple (@)
          13th June 2011, 11:09

          I went for a 7 purely due to the over use of the safety car. It didn’t need to be there at the start and certainly could have come in much earlier after the restart. Too H&S conscious, got me so frustrated. Shouldn’t be able to come straight in to the pits for inters after the safety car leaves the circuit, means it was there for too long!

        4. OK McClaren hater. I rated the race a 10 for two reasons. First was the wet start, I felt it was very exciting and had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Second was after the restart, there was a lot of racing excitement: Passing (DRS and non-drs), pit stop strategy, and lots of racing. We weren’t searching to find some position battle, there were lots of them.

          While I’m pleased Vettle didn’t win, that isn’t the big part of my enjoyment and reason for rating the race so high – I enjoyed the race!

      5. Yeah the last couple of laps were amazinggg! However they didnt make up for the un needed start under the safety car, the 2 hour stoppage, and then too many unnecessary laps under the safety car once the race resumed- to the point where people were pitting for inters.

        It was a wicked race but because of those factors I couldnt give it a 10. I think the FIA are lucky that it turned out to be such a blinder because otherwise I think some serious questions would have been asked

        1. I agree was a great race, if wasn’t for the safety car carry on had potential to be one of greatest of them all.

          We were robbed at the start with the safety car with Alonso reportedly wanting to start on intermediates and then couldn’t do because of the way over cautious approach.

          Then later the car stays out until the track is dry enough for inters. Would have loved to see how the drivers would have handled them 8 or 9 laps. Esp how Schumi would have done compared to the top guys!

    2. those last 5 laps or so were amazing.

      looks like bernie’s idea of putting sprinklers on the tracks is a great idea, if were going to get action like that

      1. Unless your going to have most the race behind a safety car because of it.

        Overall fantastic race 9/10 would have been 10/10 but for the two hour or so wait for the real action.

        I know its a tough/risky decision by the race director, but the 2nd safety car made a mockery of the FIA/ Charlie Whiting when as soon as it come in they all switch to inters.

      2. Beuark, you should get a ban ! (just kidding)

        1. Bernie’s idea probably didn’t include this new extremly over cautious approach of bringing the safety car out at every opportunity then staying out until the tracks near dry!!

    3. I’m speechless. Really. 10/10

      1. AMAZING RACE!

        1. Yes, and it pretty much lasted only 30 laps or so.

          1. OK, if your take “the race” to mean the last 30 laps, then I would agree, 10/10 easily, fantastic race to watch.

            But that wasn’t it. I rated it 8/10. This goes to show how great I though the end was, because it could easily have been 0: too many safety cars, a 2 hour red flag, these are not enjoyable.

            It cannot (IMHO) get 10/10 because there was far too much time sat in front of the TV, bored, waiting for something to happen.

    4. Well, the race was alright but we have established that DRS is a total farce. Dreadfully easy overtaking

      1. True. DRS denied MSC a podium finish today.

        1. sid_prasher (@)
          12th June 2011, 22:19

          He drove fantastically…but without DRS he wouldn’t have climbed up to 2nd from 12th so quickly either…
          but agree DRS makes it too easy!

          1. MSC’s passes weren’t in the DRS zones.

          2. The DRS only became active after he already was in second.

            As a Schumacher fan I was gutted for him because him losing the places was inevitable. But he put up a great fight today.

          3. MSC still a brilliant driver. He can win if Mercedez can produce a winning car.

            1. Any driver could win if their team can produce a winning car.

          4. d1sciple (@)
            13th June 2011, 11:12

            DRS was deactivated in the wet so he didn’t utilise it.

        2. Superb skill there by the 7 times world champion…

      2. DRS created the end, then Button passed ‘naturally.

        Would you rather a car comfortably 2 seconds per lap quicker was bottled up behind Webber & Schumacher and we missed a proper ending?

        1. DRS created the end

          As in “ruined” it? Yeah.

      3. Massa wouldn’t have passed Kobayashi for 6th by a hair’s width without DRS’ 2nd zone.

        On the other hand, Vettel would not have been under as much pressure without DRS today.

        You win some, you lose some. But I really don’t understand why the DRS zone was as long as it was and then added a 2nd one as well.

        1. I doubt anybody would complain if somebody breezed past Vettel on the straight with DRS to win the GP

        2. Great driving from Michael.

          Im happy allso for his 4th place!

          1. DRS does not equal a guarantee pass on a particular lap. If you notice Webber had a number of chances and could still not pass Schumacher. You still need good grip out of the corner, to be close enough to use the DRS with a good tow, and to have enough skill to still pull the car up in time for the corner. Button was so much faster than anyone else which is why he passed Schumacher so easily. I doubt even with DRS that Button would have passed Vettel (unless he had another 5 laps), as Vettel was only slightly slower when Button had caught him.

            1. Webber had trouble passing Schumacher because he had to go to the wet side of the track the first time he tried to pass, missing his breaking point. Once everything dried out it was another piece of cake for him to pass Schumacher.

              Today DRS was absurdly long. Massa getting just ahead of Kobayashi on the finish line just shows it. I believe Button could have done the same even without DRS (he was over 2 seconds faster than Schumacher at the end of the race), just by taking more risk under braking, and that would have meant a truly epic ride for him. DRS maybe interesting in some tracks like Barcelona (still I consider it unfair), but here it just ruined the spectacle in my opinion. At last we had rain for most of it which allowed for real racing action. I guess it would have been shameful if we had had a dry race. Hamilton’s pass on Vettel for the win in China was class. We saw none of that today, at least not in the last laps.

      4. Agreed. I withheld judgement on DRS at the beginning of the season and kept an open mind. After Melbourne it seemed like a great thing, just an aid as it was intended to be. The more races I see with it though the more I’m really starting to loathe it. Steve Matchett on SPEED had the best nickname for it I’ve hear yet… the Venetian Blinds on the rear wing…

        1. Where was all the love for michael earlyer this year and last year? He had a good race but really if you asked him did he try harder in this race than oz 2011 when he had to retire or one of his “bad” races im sure the answer would be no. Everyone out there gives 100%.

          If you watched him in the races he’s been muggin ppl left right and centre *when* he has had the car to do it. Monaco 2010 alonso on the last lap causing the fia to rewrite the rules? monaco 2011 hamilton at the hairpin first or second lap? not forgetting almost every single race start he’s gotten at least one or two or more cars including his team m8 more often than not. and numerous other brilliant passes i have not mentioned. hamilton webber button and msc have got to have more overtakes than the other twenty cars combined this year.

          So just remember this the next time mercedes rock up to a grandprix with a car that’s not good enough for the name or the drivers.

          1. d1sciple (@)
            13th June 2011, 11:17

            He’s been outpaced by Rosberg CONSTANTLY, that’s why. He’s mugged people he should have been beating but was behind with a faster car (again shown by Rosberg). This race, he was faster, and mighty impressive in the wet. The inconsistency in race pace has been the issue.

            1. Gutted schumi didn’t get a podium though not sure he could have kept Button and Webber behind even without DRS, Webber maybe, unlikely Button.
              We don’t even need kers and DRS gimicks as the tyres are enough now unless its somewhere boring like Barcelona or Bahrain.

      5. bytorr2112 (@)
        21st June 2011, 13:54

        agree 100 % drs and kers should be banned let the best driver win and y cant the driver in front use drs(if their gonna have it)so he cant b passed all this 1 second zone is cobblers

    5. Formula One is the greatest sport in the world.

      10/10

      1. +1! :D

      2. comment of the day right there

      3. Spot on!!

      4. William Wilgus
        12th June 2011, 22:36

        Yes, but the race was still a Demolition Derby. :(

        1. Yes, you’re right. I’m sick of F1 being exciting, I just want it to go back to the mid 2000s when there was jack all happening -.-

          1. I would like to have back the action going on in the 90s, was great time for F1.

            It would help a lot to bring back some of the classic tracks – Austrian GP, Imola…
            Older tracks are much more fun to look at and I think allso to drive, not that boring new traks looking like airports for Boing 747…

          2. Robert Chandra Ali
            12th June 2011, 23:38

            wht??!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!

            f1 is brilliant as it is. althought mika vs schumacher was pretty good back then.

            1. *FACE PALM*

      5. You’ve obviously never played roof tennis.

        1. Dan, you’re on top form this weekend! I just laughed! :D

        2. LOL. If we could only get some TV coverage of it, I’m sure it will be the next big thing.

      6. +10/10 :)

      7. d1sciple (@)
        13th June 2011, 11:18

        THE greatest, not one of!!!

    6. WHat an amaziinggg race!!!!!!

      I was so hoping Schumi’s overtake on vettel after the last safetycar was gonna work, to bad he lost his podium, but man o man what a race!

      great overtake for massa on the line to!

    7. Would’ve been a 10 if it wasn’t for the red flag. Utterly awesome.

    8. They made us wait a long time, but my god it was worth it!

      1. I’m very lucky there was a stoppage, I feel asleep after work and woke up just before Schumacher’s charge through the field.

        Brilliant stuff.

    9. I just hope that the stewards don’t mess with the result

      1. +1
        Please let But win this, I am not concerned about the Ham incident but rather about the one with Alonso, even though I would say it was a racing incident…
        The only thing I don´t understand is that if they thought that he was at fault than why not give him a drive-through(the was enough time for it), bc all he could get ´now is a 20sec pen. which would leave him only 5th….

    10. I would have given it a 10, but -1 for the weather :)

      1. Such things like weather are great in making a GP interesting, without it could be maybe just boring like usual…

        Giving 14/10 :-)

    11. 9/10. DRS killed Schumi and Koba and the end :/

      1. True. A negative consequence of DRS, unfortunately, is that if you do not have the raw race pace in your car, you will be mugged via DRS. But, without it Button would not have won, so its swings and roundabouts but the positives justify the technology imo.

    12. What a Finish.. Got to be one of the best finishes I’ve ever seen. And Massa Passes on the last corner at the Stripe! Wow!

    13. Disappointing – 6. The last 10 laps were absolutely brilliant but the amount of overtakes investigated, the complete joke with 10 laps under SC after the red flags – cannot give any more :(

      1. They HAVE to investigate things, it doesn’t mean they are going to do anything about it. It would be grossly irresponsible if they didn’t investigate incidents.

        1. I think 6 is a bit harsh
          10/10

      2. I voted 10, the race itself was magnificent, though I find it hard to disagree with you – Charlie Whiting needs to resign as his decisions were a mess. The joke of safety car after red flags was just ridiculous. fia would have had tons of negative publicity if the race finish was less scintillating.

        1. Exactly. Just because the last 10 laps were so exciting doesn’t make the whole race a 10. Maybe a 6 is little too harsh but my point here is that the organization of the race was rubbish, the fact that after SC everyone almost immediately went for inters just illustrates that. Where’s that racing of old days when the challenge was in finishing the race not even mentioning the win? Would we have that moment in history when furious Schumi almost beat DC in SPA? Would we have so many wonderful wet races with this new approach? The cars got just safer and I really see no reason why they didn’t allow MS to prove who is the best driver when it’s raining.

          1. Quite right, if motoGp can race in the rain surely F1 can.

            1. For sure safety is important, it improves a lot every year. But its racing, somewhere it has to stop, because in some time for safety reasons shouldnt sit inside the cars, but in the pits racing them with force feedback wheels.. :D

              They shouldnt stop formula one driving on rain… Allso they shouldnt make the thacks that wide like they are, because that lowers the demands to the drivers and makes the races not exciting anymore.

              If they would do it like this, there would be no need to add DRS, and allso there would be no need to make the tires last less to make races attractive to look at…

          2. the fact that after SC everyone almost immediately went for inters just illustrates that

            Couldn’t have said it better myself.

            If it was safe to go racing on inter’s by then, it was safe on wets a LONG time before.

            I agree with the descision to red flag (most of the track was under water… they are racing cars not submarines!) but starting under the SC and the length of SC after the stoppage was rediculous.

    14. Why did I just vote 9?! 10/10! Brilliant! :D

    15. Bazwing5 (@)
      12th June 2011, 22:13

      I went for a big 10. Had too. Just bloody had too. I felt like I’d driven it myself at then end! What an afternoon of quality F1!

      1. I´m with you on that, 10/10 for me too (and I am a Hamilton fan)

    16. DRS didn’t seem to be implemented correctly for Montreal, made certain passes too easy.

      Got an eight from me.

    17. The only thing stopping it being 10 was the big delay, the rest was fantastic. Would have been nice to see Schumi up on the podium too but a great race from him.

    18. great race besides for the rain! really wanted to see kobi or schu on the podium but it wasnt meant to be. great drive by jenson! woulda been something if jenson caught him right at the end like massa n kobi!

    19. Great race because Vettel lose the firts position

    20. Perfect 10.
      Absolutely worth waiting 2 hours of red flag and ornithology commentating.

    21. Brilliant worth the wait for re start and to cap it Button WINS 10/10

    22. Perfect 10…. NEVER, NEVER let them take the Canadian Grand Prix away!!!! Jens, that was the best…. GENIUS!

    23. I’m not even a button fan, but that was a perfect race. I’ve only dished a 10/10 once before, but I had to today!
      Fantastic!!

    24. There were too many safety cars, the red flag was too long, and I’m not all that happy about the final result. But it was a fabulous race. 8/10.

    25. Where’s the 11 button?

    26. 10/10 – simply brilliant. You could not have judged that.

      And despite the criticisms of the DRS, and that possibly it was overpowered today, you cannot deny that it was what made Jenson win, otherwise the Jenson and Mark would be stuck behind Schumi. Today showed that DRS can contribute to a great race.

      Let’s hope marshalls do not interfere now…

    27. 10/10 – simply brilliant. You could not have judged that.

      And despite the criticisms of the DRS, and that possibly it was overpowered today, you cannot deny that it was what made Jenson win, otherwise Jenson and Mark would be stuck behind Schumi. Today showed that DRS can contribute to a great race.

      Let’s hope marshalls do not interfere now…

    28. Totally gutted with Schumacher finishing just of the podium after that restart but the best race of the season, Buttons Phoniex from the flames 2 hours of Brundle and DC’d Banter has to be a 10!

      From a Vettel and Schumi fan

    29. 10/10. Best race I’ve ever seen, really!

      Tough luck for Schumi, Kamui… after a 2 hours wait, it was fricking epic!.

      Canada FTW, really!

    30. Totally gutted with Schumacher finishing just of the podium after that restart but the best race of the season, Buttons Phoniex from the flames 2 hours of Brundle and DC’d Banter has to be a 10!

      Wonder what the stewards are going to do

      From a Vettel and Schumi fan

    31. I’ve been visiting this site for years but never registered until now. Just had to rate this 10/10. Wow it was spectacular.

      1. Yr welcome johann!

    32. ABSOLUTELY “FRIKKIN” AWESOME

    33. 10… as long as the FIA doesn’t impose a 10-second penalty on Button.

    34. Not bad for a race that started at 2.30am.. Its now 6.45. Bloody good race. The last few laps were insane. Tops off an AWESOME weekend of motorsport, albeit with virtually no sleep. Thank god for the Queens Birthday long weekend.. :D 10/10

    35. Would have been a perfect 10 if not for the ridiculous start under the safety car, but still a great 9.

    36. This race has two scores, one for excitement and the other for boredom.
      The whole race was the last 15 laps. Every earlier lap was as good as yesterday.

    37. Always love Montreal – fabulous track especially after the joke that is Monaco. Good TV direction. Gave it a 9 because of excessive use of the safety car, but great racing.

    38. While the race was thoroughly enjoyable, I really feel robbed by the ending – not Button on Vettel but Button and Webber on Schumacher.

      To paraphrase Murray Walker: “Catching is one thing, passing another.” At this Grand Prix, the meaning of that phrase was reversed by the DRS and given the closing speeds we seen on the last straight, I would really say they should introduce a maximum length the DRS can be opened for in the regulations with a concrete number which remains in place at each race and leaves the driver with a bit of work to do to get passed.

      Maybe I’m just being ignorant on this but that doesn’t seem to me like such a difficult thing to do given the fact that the FIA have no problem with introducing new regulations a la off throttle diffusers.

      1. Surely more overtaking is good in F1. You could also argue that if Car X gets past Car Y using DRS. Then on the next lap Car Y also has the opportunity to get past Car X again using DRS. Obviously it will boil down to the speed of the car, but then that’s racing.

        Also, I think the DRS effect was actually toned down here, because of the fact that you had a dry racing line and wet track, so there was more risk attached of running off track, as we saw with Webber’s overtake on Schumacher.

        1. I agree to an extent with the concept of DRS and that overtaking is good for F1, but that was in no way racing. Webber and Button were ahead of Schumacher even before the last chicane purely as a result of the DRS and there was absolutely no skill involved – they didn’t even have to go on to the wet stuff into the corner to try and get past they just went clean by him with no effort bar shoving their foot into the ground.

          In terms of Car X and Y, in this case, the irony is that even though Button was ahead of Schumacher going into the chicane, he wasn’t at the second DRS detection point meaning that on the start finish straight Button had the option to open his DRS (although seemingly forgot but for a second before turn one) whereas Schumacher was left sitting behind watching Button stream away while he could do nothing.

          If they are going to have two DRS zones then this race clearly shows that they should be at totally different parts of the track, not one right after the other or we will see a repeat of that with the overtaking driver being the one who can then reopen their DRS and run away.

          What we seen at the end wasn’t racing. Schumacher used all his skill in the wet to get himself up to second and was then left a sitting duck by a gimmick which gave him no opportunity to mount a proper fight when push came to shove.

          Sure, have DRS, but not to that extent.

          1. I’m at a loss to see your point about DRS, even though I’m not a fan of it. Lets try and take your points from the top.
            Webb and Butt were ahead of Shu as a result of DRS, thats what its for as you can’t slipstream now due to disturbed air of the car your following.
            If you get on the wet stuff into a corner with slicks you spin or crash as most people know, and by shoving your foot to the ground, I suppose you mean flooring the accelerator? well what else are you supposed to do?.
            There is no second DRS detection zone only one with two activation points so what are you on about?.
            I dont think that Shu would have been in such a strong position had it not been for the safety car anyway but yes he had a strong last stint but that was on a drying track on slicks.
            You seem to be preoccupied with the fact Shu got taken by a couple of cars when it seemed he might get a podium.
            Not a Schumacher fan by any chance are you?.

            1. You couldn’t slipstream through high speed corners due to dirty air. On long straights it was always fine.

            2. I’m by no means a Schumacher fan, I lean more towards Webber and don’t think Schuey should have come back but my point about DRS is that in this case it took the skill away.

              Fair enough on the second activation point I haven’t really read into the rules on that aspect and just made an assumption. My overall point about it remains, though; had it been Schumacher or anyone else. The overtaking car used the system to get past and then used it again (despite it already having fulfilled its intended use) to pull away on the next straight, leaving the defending car with absolutely no chance – not racing.

              If they are going to have two zones then they shouldn’t be simultaneous on the track in my opinion to avoid a repeat of that.

              DRS is supposed to aid overtaking, not make it a formality. My gripe is that Button and Webber were ahead even before the chicane. They simply out-dragged the Mercedes purely because of DRS. In the couple of laps beforehand when DRS was disabled they were chasing him down hard and that would have made for a great battle.

              DRS removed that, that’s the problem I have with it.

    39. Absolute, categorically, unequivocally no less than a 10 from me. We had everything…wet weather, red flag, an abundance of safety cars, super-softs, some surprise exits, team-mates touching, a last minute snatched race win and a different driver on the top spot.

      Fantastic!

      1. Yep. I couldn’t vote 10 though because of the 2 hour wait. Great day of motorsport today :)

    40. All Michael needs is better car, could obviously see that in this race. pity.
      great race, couldv been 2nd

    41. 10!

      One of the best races Ive ever seen. MSC getting back into his form, Massa fighting for win, but then Button… definately one of the best wins ever…

    42. great comeback by button – although i had vettel down to win, it’s nice to see someone else win for a change. although i’m not, and have never been a fan of schumacher, i was somewhat disappointed that he didn’t make the podium. still, he apparently wants to stay at mercedes until 2014 now, so, he’ll get another chance. hard luck to di resta and heidfeld.

      i loved the ‘photo finish’ of kobayashi and massa at the end. it’s a right shame de la rosa couldn’t score a point or two – it’d have been magnificent if he did. well done to liuzzi for keeping it on the road – i think that result will possibly mean hrt could beat virgin in the constructors championship for the second year running. nice work by the toro rosso boys.

    43. sid_prasher (@)
      12th June 2011, 22:24

      Its almost 3 AM and i will need to leave for work in 3 hrs…but staying up was worth it…great race

      great drive from Schumi and Button. I think the Schumi critics will stay quite for a while now which is good!
      I hope button is not penalized – i don’t like the decisions being taken after the race has been finished…

      Tough luck for Ferrari – they had a great chance..
      Still a 10!

    44. I would like to vote a 10/10 for Button forcing Vettel into error.

      So much action in a short period of time. Would have loved for Schu to make it onto the podium, but he was a serious contender for driver of the day anyhow.

      And the FOM director did a great job of catching most of the action, having sensible replays etc.
      Awesome job by DC and MB for keeping the commentary going for over two hours without any action as well.

      On the down side, the start under safetycar seemed a bit too much, and they could have defenitely called him in earlier. Especially after the restart it was some 3-4 laps overdue.

      To make sure, i will now rather wait for the stewards to decide on penalties before voting. I hope they stay sensible, but it would not be the first race ruined by overzealous penalizing.

    45. great race,, gave it a 10 (even though, in my eyes, button took hamilton out but i suppose thats racing lol)

    46. Am I the only one who was left feeling hollow at the end? The final lap was incredibly dramatic, the kind of excitement we watch F1 for. Button drove amazingly to force Vettel into a mistake and fully deserved the win, but for me the race was diminished by the passes with the DRS which made it all feel a too artificial.

      Schumacher had done incredibly well to make it to 2nd and then was defending immaculately but was made a sitting duck by an ridiculously powerful gimmick, and then Kobayashi was passed on the final straight in similar fashion. I felt sick when Schumacher was passed as easily as he was. Once again by far the most dramatic and exciting moment of the race happened away from the DRS zone when Button forced Vettel into a mistake. This race has convinced with that we need to get rid of DRS.

      1. Without DRS, Button would have finished about 5th, probably. You can’t praise a situation created by DRS and damn DRS simultaneously.

        1. I’d rather have had a genuine fight for 2nd, the passes on Schumacher left me feeling really cold, as did the pass on Kobayashi on the final straight. DRS would be acceptable if it were a push to pass with a limited number of uses during a race, and the person defending could use it as well. But atm it just leaves trying to fend off drivers with one hand tied behind his back.

    47. Never thought I will ever stay till 12:30 AM Bahrain time to watch a Formula1 Race.

      10/10

    48. Overtakes throughout, more pitstops than you could shake a stick at, a pass for the lead on the final lap and clowns for marshals! What more could you want?

      10/10

    49. Androoos (@)
      12th June 2011, 22:27

      This is what F1 is all about. Epic. Wish I had gone this year!

    50. Im going for comment of the day here…….

      Wonder if the Red Bull Team will play a bit of Daft Punk “Human After All” as they pack the garage down tonight……

    51. Poor lad, but without doubt the funniest moment of the year, hand down!
      http://youtu.be/95VilOpP57U

      1. Reminds you how dangerous the marshal’s job is. The race could have ended in tragedy had Kobayashi came in as fast as Heidfeld did.]

        Props to the support crew for the race, cleaning all that water off must have been back breaking.

        1. Mark Hitchcock
          13th June 2011, 1:39

          The two cars who came steaming in and narrowly avoided hitting the marshals seemed to be going much too fast considering it was under yellow.

    52. fantastic!!!!
      Shumaher!!!!needs better car, obviously!!!!!!

    53. simply the best race of the season!

    54. 8/10.

      I don’t mind the red flag at all, you can’t dock points for weather.

      I think race control and the stewards tried their best to ruin this race and only the last 10 laps saved it from an absolute shambles.

      Why start behind the SC? It wasn’t that wet!

      Why start the race for a second time behind the SC, to then complete enough laps that they were tempted by the inters! Absolute madness! It doesn’t exactly dispel the idea that Vettel is being handed his results does it?

      Also too many investigations. I would love to see how the stewards get on in those conditions.

      Thankfully the drivers aren’t being perturbed by their incessant interfering and continue to go for it.

      Great drive from Button, he’s not my favourite but i’ve still got a massive grin plastered across my face.

      P.s I really really really hope not too much is made of the Lewis/ Jenson incident.

      1. I totally agree with you about the stewards, what on earth were they thinking?!

    55. 10/10
      This is one of the races that remind me why I’m an F1 fanatic! The four hours until 11 pm for the race to end were well worth waiting! Jenson Button’s smile on the podium made my day.

      1. Of course I’d liked Schumacher, Massa and Kobayashi on the podium, but Button ending a 21-race win drought was wonderful and Massa beating Kobayashi by a few thousandths, even if I wanted Kobayashi to do well after Felipe had crashed, really lifted my moral.

    56. How can it be a 10 (ie perfect) after the safety car start, and 2 hour delay. I gave it a 5 for a truly awful first half and a truly amazing second half

      1. I gave it 10 because the two hour stoppage wasn’t part of the racing. Sure, it was boring to watch, but the timer was not running and it’s not counted as part of the race.

        1. Not to mention the TV crew doing a great job of keeping us entertained. And some nice interviews in the mean time as well.

          1. Fair enough. Can’t argue that the racing itself was brilliant.

            Also agree about the TV commentary. I could actually just listen to DC and MB for hours! I watched a re-run of the 2010 race after quali and I had forgotten just how bad Legard was. MB and DC are miles better. Particularly impressed with DC who is coming across as very sharp and witty

            1. The Italian commentator was talking about Kobayashi and Schumacher and said they had the same Renault engines in their respective cars, the Red Bull and the Renault! But I was so happy for the race that I just laughed.

    57. Rule 40.7 of the FIA sporting regulations implies that all cars must “form up in line behind the safety car no more than ten car lengths apart” if i saw correctly, Vettel fell well over 10 car lengths behind the safety car 2 or 3 times when running away down the final straight, is he not due some time penalties???

      1. when the lights go out on the safety car the race leader becomes the safety car and can back the pack up as he chooses.

        Sorry to burst your bubble.

    58. 10/10 Button!! Schumi!! And Maylander!!:D
      I guess the one 1 voter is either a Vettel fan or a troll:D

    59. 2 – A good race, but DRS is artificial and makes the series a farce. And what about the Safety Car? C’mon!

    60. 9 but DRS left a bad taste

    61. 9 from me, one point deducted for the excessive amount of time behind the safety car.

    62. I keep mashing that button but it won’t go up to 11. Somebody get Nigel Tufnel on the blower.

    63. The way the race made alot of people I know that don’t usually watch F1, watch it and constantly talk about it. Magical. 10/10.

    64. Can’t give a ten. A 4.5 hour race can’t be a 10. Great driving by some great drivers though, so a suitably high score.

      I also have to cut it because of the refereeing. I’m sure there will be more opportunity to discuss it after the stewards speak, but the whole avoidable accident thing is out of control here, and it soured the race for me. We see people getting nailed for knocking off their own wing when the other car isn’t affected, then we see people touch wheels and nothing. It’s not remotely consistent. Was Heidfeld flagged for hitting Kobayashi? We could go on and on with the ludicrous and inconsistent flags thrown today. There is no possible objective consistency to these calls. Whatever the Stewards do, as a result, it will result in controversy. At the very least, they need to settle these things during the race. If they are too busy, then they need to consider how long of a docket their overractions are creating and hire more people to judge and penalize people.

      1. Yes, you are right that the refereeing is a bit of an issue. I do think we will probably always argue about it, but no need for the stewards to do that with themselves. If things aren’t clear, clear them up. And please on after race penalties unless bodily harm was risked; ie. marshal in danger: be very strict, drivers bouncing and damaging themselves, well that shows them well enough.

    65. I will wait to vote a bit; maybe rewatch it (with some fast forwarding over the red flag) to decide. The last 20 laps were great, but that SC restart after the red flag was too long, waiting until the cars really wanted to go into the pits and create traffic jams in three different stints.

      The start itself was also really boring, and I unambitious, then when the safety car stopped, apart from Hamilton doing stuff, not much happening but it getting wetter soon, well, then the SC while it was getting wetter. Honestly, that part was quite forgettable. The only reason it wouldn’t be bad is for the suspense it all created. So, I’ll rewatch tomorrow and decide.

      By the way, both the BBC guys and the Olaf Mol, the Dutch RTL 7 guy really did pretty well to fill that time up, good work, can’t be too easy.

    66. Best race in recent memory, tops Spa 08 for me. Where’s 11 Keith? :)

    67. What a race!

      I loved Jenson and his engineer’s comment on the radio. ‘I think we’ve been in every position in this race.’ And Jenson replies ‘what a hell of a race!!’

      Fantastic. With his double overtake a la Massa 2008… Speaking of Massa: such a relentless pressing in the last lap. 0.045 between him and Kobayashi.

      And there’s a glimmer of hope that Vettel is making errors. One in Turkey, two in Canada.

      Today McLaren had been faster than Red Bull, I think Lewis’ car was even more calibred than Jenson’s – Jenson just messed up his race.

      What’s more – based on FP2 long stints in normal conditions Ferrari had the best race pace, so as a fan I feel really sorry for them only taking a 6th and a DNF about which Alonso should not be blamed.

      Quite lucky result for Red Bull again, but…

      What a race, oh my God. :D

      1. boris the one-eyed marmoset
        12th June 2011, 23:07

        So 0.045 is about a front wing in distance. That puts the differences in qualifying into perspective – Massa was about half that behind Alonso for 2nd. Wow that’s close!

    68. Instead two DRS zone in Canada GP, i’d rather like two Canada GPs per season. It has given us such exciting races in the last years.

      1. … instead of that awfully boring Barcelona race…..

    69. 10/10.

      The length of the whole event just made the awesomeness last longer. Surely a classic grand prix of our times.

    70. 9. Would have been 10 were it not for drs ruining schumi on the podium. My non f1 spouse couldn’t believe drs when I explained it to her! Great drive jenson

    71. Fantastic race!! 10/10! ;-)

    72. This is easily going to be the race of the year again.

    73. Nigelstash (@)
      12th June 2011, 22:43

      Gave it a 9. Would have been 10 if it hadn’t started under the safety car. Drama on every lap and some amazing driving. Best race of the year for DRS.

    74. Nigelstash (@)
      12th June 2011, 22:44

      Gave it a 9. Would have been 10 if it hadn’t started under the safety car. Drama on every lap and some amazing driving. Best race of the year for DRS. Got a nasty feeling the stewards will spoil it all though.

      1. +1. I hate it when the results are altered after the race, but if they mess with it this time that will just take the cake. Of course, being that its 4pm Melbourne time now & no word of it, the chances are diminishing. But what a race ! How often do we see a pass for the lead, and on the last lap of all times! Some gutsy drives today as well. Definitely, definitely booking my tickets for Montreal 2012 now.

    75. FlexiWing (@)
      12th June 2011, 22:45

      6.

      2 off for such a long wait.

      2 off for disastrous DRS which ruined the MSC-WEB-BUT fight

    76. For a moment i was like “what are they doing waiting so long?”. But when the race began it was pure magic like the old glorious days. And the finale grande epic. Cheers F1!

    77. In the drivers briefing at the end I was getting tearful as Jenson was as well. An absolute belter of a race, and who needs Le Mans when you have Grand Prix endurance races like that (Though I thought Le Mans was pretty spectacular too).

      Loved every minute of it, can’t wait until the highlights show!

    78. Just after the race I walked out to take some fresh air (and its raining here), and I couldn’t stop smiling. Fantastic race, but I think they were playing it too safe regarding restart – the conditions were there for ~half an hour, but never mind, the end was incredible.

    79. Gave it a 9, would have been a 10, but DRS was way too powerful and completely un-needed.

    80. Being a Lewis fan I can’t give it a 10/10 but defo a 9…

      Button had an amazing drive and made webbers drive at China look second rate. The drive of his career.

    81. Team-mates Bumpoff + Slippery Surface + Last Lap Effup + Midfield Photo Finish = 10/10

      Also, my mind refuses to acknowledge the first two hours of the broadcast for the purposes of this poll.

    82. Shame that Button is going to lose this win in the stewards office for either of the incidents he was involved in.

    83. ferranmclaren
      12th June 2011, 22:50

      i always hated that evil german called schumacher but man EVEN I WAS SCREAMING for him come on schumi come on ,thats the mos special about the race for me ,even more special then buttons great win and the crashes and action

    84. Easily a 10. All the build-up was NOT wasted ;D

    85. That’s straight into my mental list of the greatest ten races I’ve seen. Brilliant!

    86. 8 from me. A “low” 4/5, so 8. Would have been higher but it was dragged out.

    87. SCHUMACHER was absolutely brilliant! During the wet he was simply superb, and with a drying track the Mercedes was not at all the requested machine to face RBR or McLaren.

      This 42 old guy is really special. Who, from the nowadays F1 champions, will be at Schumacher’s racing level at 42?! I guess none…

    88. 10/10 At the start I had a huge frown on my face. I’m a Mclaren fan BTW. At the end I jumped out of my seat when I saw Vettel get out of sorts. Amazing race. Just wish I could have heard Brundle and Coulthards comedy during the red flag. Instead I was stuck with the awful Speed Channel coverage.

    89. Got to be a 9 only cos DRS on some tracks is totally not needed and infact messed it up a bit.

      It should a DRS to help pass and then one for the guy to fight back. Why be penalised for putting the effort in to get in the lead???

      nevertheless a great race and excellent to see michael on the very edge like old times.

      some owe him a sorry.

    90. Keith it should say ‘rate the race ten’, not ‘rate the race out of ten’.
      Simply stunning race, we’ll be talking about this for years – the day Button overtook Vettel on the last lap after running twenty-first.

    91. Also, it was nice to see the Schumi racing up front. That was exciting.

    92. Voted 9 but that’s because I feel gutted for Schumi. Really should have had a fairer shot at keeping second.

    93. I’m withholding my vote until I know what the stewards say.

      Though I’ll probably vote 8. Yes the race was fantastic, but the excessive safety car periods at the start and after the red flag spoilt it and the two hour wait (though listening to DC and MB chatting and watching the track side marshals trying to clear the water with sweeping brushes was entertaining) was a bit too long I thought.

      Button was very impressive and I hope he doesn’t get penalised as I think both his incidents were racing incidents and just part and parcel of racing in the wet.

    94. Christopher Vissing
      12th June 2011, 22:59

      speechless.. 10/10 .. absolutely amazing.. But really a shame with schumi at the end.. Hope he gets the same opportunity soon again :D But oh my gosh, incredible race!

    95. HounslowBusGarage
      12th June 2011, 23:01

      I had the race on Monitor 1, and was doing work on Monitor 2. So while there wasn’t any racing I was earning money, while listening to DC and MB in the background. Once the race resumed, I could turn off Monitor 2 with a clear, disgustingly satisfied conscience and really enjoy it.
      And what a race! Those last few laps were super duper, weren’t they?
      Ten. Definitely ten.

    96. When the car were free to race, it was awesome.
      But we had three hours of nothing and the safety car came in as soon as the first drop of rain hit the track.

      In Korea last year many of you gave a mediocre score to the race because of the unnecessary wait even if the race itself was quite exciting. I think it’s the same for today: we had to wait more, but the race was better than the one in Korea. So I don’t think we can rate this race 10/10, I think I’ll go with a 8/10.
      Of course a British guy has won, so it has to be the best race ever.

    97. I was greatly disappointed by the race. Usually the rain brings some life into the race but it wasn’t the case. We were stripped the pleasure of the start of a race, then red flagged, I don’t now how many laps under safety car. The race is not made by only the last ten laps and the appearance of Rihanna.

    98. Classic race ! 9/10

    99. I can’t vote before the results of investigations are finalized.

    100. 8/10, the race was pretty epic with Button and Schumacher, but the long wait and excessively easy DRS passes hurt the score.

    101. Absolutely astonishing race! It had it everything! Rain, SC(more than required to be honest), overtakes, crashes!

      A true advertisment to the sport! That’s why we love F1!

      And now to make some mature comments, a big applause to Schumi for showing finally what he’s capable of and an even bigger applause to JB for his breath-taking performance.

      10/10

    102. One of the best – rated it a 10.

      Whole family stayed up (even the little ones who should have been in bed).

      Cheering and shouting for Kobayashi, for Schumi (and I used to loath him in t’old days) and finally on our feet for Button at the end.

      5 hours? Awesome use of my Sunday evening.

      DRS both created opportunities and destroyed them – still not sure on this one.

    103. 10 from me. It had everything. A classic like they used to be, we’ll be talking about this one for a while :) DRS still isn’t doing anything for me and MS and Kamui both lost out to it but the race had enough elsewhere to make up for it. Well impressed. Love Montreal!

    104. Great Race 9/10, hope the result stands. Quote of the weekend …. MB ” Schmey may surprise us here” … DC “Unless he’s got a rabbit in the cockpit i don’t think we’ll be too surprised” Classic :)

    105. Wooly June 11, 2011 at 9:48 pm
      Guys, I’m in Montreal, and only 1mm of rain is expected all afternoon. That’s nothing. My prediction is that the Mclarens will dominate tomorrow. At the track, one can sense the panic amongst the RBRs and Ferraris, but qualifying pace will not do it here. Look out for the McLarens!
      Reply
      hohum June 11, 2011 at 10:08 pm
      I guess your glass is always half full.
      Reply
      Wooly June 12, 2011 at 11:00 pm
      I told ya! Could you imagine the outcome if Hamiltion was still in the race?
      Reply

      1. This was part of my conversation on F1Fanatic yesterday. The Mclarens are very strong, faster than RBR in race trim for sure. Forget qualifying for now. The rest of this championship will be very very interesting. Can well be Lewis’.

      2. well done wooly! i had a quid on button so im happy, tho also had 3 quid each way on michael at 100/1 so a bit down about that one!

        can i imagine the outcome if lewis was still in the race, yea probably a bit more carnage ;)

    106. I would have voted it a 10.. but gave a 9 instead. 0.5 pts deducted for the 2 hour wait.. and another 0.5 pts deducted for not seeing Fernando take the fight to Vettel.

    107. I would have voted it a 10.. but gave a 9 instead. 0.5 pts deducted for the 2 hour wait.. and another 0.5 pts deducted for not seeing Fernando take the fight to Vettel.

    108. The Last Pope
      12th June 2011, 23:20

      10 even with the delay.

    109. Would have been a 10 if they wernt so conservative with the SC. Whats the point of wets when you drive around behind the SC so long that you dry the track to the point of needing inters!? F1 has become wussified in the name of safety.

    110. Has to be 10
      What a race, im speechless

    111. Got to be a 10 – reminded me of Spa 08 with McLaren better in the damp/dry conditions.

    112. First 10 in a while… Any race that gets me cheering schuey on HAS to be a 10!

    113. ‘First 10 in a while… Any race that gets me cheering schuey on HAS to be a 10!’

      i would never of thought id be cheering him on 10years ago!!!

      his double pass on massa and koby was move of the day!

    114. 8/10 for me. Great race in it self, buuuuuuuuuut.. I just felt that i wasted too much of my life sitting in front of the TV while absolutely nothing happened. Had been 10 if there hadn’t been that crazy long red flag in the middle, and the huge number of safety cars.

    115. RBR strategy for Vettel was perfect: Let someone else try intermediates or slicks first, and then Vettel profited on the safety car to get a free pitstop to compensate him for the gap he lost. Amazing drive by Button, after his shunt with Hamilton – just bad luck I guess, because Button followed the same line as the drivers in front of him. Unfortunately that line left no room for Hamilton, and Button hadn’t seen him.
      I think the incident with Alonso was a racing incident, so looking forward to the stewards verdict.
      If Alonso and Ham had been there in the end, it would have been even more tense, but sorry to see Schu and Koba tumble of the podium at the end. DRS seemed too effective at times.
      And what happened to Heidfeld, hitting Koba, and then riding his own frontwing – spectacular crash.
      Vettel ran a little out of luck, but minimized the damage today, and increased his lead to everyone, except Button.
      Looking forward to the race analysis.

    116. 10/10. Simply because it went from “we’re not even going to race, what is this” to me holding my breath for the last 10-15 laps. A 30 lap race has probably never been this exciting!

    117. 10. Epic.

    118. 10.
      Ok DRS spoiled a potentially good fight between Schumi and Webber and Button, but man… What have I screamed at the telly!

    119. A truly awful race. A total farce of a race. A 01 because a 0 is not possible. And without the last minute mistake by Vettel and the Button win I’d bet almost nobody here would have voted more than a 5.

      1. Why was it a “total farce”, then?

      2. I think I speak for the majority of people when I say that I would have still given an 8 or 9 had Vettel still won today. If you don’t believe me, look at some of the ratings of the races this year when Vettel cruised to victory.

        Personally, I thought this was one of the best races I have watched ever. There was actions all the way up and down the field. Even without Button, could you have predicted Kobayashi and Schumacher being as high up as they were at one point? What about the many overtakes by all the field, not just Button?

        Yes, there was a red flag, and yes arguably SC was overused. But to give this race a 0 when there have been boring processions before is incomprehensible. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if you think this race was so bad that deserved a 0 then perhaps you are wasting your time watching F1.

    120. 10/10

      maybe it’s because I’m a Mclaren fan, but to be fair, a man winning going from last position and passing the first guy on the last lap is absolutly incredible! But this race was pretty special, because of all the SC and the crazy things going on.
      I also rate this 10/10 because of the level of emotions I had : I was enraged at the start, stressed during the red flag (wondering when this was going to start), amused (when the marshals were performing stunts on the track), thrilled with the different battles on the track (which what I want to see in a race), and absolutly overjoyed with a guy from my favourite team winning.

      1. And sensible stewarding for not giving Button a penalty over the incident with Alonso.

        A bit miffed about some of the other penalties, but it seems that is on request from the drivers to be strict on them, it seems.

        1. C’mon, this incident with Alonso was nothing special. On the first corner Button was on the outside of the line and on the second corner Button was on the inside because was an S corner. It was a clear fight.

          1. Yes, exactly why I just called it sensible stewarding. You just neve know with the stewards, so it might have gone all over the place.

      2. I agree!

    121. 9/10 don’t like the double DRS and the officials were far too cautious but what we saw was fantastic

    122. Good job Jenson! The happy that gave me this win makes me to gine a perfect 10! YES YES A PERFECT 10! I’ll explain why in a few words: BECAUSE RED BULL DIDN’T WIN (and not Vettel-its his car and not the driver).

    123. Late to the comment-fest but just have to say I’m in a Spinal Tap mood… can I vote 11?

      Yes, huge red flag stop, DRS badly implemented, ridiculous # of laps behind SC on resume but still – a thriller like that lives in the mind for years. Last time I got so involved with the last laps of a GP was Brazil 2008 and that was only because there was a title at stake.

      Truly a majestic drive through the field by Button – puts him up with the greats. Now if only he could do it more consistently – his lack of consistency is why I don’t put him in the absolute top tier of drivers. But on his day… Wow. Mind you, McLaren thought they had their Quali issues sorted, but back to the drawing board there.

      And a definite honourable mention for Schumi. This was the first time in his comeback that I felt he showed some real, raw speed. When Vettel spun (and I’ve nothing against him) I was really hoping Webber and Schumi would get past before he regained the track… An MS podium would have been as emotional as JB’s win. However, all due credit to Seb – he recovered from the spin amazingly quickly.

      There are many points that can legitimately be debated and criticised about the race, but for sheer, heart-thumping excitement this was a race for the ages. I’m a long-time fan, and I can see the purist point of view, but I can’t resist a fairy-tale ending once in a while.

      And how funny was it when JB, his girlfriend and half the McLaren team were pointing “Vettel Fingers” at the cameras?

      I turned off the TV feeling thrilled and elated, to the extent of sharing my excitement and the story of the race with my family despite their total lack of interest in my sport. For me that feeling is what makes this race one that will be mentioned with the greatest thrillers of F1 history.

      1. I feel that this post deserves a response from at least one person.

        Personally I think Button is the most consistent driver in the entire field and it’s one of his key strengths.

        I understand what you’re getting at though – if only he could have days like yesterday consistently then he’d easily be considered part of the elite alongside the likes of Alonso and Hamilton.

        I’ve considered Button part of the absolute top tier of drivers in race trim for a long time, he just needs to find those couple extra tenths in qualifying on a more regular basis in my opinion, or be in a car that is head of the field on ultimate pace. In years previous to 2009 his ability was masked by woefully uncompetitive machinery.

        Some races and situations he is way too passive – the opposite of Hamilton – but typically this season to date he’s been quite bullish and in the thick of the action with extremely strong race pace.

        On Schumacher: I came to loathe the guy during his time at Ferrari dominating the sport but since his comeback I’ve been desperate to see him get a podium or win. He so nearly made it in Montreal and would have if not for DRS. I agree that it would have been as emotional as Jenson’s win.

        On a final note, your final comment pretty much perfectly sums up the situation at my house and my own feelings after the BBC coverage ended.

        1. Thanks for the nod :) And I agree about JB’s increased edge this year – if he was able to bring those last couple of tenths to qualifying, he’d be much closer to an equal rating with Lewis in my book. Er, I mean Lewis over the last 4.5 years, not the last three weeks. :)

          Last thought – you’ve got to give credit to McLaren for sticking to and implementing their “we let our drivers race” mentality.

    124. I reckon after the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend being such a corker, and the Canadian Grand Prix being so great, this may have been the best sporting weekend in a long, long time.

      10/10 for the race today. It was brilliant.

      No other sport at the moment fills me with this much excitement. I absolutely love Formula 1!!! :D

    125. I gave it a 9, 10 if Michael would have been on the podium ;)

    126. UKfanatic (@)
      13th June 2011, 1:40

      2 laps from the finish i thought vettel had it covered but on the 1st sector of the lastlap it seemed very close im sad that but didnjt overtake on the track but it was great anyway…, despite the Hamilton crash that was his fault and alonso which was his fault too cause alonso gave enough space

    127. unfortunately the lack of a race start and the lengthy delay ruined what should’ve been a great race. and the parc ferme rules that prohibit teams changing to a wet set up after a dry qualifying session are ridiculous. teams should be allowed to switch to a full wet set up when conditions require it so that we actually see a race and not safety car processions. the fact that drivers pitted almost immediately for inters after a lengthy safety car period makes a complete farce of the FIA’s safety car policy during wet races.
      When will the FIA realise that millions of viewers worldwide tune in to see a RACE! Die hard F1 fans like us and the wider ‘casual’ viewing public are getting sick of the overuse of the safety car and the ruthlessness of race stewards penalising any driver who tries a pass! ….by the way, DRS is a farce too!

      1. Personally I enjoyed the racing we did see – but I fully agree that

        teams should be allowed to switch to a full wet set up when conditions require it so that we actually see a race and not safety car processions.

    128. There were too many safety cars and long wait. Red flag duaration was very boring. Also non finishes from Alonso and Hamilton = 8/10 IMO.

    129. I still amazed by the fact that so many people rate the race depending on how their supported drivers did. And I’m sorry to say that.

      Gave 10 out of 10, could not give less. Only few title showdowns were more tense and exciting than this race.

      Formula One 2011 is such a win. It just needs a monsoon tire and a few minor tweaks of regulations covering the changing weather\track conditions.

      1. Agree. I am not by any stretch of the imagination either a Button or Schumacher fan, but I was screaming the TV and cheering both of them on. Gave it a 9 myself, not because one of ‘my’ drivers didn’t win, but simply because I didn’t feel a race with that big a gap in it and that many saftey cars could count as perfect.

    130. 2 because it sucked being their in the rain

    131. The DRS is a freaking joke, and the race was another joke: waaaaay too many laps with the safety car, a leader driver complaining on the radio that it was “undrivable” or something like that. Two freggin hours or red flag, to have 15 good laps in the end.
      To give this race a 7 would be very, very generous.

    132. Best race of the year so far.. iam a big Ferrari fan but it still was a great race when they were racing it would have been nice if Alonso was to finish the race but oh well. still it’s Vettels championship as long as he does not tanking the rest of the season..

    133. First (how many hours?) Zero

      Second half 10

      Average 5

    134. If this race don’t receive 10 I don’t know which race will be.It had everything that you can possibily expect from a F1 race.Only once race was just as entertaining as this as far as drama is concerned & I have seen is the 2007 European GP in Nurburgring.

    135. I can’t give a 10 when so much of the race was run behind the safety car.

      DRS was also badly implemented, depriving us of a great battle between Schumacher, Webber and Button. If you those DRS passes constituted a “battle”, you’re easily satisfied.

      And I think it’s easy to exaggerate Button’s achievement. With all the safety cars, it’s not surprising that he managed to get near the front of the running order by the end, since the McLaren was the quickest car on the day.

      He won because of DRS, plus a mistake by Webber and a frankly embarrassing mistake by Vettel.

      There was some good racing when the safety car wasn’t out, but it’s not a 10.

    136. Given that I didn’t get home until gone 7pm yesterday, I was very happy that there was a nice long delay in the race as it meant I could catch up on what had happened in the first half and then watch the second part..!!

      1. LOL, the advantage of an extended race suspension!

        1. Not good in Australia when the race started at 3am :(

          1. Hm, that would be a downside for sure!

    137. 10 without any question. the long delay was in danger of making it a feat of endurance, but the closing laps you would only find in a script, but not one by george lucas ;-)
      button’s drive was simply superb and stuff of fiction.

      don’t think canada needs a double DRS. the passes on the back straight, when it was enabled, were virtually indefensible.

      brilliant race and one that i’m glad i stuck with.

    138. 0 without any question to FIA´s decissions. Make indoor races if you don´t want to get wet. What for are the full wets supposed to be there? just for drying the track? everybody changed to intermidiates after the SC.
      F1 drivers don´t have to go at full speed all time, if it´s rainning go slower and if you don´t feel comfortable or safe whit it stay on boxes it´s your call

      1. I see what you’re saying here, and yes, I do agree the safety car satyed out a bit too long, but I’m sure if you were racing you wouldn’t want to jump into a car doing almost 200 Mph in those conditions, without having a few laps on them first to assess it. And as for the race stoppage, I don’t think anyone would disagree that it was a must, as even at half speed the cars would still aquaplane.

    139. I think people are way too easily pleased!

      My rating… A lowly 2

      Sure the racing was good, when it finally happened but honestly what a fiasco

      Why have extreme wet tyres when you can only use them to follow the safety car and why make drivers use them to follow the safety car until it’s suitable put on inters?

      Along as the FIA bunch the cars up so close the sprays going to ridiculous, space the cars out like in racing and I bet the problem goes away…how do I know? Cos racing in the rain has, until Korea last year, been part and parcel and F1 would do well to remember

      Surly it would be better to call in the safety car early but ban overtaking for several laps to give the field time to space out

      Time and time again the FIA have deprived us of a chance to see how thing pan out natually and I am getting a bit sick of it

      1. If you’re going to “ban overtaking” for a few laps you may as well just leave the safety car out surely?

    140. Although it was a great race, we had to wait forever for it. And even when we could have been racing, the safety car was out! It should not be that as soon as you start racing you go onto intermediates. What’s the point of the full wet tyre then? Plus, Schumi couldn’t defend his position with DRS activated. I bet without it he could have held on for a podium, but as it was he was a sitting duck.

      6/10 for me. Too much safety car and DRS ruined the race.

    141. First 3 hours – 1/10

      Last 1 hour – 10/10

      I’ve taken away the 1, and given it a 9!

      1. Obviously my logic doesn’t make sense, because if I gave the first 3 hours a 6/10, I’d be left with a 4/10!

    142. Again another fantastic Canadian GP to justify it being my favourite track. Great win for Button but would have still been happier without DRS and 6 fewer safety car laps (2 at the start and then four of those immediately after the restart… if drivers can immediately come in for inters then the SC has been out too long)

    143. I’d definitely go for a 10/10 what a race finished at nearly 10pm and it was a bit frustrating waiting but i thought MB and DC did a great job of keeping us entertained the race had everything well done to Button probably his best ever drive and also Schumi had a good race would have been nice to see him on the podium though

    144. If it wasn’t for the loooooong rain delay and safety car overload (do we really need the safety car out there until the drivers start coming in for intermediates?) I’d give it a 9. But minus 1 for each other those = 7

    145. 10/10. Suzuka 2005 revisited – except that Vettel is better that Fisi. Wouldn’t have bothered much if it was either Schumey or Kobayashi on the top step.
      @For those who think racing should proceed under full wets instead of restarting – Maybe if the standing water was say 1 inch and there are no slow corners. But the water level was high and there is a slow hairpin. As Brundle would put it, it would be more like paddling a canoe than driving a race car.
      @For those who are against safety car restarts – It was to remove the standing water from the racing line. There is no point in racing if half the cars crash out just after a restart.

    146. 10/10. I just can’t get over this one. That was ridiculous form start to finish :D It’s always great when Button wins!

    147. Its about an 8 for me – it would have been 9 without the red flag. But I can’t give it a 10 because I gave China that, and personally Canada didn’t reach quite that standard for me. The race yesterday was exciting, but mainly because of rain and safety cars. China managed to be brilliant with none of those things, and only one retirement to boot.

    148. HounslowBusGarage
      13th June 2011, 11:19

      One of the things that pleased me most about the race was the fact that the fans in the soggy stands were finally treated to a first class race.
      If they’d sat there, enduring hours of tedium and then been presented with just a processional race behind Finger Boy, Formula 1 would not have acquired any merit for itself.
      However, those that stayed to see the race resume (most) were treated to a superb display of racing in the wet (i.e. something that Indy and Nascar don’t do) and serious competitiveness.
      At the end of the week of the Bahrain Idiocy, it was the best advertisement that F1 could have given itself.
      Equally gratifying (and it must have made Bernie rub his hands together in glee), is that this is the only North American race this year and should have promoted even more interest in the Austin race next year.
      Now all we need is a US team or driver.

      1. This is a good point. Standing drenched in the first corner for over two hours people were in surprisingly good spirits.

        That is until the safety car emerged for lap after lap while a dryer racing line formed. The boos might not have been heard on the TV feed but they absolutely echoed around the track.

    149. Incredible race so chuffed Button won. Only gave it a 9 out of 10 as I think the FIA were a bit over zealous in penalties and Safety Cars.

    150. I can’t give it a 10, really. Too many SC (i hate them), and the DRS made overtaking a bit too predictable.

      I went for 8.

      I quite like JB, but come on, 10 ? It would have been 9 if we had witnessed a true battle for P1, but that wasn’t the case either. It was a briliant spectacle, but as a race a 8 will do.

    151. BTW, I was stupid enough not to record the race, can someone point me to a place where i could see it again ? (don’t live in UK though, so no BBC stuff…)

    152. Despite the safety car, it has to be a 10 – Jenson’s drive is one of the most memorable & thrilling drives in the 35 years I’ve been watching F1.

    153. The race was ruined for me by DRS. Passing the ‘sitting duck’ ahead was ridiculously easy. That isn’t motor racing and it’s artificial…

      1. I agree 100%

    154. I put 7 because although the race was worth a 10 in terms of action (rather than who retired) the two hour stoppage was excessive, along with a very safety-conscious sending of the safety car.

      Other than that, brilliant! Before the last lap I said “Japan 2005 ending”* And I was right :-)

      *When Raikkonen passed Fisichella who had led most of the race.

      1. Vettel = Fisichella
        Button = Raikkonen

    155. I will will give it a 8 for the action itself. I was dead soaked by the end of the race. The organizers should consider building a roof on all these grand stands. Rain gear never helps in these conditions :(

      1. We were wet and cold and left the track just as the race restarted, after that very long break. My kids couldn’t endure being wet and cold much longer, though McLaren is our team. Was very disappointed Lewis was out but enjoyed his short race anyway. was very happy that McLaren made a great comeback at the end.

    156. I don’t get why so many people are giving this 10/10? 10/10 implies that EVERYTHING about the race was perfect, but it wasn’t:
      1) The race started under the safety car eliminating the mad dash down to the first corner which is way more exciting then after a safety car has gone in.
      2) There was a massive gap in the middle which was very boring.
      3) The safety car was out for too long after the red flag.
      4) It must have reached nearly 25% of the race run under the safety car when they were all added up, so although you could argue the safety car made the ending more exciting, the quater of the race where we were just watching them follow the safety car.

      This rate the race is meant to be about how exciting a race was. How can it get 10 when for large parts we were needlessly (according to popular opinion that I have read on here) watching them boringly follow a safety car for so long and were robbed (maybe not so needlessly on safety grounds but still disapointing none-the-less) of a normal start?

      1. When you go to an action movie do they start shooting from the moment you see the intro till the curtain drops?

        1. A movie is fake, every scene put there for a reason, and yes, to develop the story and the characters before the action starts…are you suggesting you would prefer fake F1?

          In reality, sometimes the most exciting part of an F1 weekend is the qualifying, and sometimes it is the standing start off the grid and into the first corner or two and the rest is more a formality, with all things being equal the usual suspects ending about where they should come the end of the day.

          I will never agree with BE’s suggestion that they should have sprinklers around the track, and this weekend showed why…it’s no longer about apples to apples racing, but more about a crap shoot of circumstances that favours some drivers more than others…accidents, safety cars, a single dry line to race on…I’m not a fan of this type of race and really only enjoyed the last 10 laps when it was as close to ‘normal’ dry racing as we had all day.

    157. I was a really nice race until they’ve enabled DRS

    158. I decided to give it a nine in the end.

      I was tempted to mark it down a point because I felt they shouldn’t have started under the safety car and also I thought the safety car stayed out too long after the restart, and considering drivers started coming in to change to intermediates as soon as it came in, it probably did stay out too long.

      But what a finish to the race, Button coming from the back to win the race, Massa just pipping Kobayashi for sixth on the line.

      It would have been nice if Schumacher could have got a podium though.

    159. 9. Absolute stunner, but for pete’s sake, no more 8 laps of safety car before starting! That was just ridiculous waiting that long before letting them go.

    160. What do we use as our baseline? Compared to every race in the history of F1? Compared to other races this year? I see a lot of 10’s but I’m thinking there were better races in the past than this. Don’t get me wrong as I thoroughly enjoyed it but a 10? I’ll give it a 6 or 7 I suppose.

    161. i will give it a 9.5…….
      -schumacher’s best performance since comeback
      -stupid hamilton gets the taste of his own medicine
      -button and webber’s superb comeback
      -finally we got a wet race

    162. Ali Brown (@)
      14th June 2011, 19:34

      Race was AWESOME, it had everything – close racing, overtaking (JB occupied every place from 21st to eventually winning) a great drive by several different drivers and proof that Vettel is human after all and can crack under pressure!

    163. Excellent race (except for the reg flag and unnecessarily-long-safety-car-deployment -_-“)! JB was amazing! Would’ve been fairy tale if Schumi was on the podium :P

      I think DRS wasn’t that good here, it was too easy for drivers to sail past on the back straight and what was up with the double activation but single detection? Didn’t make sense logically and I’m an electronics engineer and I’m pretty certain it’s easier to have 2 detections and 2 activations!

      I think I’m starting to be able conclude that it’s best to have the DRS implemented in the following way:
      1. Detection before corner preceding activation.
      2. Activation right away after the corner. This makes it look so much better on TV, see Melbourne.
      3. Activation on straight that top speed isn’t already drag-limited i.e. A straight where if the DRS wasnt available, the car wont be running the terminal velocity so not the straight they chose in China, Turkey or Canada. In these cases the DRS was too effective because it allowed the following car to increase terminal velocity and so the defending car had no more speed to increase hence becoming a sitting duck. Whereas on a straight where without DRS, they would maybe just reach terminal velocity near the braking point, the action looks so much better because the closing speed wasn’t as high, it’s more exciting because you know that both cars can still accelerate e.g. Spain and Melbourne.
      Agreements/disagreements?

    164. Typical luck, the one race of the year I’m not able to watch turns out like this. 1/10 out of bitterness. Here’s hoping for Valencia to provide some excitement…

      1. haha, just like me. 4/10.

    165. Average vote 9.1/10 ! Very good !

      1. Woah! Highest ever? :D

    166. i think 8/10 because there’s a red flag..

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