How Button went from last to first in 30 laps

2011 Canadian GP analysis

June 13, 2011 at 2:18 am by
89 comments
Jenson Button, McLaren, Montreal, 2011

Jenson Button, McLaren, Montreal, 2011

From dead last on lap 40 Jenson Button climbed through the field to take the lead on the final lap of the race.

He was aided by the appearance of the safety car on the way.

But he was also able to lap much quicker on the super-soft tyres than his rivals.

Pit stops

Canadian Grand Prix pit stops

Canadian Grand Prix pit stops

Drivers generally started on wet and switched to intermediates and then super-softs as the track dried.

But some drivers tried to switch to intermediate tyres early, before the rain became so heavy the race was suspended.

Almost all of these had to pit again to switch back to wet weather tyres, though Adrian Sutil didn’t and only switched to wets once the race had been suspended.

Virgin made the mistake of switching D’Ambrosio to intermediate tyres before the safety car returned to the pits after the race suspension, earning him a drive-through penalty.

Tyre compounds

Stint 1 Stint 2 Stint 3 Stint 4 Stint 5 Stint 6
Sebastian Vettel Wet Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Fernando Alonso Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate
Felipe Massa Wet Wet Intermediate Super-soft Super-soft
Mark Webber Wet Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Lewis Hamilton Wet
Nico Rosberg Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Jenson Button Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Intermediate Super-soft
Michael Schumacher Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Nick Heidfeld Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Vitaly Petrov Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Paul di Resta Wet Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Super-soft
Pastor Maldonado Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Super-soft Super-soft
Kamui Kobayashi Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Adrian Sutil Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Intermediate
Sebastien Buemi Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Rubens Barrichello Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Pedro de la Rosa Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Jaime Alguersuari Wet Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Jarno Trulli Wet Wet Intermediate Super-soft Super-soft
Heikki Kovalainen Wet Wet
Vitantonio Liuzzi Wet Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Timo Glock Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Narain Karthikeyan Wet Intermediate Super-soft
Jerome d’Ambrosio Wet Intermediate Wet Intermediate Super-soft

Race progress

This chart shows how far each driver was behind the leader (in seconds) on each lap.

Button was over 100 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel at one point, but the frequent safety cars meant that even when he was languishing in the bottom half of the pack he wasn’t that far behind in terms of time.

However he was catching Vettel at a faster rate before the final safety car period and it’s conceivable he still might have won the race without it.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
Sebastian Vettel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.65 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.709
Fernando Alonso 0.994 0.722 0.591 0.108 2.054 4.24 4.736 6.312 0.651 0.811 0.802 0.649 2.558 3.449 4.158 5.14 20.904 22.2 43.299 39.803 39.204 16.877 8.934 9.333 8.407 9.13 8 6.979 7.316 6.949 6.404 6.072 6.095 4.281 7.307 26.208
Felipe Massa 2.631 1.94 1.772 0.708 2.416 4.509 5.326 7.308 1.139 1.342 1.681 1.137 3.294 4.564 5.242 6.256 7.271 6.869 8.361 0 10.848 1.577 1.807 1.593 3.097 2.86 2.173 2.503 2.097 2.534 1.796 1.511 1.906 1.28 3.249 18.762 17.529 1.959 1.486 1.309 2.476 3.49 4.187 5.13 5.3 5.208 6.624 6.741 7.059 8.472 12.876 27.339 49.001 48.359 47.094 49.864 57.234 43.83 10.535 8.132 14.995 17.571 19.152 19.731 21.767 23.014 26.753 28.521 32.455 33.225
Mark Webber 3.493 2.859 2.471 1.425 13.44 18.398 21.301 25.591 6.152 8.478 6.559 5.381 9.613 12.721 14.35 17.3 18.717 18.721 23.268 34.753 32.945 11.123 6.693 7.66 7.542 8.041 6.99 5.777 5.996 6.598 5.474 5.268 5.196 3.786 6.243 21.594 20.754 4.313 4.107 2.537 4.667 7.664 9.416 10.507 10.676 11.827 13.64 13.983 15.937 31.894 39.08 36.352 19.094 11.988 9.084 11.2 14.278 7.788 1.683 1.324 2.755 3.581 3.728 5.031 4.256 4.627 6.42 9.915 13.147 13.828
Lewis Hamilton 4.285 3.523 3.56 1.772 6.546 11.636 13.945
Nico Rosberg 5.327 4.981 4.852 2.591 5.343 8.315 10.147 12.981 1.514 4.248 2.757 2.892 5.482 7.7 9.288 11.384 27.057 29.001 55.569 53.22 49.93 28.096 13.084 13.872 10.208 13.078 12.513 10.823 11.077 9.614 8.832 9.429 8.972 6.983 10.537 25.699 22.657 6.439 6.206 4.495 9.155 12.049 14.268 16.968 18.563 18.991 20.295 21.411 22.196 22.492 24.966 26.299 29.834 38.201 39.242 42.373 51.352 42.828 9.35 7.328 12.516 15.237 17.811 19.508 20.809 22.955 27.421 31.114 33.968 50.454
Jenson Button 5.81 5.472 5.565 3.193 7.578 10.725 13.51 29.578 8.222 10.692 8.876 6.625 15.958 19.274 21.59 20.411 22.231 23.907 48.298 42.523 44.114 21.396 11.561 11.759 10.382 11.581 11.138 9.64 9.709 8.791 7.89 8.094 7.623 5.58 23.051 27.093 102.96 75.936 45.096 12.132 16.344 19.191 21.038 21.354 21.309 21.531 23.398 25.656 27.659 27.893 44.792 47.599 28.645 19.691 15.413 13.315 17.026 9.633 3.79 3.451 3.046 3.944 4.006 4.65 3.169 1.662 1.334 1.172 0.911 0
Michael Schumacher 6.803 5.84 6.205 4.153 6.265 9.688 11.636 14.222 2.249 4.494 3.09 3.102 6.384 8.726 10.453 12.214 13.641 29.366 43.146 37.529 51.92 30.182 14.523 14.685 11.614 13.493 13.281 11.964 11.418 9.876 9.252 10.485 9.259 20.863 21.09 24.654 21.005 4.96 4.787 2.649 5.125 6.799 8.539 9.732 9.427 9.853 10.027 9.678 10.5 10.577 11.666 25.139 18.609 10.707 8.73 10.773 13.618 7.329 0.595 0.824 2.265 3.04 3.929 3.849 3.858 4.269 7.282 11.399 14.23 14.219
Nick Heidfeld 8.713 7.98 7.895 5.034 10.75 16.684 18.989 23.373 4.509 6.62 5.244 4.336 8.499 11.603 13.595 16.654 20.309 23.215 29.159 21.691 17.41 2.708 3.205 2.308 4.703 4.496 3.468 3.376 3.117 3.484 2.683 2.395 2.843 1.929 18.797 20.473 16.232 2.902 2.512 1.838 3.733 5.021 7.904 9.058 10.23 11.468 12.702 13.601 15.148 16.051 17.749 32.922 25.192 20.086 20.43
Vitaly Petrov 10.455 9.793 8.542 5.638 11.551 18.098 20.232 24.412 5.647 7.368 6.13 4.547 8.603 11.913 15.756 18.607 20.594 23.304 33.743 26.772 24.176 4.827 4.822 4.3 5.391 6.441 5.073 4.458 4.122 4.545 4.296 3.383 3.717 2.808 5.235 22.165 21.774 5.866 5.772 3.34 5.955 7.788 9.678 12.002 11.809 12.513 14.056 14.661 16.174 18.134 19.73 22.958 26.062 28.398 27.664 31.137 39.473 28.232 6.087 5.781 10.055 11.446 15.172 15.339 15.029 14.672 16.149 17.823 20.108 20.395
Paul di Resta 11.137 10.84 9.727 5.903 9.681 18.77 21.923 26.073 6.783 9.287 7.635 5.717 10.736 13.528 16.5 18.82 21.797 25.313 34.674 28.563 27.175 6.406 5.505 6.723 5.551 7.158 6.106 5.135 5.205 5.42 4.929 4.05 4.475 3.067 19.935 22.202 17.742 3.665 3.14 2.147 4.207 5.209 31.292 33.955 35.225 37.862 41.322 43.572 44.838 53.825 55.631 57.443 58.082 73.602 71.64 81.498 87.958 77.707 45.093 13.913 23.544 27.046 28.82 30.514 31.59 32.207 33.765
Pastor Maldonado 12.388 11.493 10.288 6.742 11.998 17.392 21.891 26.668 7.393 10.071 8.048 6.31 11.941 17.765 22.753 26.238 44.162 49.202 77.256 78.995 81.725 60.717 39.249 28.804 17.579 24.487 25.942 23.592 21.489 18.133 16.98 15.755 17.58 12.386 29.69 33.754 26.805 8.822 9.237 4.661 7.883 11.342 13.918 16.892 19.216 20.608 21.857 25.362 29.099 31.049 49.707 61.728 44.28 38.407 40.808 42.799 52.142 43.207 9.656 7.685 63.583
Kamui Kobayashi 13.823 12.278 11.186 6.882 10.881 14.985 16.112 21.114 3.135 5.116 4.039 3.493 6.93 9.366 11.617 13.008 14.337 15.818 18.339 11.462 7.713 0.92 1.009 0.679 1.622 1.372 1.183 1.283 1.204 1.111 1.004 1.195 0.78 1.299 2.416 18.65 15.336 1.384 0.81 0.964 1.518 2.444 3.755 4.318 4.662 4.983 5.582 5.551 6.217 7.959 13.513 13.648 17.835 19.68 20.264 23.056 32.424 21.927 5.094 5.087 12.029 14.416 16.973 18.653 19.839 21.65 25.017 28.248 32.206 33.27
Adrian Sutil 15.005 13.061 12.305 7.584 12.787 19.409 23.703 28.484 8.947 11.766 10.376 7.551 12.959 18.366 23.057 42.496 46.069 48.305 59.948 56.11 55.978 35.221 16.004 17.224 11.812 14.503 14.663 13.56 12.579 10.838 9.936 11.001 10.344 21.448 22.962 27.649 24.184 7.267 7.003 3.606 6.81 8.872 12.149 14.465 22.402 25.293 27.359 30.347 56.963
Sebastien Buemi 16.266 14.329 13.676 8.277 13.904 22.484 26.291 31.193 10.754 13.84 12.344 9.117 15.056 20.485 25.106 30.606 49.738 51.136 62.402 77.11 74.546 55.298 32.185 26.516 15.869 22.008 24.074 21.953 19.618 16.625 15.445 15.305 15.861 26.828 30.309 34.571 29.104 10.746 10.928 5.795 10.143 13.224 16.017 18.585 22.339 24.727 26.836 29.758 33.89 56.106 68.992 71.159 57.993 51.277 52.304 57.357 66.114 47.35 16.699 12.474 21.323 24.791 28.641 30.227 31.699 33.84 36.251 42.256 44.546 47.056
Rubens Barrichello 17.45 15.971 15.514 9.55 14.45 21.313 24.813 29.435 10.061 12.938 11.471 8.644 13.911 19.213 38.587 42.482 43.496 45.151 68.377 66.585 69.108 50.581 28.617 23.043 14.784 19.24 21.166 19.413 17.686 14.828 13.579 13.333 13.857 25.951 29.519 30.621 25.717 8.339 8.643 5.158 8.836 10.994 13.343 15.696 17.933 18.582 19.992 22.347 24.737 40.961 49.558 49.007 32.88 35.331 34.303 37.485 45.614 35.536 7.33 6.21 19.014 21.827 25.2 27.619 29.223 30.567 33.15 36.086 39.494 45.117
Pedro de la Rosa 18.19 16.662 16.331 11.139 15.482 22.891 29.47 34.078 12.778 15.78 14.622 12.026 16.363 20.874 25.607 30.458 33.211 34.74 43.506 41.787 42.26 19.311 9.247 10.117 8.76 9.93 10.201 8.304 8.843 7.84 7.312 7.292 6.911 6.835 31.327 37.042 33.061 14.245 14.075 7.218 12.291 15.273 18.213 23 26.811 28.656 31.054 33.6 35.882 39.128 42.225 58.68 54.59 49.44 53.661 63.812 71.423 52.884 18.045 13.806 28.244 35.119 42.816 44.68 46.679 49.424 53.309 57.424 62.387 63.607
Jaime Alguersuari 31.197 25.653 26.054 16.466 21.099 25.957 30.905 37.301 16.481 18.815 18.354 13.928 18.905 24.527 28.724 31.732 35.288 38.221 62.919 61.716 62.31 42.549 18.411 17.889 12.897 16.449 16.528 15.539 14.116 11.896 10.827 11.622 11.572 8.225 28.12 34.265 28.494 10.02 10.22 5.511 9.558 12.65 15.041 17.726 19.971 21.166 22.523 24.666 28.337 29.648 47.677 59.076 43.991 37.032 38.907 40.658 49.184 40.502 8.217 6.751 14.403 17.145 18.911 19.602 21.77 23.961 27.706 31.536 34.69 35.964
Jarno Trulli 20.489 18.951 17.778 12.109 17.152 23.456 28.758 32.759 11.968 15.369 14.203 10.872 17.682 24.818 30.257 34.635 41.222 46.034 101.833 100.726 103.89 87.542 67.534 50.106 19.286 30.705 30.769 26.501 24.076 19.763 18.812 17.562 19.17 13.744 20.052 43.336 41.18 17.956 15.868 8.442 14.471 20.367 25.832 30.94 35.023 40.073 44.041 48.168 53.077 57.987 63.109 82.935 83.343 85.024 157.929 183.764 191.445 170.935 136.992 113.047 121.582 128.019 133.008 136.378 140.282 144.048 148.444 153.464 161.924
Heikki Kovalainen 22.07 20.099 18.781 12.552 17.745 24.103 29.867 35.72 14.058 16.671 16.186 12.471 18.388 25.265 30.83 35.196 39.98 44.227 92.92 87.979 93.343 77.888 58.5 31.414 18.365 27.225 27.193 24.789
Vitantonio Liuzzi 23.476 20.861 20.737 12.868 19.114 25.823 32.134 39.373 34.58 23.047 21.881 17.078 24.64 31.827 37.009 42.357 48.797 56.56 68.63 70.46 73.503 53.962 31.423 25.618 15.339 20.74 22.693 20.816 18.838 15.765 14.605 14.168 15.042 20.795 60.49 67.466 63.897 32.155 18.432 9.733 17.195 24.243 29.95 36.723 41.256 46.749 53.449 59.722 67.163 79.615 92.013 125.403 132.685 129.758 133.345 158.225 159.699 141.693 130.372 101.769 106.262 112.091 115.203 118.045 121.877 127.116 134.481 143.946 152.75
Timo Glock 25.233 22.013 21.596 13.771 18.663 24.334 30.273 36.447 15.912 17.522 17.24 13.212 19.78 25.677 31.561 36.684 42.354 49.504 64.369 65.773 67.78 49.262 27.019 21.924 14.117 17.561 19.129 17.674 15.674 12.972 11.895 12.477 12.693 24.868 30.998 36.246 31.997 13.32 13.515 7.022 13.278 18.857 24.311 30.014 33.801 37.375 42.734 47.663 52.563 57.659 81.005 97.968 85.569 85.351 94.489 112.078 122.812 129.207 124.325 92.443 101.043 107.206 113.576 118.315 130.43 138.338 145.861 153.071 161.594
Narain Karthikeyan 27.801 23.035 22.717 15.216 21.156 28.567 35.793 41.237 17.893 19.652 19.546 15.289 25.108 32.466 37.962 44.496 50.902 58.046 72.723 78.244 79.614 59.629 37.671 28.367 16.906 23.871 25.369 22.948 20.705 17.591 16.506 15.363 16.922 13.069 19.52 27.178 46.35 18.594 16.76 9.383 16.118 22.923 29.384 35.578 40.172 47.717 54.1 60.218 68.399 79.16 107.537 130.449 129.826 130.342 136.031 159.425 160.729 142.353 133.312 109.225 119.767 126.501 130.947 133.78 137.666 141.308 146.637 152.608 160.31
Jerome dAmbrosio 29.39 24.584 24.652 16.177 23.524 30.051 36.043 42.73 19.278 21.819 20.855 16.137 25.2 32.733 39.227 45.731 66.616 73.12 84.939 86.725 92.449 77.29 79.527 56.907 21.624 33.185 32.27 28.808 24.951 21.543 20.377 19.375 36.201 14.787 20.367 35.234 30.422 12.164 12.452 6.554 11.905 18.801 26.743 33.103 37.602 42.691 47.923 52.043 57.249 62.581 70.037 99.179 95.593 91.314 95.764 114.24 124.308 130.625 125.536 103.838 113.943 124.241 129.675 133.898 138.393 142.188 147.506 152.621 161.264

Lap chart

After the race Button’s race engineer joked he must have occupied every position in the field at some point in the race – and he’s not far wrong.

Button fell as low as 22nd at one point, though he never crossed the line in that position nor any lower.

The other places he never occupied at the end of a lap were 13th, 16th, 17th and 19th. He only led for one lap – the final lap.

This chart shows the drivers’ positions on each lap.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
Sebastian Vettel 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
Fernando Alonso 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 8 5 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 10
Felipe Massa 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 6 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 9 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 7 6
Mark Webber 4 4 4 4 4 14 12 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 5 4 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 11 8 8 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 4 4 4 3 3 3 3
Lewis Hamilton 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7
Nico Rosberg 6 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 11 10 12 12 11 11 11 11 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 7 9 9 9 9 10 12 12 11 11 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 5 8 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 11
Jenson Button 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 14 12 12 12 12 15 14 11 11 10 8 11 11 10 10 10 10 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 15 11 21 21 21 21 20 18 15 14 12 12 12 12 10 8 10 9 7 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 1
Michael Schumacher 8 8 8 8 8 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 11 8 8 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 18 13 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 4 4 4 4
Nick Heidfeld 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 8 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 5 6 6
Vitaly Petrov 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 7 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 3 6 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Paul di Resta 11 11 11 11 11 8 13 13 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 10 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 21 19 18 17 16 16 15 14 14 11 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 12 12 12 12 11 11 11
Pastor Maldonado 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 18 18 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 13 18 15 12 12 12 11 10 11 10 10 10 10 10 11 12 10 13 14 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 14
Kamui Kobayashi 13 13 13 13 13 10 8 8 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7
Adrian Sutil 14 14 14 14 14 13 14 14 12 13 13 13 13 12 12 13 21 19 17 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 19 14 13 10 10 10 9 9 9 8 8 14 14 14 14 18
Sebastien Buemi 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 14 15 14 14 21 20 14 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 22 19 17 14 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 15 16 15 14 14 13 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 11 11 10
Rubens Barrichello 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 13 14 14 14 14 13 13 22 20 17 15 17 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 21 17 14 11 11 11 12 11 10 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 13 12 10 9 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9
Pedro de la Rosa 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 15 13 12 12 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 21 20 17 17 17 17 16 15 14 15 15 15 15 15 14 12 9 12 13 13 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12
Jaime Alguersuari 18 24 24 24 24 22 22 21 20 20 20 20 20 19 17 16 15 13 13 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 12 16 16 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 11 10 11 9 11 13 10 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 8
Jarno Trulli 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 16 16 16 16 16 17 18 17 16 15 16 23 23 23 23 22 22 22 22 22 22 21 21 21 21 21 15 11 21 18 18 18 18 18 19 17 17 17 18 18 18 17 17 15 16 16 16 20 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17
Heikki Kovalainen 20 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 19 18 17 14 14 22 22 22 22 21 21 21 21 21 21
Vitantonio Liuzzi 21 20 20 20 20 21 21 22 21 23 23 23 23 21 21 20 19 20 21 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 22 22 20 20 20 20 21 21 20 21 21 20 20 20 20 20 19 19 20 19 18 17 17 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 14 14 13 13
Timo Glock 22 21 21 21 21 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 19 18 16 19 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 20 20 19 16 16 16 16 17 17 16 16 16 16 17 17 16 16 18 17 17 17 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16
Narain Karthikeyan 23 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 22 21 21 21 21 22 22 21 22 22 22 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 14 9 12 19 19 19 19 19 20 19 20 20 21 21 21 21 19 20 20 19 20 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 16 16 16 16 14 14
Jerome dAmbrosio 24 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 23 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 21 21 21 21 23 23 23 23 23 23 22 22 22 22 22 16 12 18 15 15 15 15 15 16 18 18 19 19 19 19 19 18 17 18 18 18 17 16 16 16 16 17 17 16 16 17 17 17 17 15 15

Fastest laps

Button set the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour as he chased down Vettel.

Rank Driver Car Fastest lap Gap On lap
1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1’16.956 69
2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1’17.217 0.261 69
3 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1’19.054 2.098 68
4 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1’19.138 2.182 70
5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1’19.148 2.192 68
6 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1’19.395 2.439 67
7 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1’19.507 2.551 69
8 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1’19.572 2.616 65
9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1’20.071 3.115 69
10 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1’20.213 3.257 70
11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1’20.316 3.360 68
12 Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1’20.369 3.413 70
13 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1’20.371 3.415 69
14 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1’22.233 5.277 67
15 Jerome d’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1’22.495 5.539 68
16 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1’23.116 6.160 66
17 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1’23.419 6.463 63
18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1’24.265 7.309 53
19 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1’24.590 7.634 68
20 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1’25.135 8.179 55
21 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1’30.171 13.215 47
22 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1’34.223 17.267 14
23 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1’37.761 20.805 7
24 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1’38.460 21.504 16

All lap times

Lapping in traffic often disguised Button’s pace, but once he’d switched to the super-soft tyres he really showed his hand, as you can see if you compare his lap times with the like of Vettel’s in the chart below.

McLaren were running more wing at Canada than their rivals, which probably helped Button generate heat in his tyres more quickly in the cool, wet conditions.

Once Button got past Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher at the end of the race, Vettel reacted, suddenly lapping one-and-a-half seconds faster.

Why did he not do this sooner? In all likelihood he was using a more aggressive engine setting for more power. Not to mention pushing the car harder which, ultimately, was his undoing.

The chart below shows the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) on every lap, apart from during the race suspension.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
Sebastian Vettel 138.174 126.919 125.303 125.715 96.175 94.827 95.452 101.724 133.172 128.183 127.373 121.938 92.888 93.332 94.273 94.094 94.275 94.636 98.313 119.585 106.537 128.207 131.282 136.761 140.547 127.452 123.983 122.236 122.993 121.708 122.295 122.034 121.847 92.422 91.444 109.685 130.783 125.563 124.599 90.847 90.311 89.874 89.632 89.52 88.848 88.105 87.924 87.202 87.011 86.431 87.354 101.713 92.865 84.791 82.319 96.098 113.953 126.105 120.643 81.152 80.45 80.307 80.797 80.347 79.474 77.837 77.38 77.217 81.858
Fernando Alonso 139.168 126.647 125.172 125.232 98.121 97.013 95.948 103.3 127.511 128.343 127.364 121.785 94.797 94.223 94.982 95.076 110.039 95.932 119.412 113.439 108.588 105.88 123.339 137.16 141.27 126.322 122.962 122.573 122.626 121.163 121.963 122.057 120.033 95.448 110.345
Felipe Massa 140.805 126.228 125.135 124.651 97.883 96.92 96.269 103.706 127.003 128.386 127.712 121.394 95.045 94.602 94.951 95.108 95.29 94.234 99.805 108.574 120.035 118.936 131.512 136.547 140.31 126.765 124.313 121.83 123.43 120.97 122.01 122.429 121.221 94.391 106.957 108.452 115.213 125.09 124.422 92.014 91.325 90.571 90.575 89.69 88.756 89.521 88.041 87.52 88.424 90.835 101.817 123.375 92.223 83.526 85.089 103.468 100.549 92.81 118.24 88.015 83.026 81.888 81.376 82.383 80.721 81.576 79.148 81.151 79.919
Mark Webber 141.667 126.285 124.915 124.669 108.19 99.785 98.355 106.014 113.733 130.509 125.454 120.76 97.12 96.44 95.902 97.044 95.692 94.64 102.86 128.42 107.379 106.385 126.852 137.728 141.046 126.401 122.77 122.455 123.595 120.584 122.089 121.962 120.437 94.879 106.795 108.845 114.342 125.357 123.029 92.977 93.308 91.626 90.723 89.689 89.999 89.918 88.267 89.156 102.968 93.617 84.626 84.455 85.759 81.887 84.435 99.176 107.463 120 120.284 82.583 81.276 80.454 82.1 79.572 79.845 79.63 80.875 80.449 79.83
Lewis Hamilton 142.459 126.157 125.34 123.927 100.949 99.917 97.761
Nico Rosberg 143.501 126.573 125.174 123.454 98.927 97.799 97.284 104.558 121.705 130.917 125.882 122.073 95.478 95.55 95.861 96.19 109.948 96.58 124.881 114.586 105.897 106.373 116.27 137.549 143.417 126.887 122.293 122.49 121.53 120.926 122.892 121.577 119.858 95.976 106.606 106.643 114.565 125.33 122.888 95.507 93.205 92.093 92.332 91.115 89.276 89.409 89.04 87.987 87.307 88.905 88.687 105.248 101.232 85.832 85.45 105.077 105.429 92.627 118.621 86.34 83.171 82.881 82.494 81.648 81.62 82.303 81.073 80.071 95.635
Jenson Button 143.984 126.581 125.396 123.343 100.56 97.974 98.237 117.792 111.816 130.653 125.557 119.687 102.221 96.648 96.589 92.915 96.095 96.312 122.704 111.16 110.778 105.489 121.447 136.959 141.746 127.009 122.485 122.305 122.075 120.807 122.499 121.563 119.804 109.893 95.486 185.552 103.759 94.723 91.635 95.059 93.158 91.721 89.948 89.475 89.07 89.972 90.182 89.205 87.245 103.33 90.161 82.759 83.911 80.513 80.221 99.809 106.56 120.262 120.304 80.747 81.348 80.369 81.441 78.866 77.967 77.509 77.218 76.956 78.238
Michael Schumacher 144.977 125.956 125.668 123.663 98.287 98.25 97.4 104.31 121.199 130.428 125.969 121.95 96.17 95.674 96 95.855 95.702 110.361 112.093 111.318 123.578 106.469 115.623 136.923 142.426 127.24 122.666 121.69 121.451 121.084 123.528 120.808 133.451 92.649 95.008 106.036 114.738 125.39 122.461 93.323 91.985 91.614 90.825 89.215 89.274 88.279 87.575 88.024 87.088 87.52 100.827 95.183 84.963 82.814 84.362 98.943 107.664 119.371 120.872 82.593 81.225 81.196 80.717 80.356 79.885 80.85 81.497 80.048 79.138
Nick Heidfeld 146.887 126.186 125.218 122.854 101.891 100.761 97.757 106.108 114.308 130.294 125.997 121.03 97.051 96.436 96.265 97.153 97.93 97.542 104.257 109.467 104.906 113.505 131.779 135.864 140.34 126.424 123.891 121.977 123.36 120.907 122.007 122.482 120.933 109.29 93.12 105.444 117.453 125.173 123.925 92.742 91.599 92.757 90.786 90.692 90.086 89.339 88.823 88.749 87.914 88.129 102.527 93.983 87.759 85.135
Vitaly Petrov 148.629 126.257 124.052 122.811 102.088 101.374 97.586 105.904 114.407 129.904 126.135 120.355 96.944 96.642 98.116 96.945 96.262 97.346 108.752 109.964 106.591 108.858 131.277 136.239 141.597 126.084 123.368 121.9 123.416 121.459 121.382 122.368 120.938 94.849 108.374 109.294 114.875 125.469 122.167 93.462 92.144 91.764 91.956 89.327 89.552 89.648 88.529 88.715 88.971 88.027 90.582 104.817 95.201 84.057 85.792 104.434 102.712 103.96 120.337 85.426 81.841 84.033 80.964 80.037 79.117 79.314 79.054 79.502 79.436
Paul di Resta 149.311 126.622 124.19 121.891 99.953 103.916 98.605 105.874 113.882 130.687 125.721 120.02 97.907 96.124 97.245 96.414 97.252 98.152 107.674 110.824 107.799 107.438 130.381 137.979 142.154 126.4 123.012 122.306 123.208 121.217 121.416 122.459 120.439 109.29 93.711 105.225 116.706 125.038 123.606 92.907 91.313 115.957 92.295 90.79 91.485 91.565 90.174 88.468 95.998 88.237 89.166 102.352 108.385 82.829 92.177 102.558 103.702 93.491 89.463 90.783 83.952 82.081 82.491 81.423 80.091 79.395
Pastor Maldonado 150.562 126.024 124.098 122.169 101.431 100.221 99.951 106.501 113.897 130.861 125.35 120.2 98.519 99.156 99.261 97.579 112.199 99.676 126.367 118.674 111.917 107.199 109.814 126.316 147.455 128.907 121.633 120.133 119.637 120.555 121.07 123.859 116.653 109.726 95.508 102.736 112.8 125.978 120.023 94.069 93.77 92.45 92.606 91.844 90.24 89.354 91.429 90.939 88.961 105.089 99.375 84.265 86.992 87.192 84.31 105.441 105.018 92.554 118.672 137.05
Kamui Kobayashi 151.997 125.374 124.211 121.411 100.174 98.931 96.579 106.726 115.193 130.164 126.296 121.392 96.325 95.768 96.524 95.485 95.604 96.117 100.834 110.058 105.438 121.414 131.371 136.431 140.297 127.263 124.083 122.157 122.9 121.601 122.486 121.619 122.366 93.539 107.678 106.371 116.831 124.989 124.753 91.401 91.237 91.185 90.195 89.864 89.169 88.704 87.893 87.868 88.753 91.985 87.489 105.9 94.71 85.375 85.111 105.466 103.456 109.272 120.636 88.094 82.837 82.864 82.477 81.533 81.285 81.204 80.611 81.175 80.213
Adrian Sutil 153.179 124.975 124.547 120.994 101.378 101.449 99.746 106.505 113.635 131.002 125.983 119.113 98.296 98.739 98.964 113.533 97.848 96.872 109.956 113.097 109.055 107.45 112.065 137.981 143.238 127.612 122.88 121.255 121.252 120.806 123.36 121.377 132.951 93.936 96.131 106.22 113.866 125.299 121.202 94.051 92.373 93.151 91.948 97.457 91.739 90.171 90.912 113.818
Sebastien Buemi 154.44 124.982 124.65 120.316 101.802 103.407 99.259 106.626 112.733 131.269 125.877 118.711 98.827 98.761 98.894 99.594 113.407 96.034 109.579 131.643 106.623 108.959 108.169 131.092 146.686 129.518 121.862 119.901 120 120.528 122.155 122.59 132.814 95.903 95.706 104.218 112.425 125.745 119.466 95.195 93.392 92.667 92.2 93.274 91.236 90.214 90.846 91.334 109.227 99.317 89.521 88.547 86.149 85.818 87.372 104.855 95.189 95.454 116.418 90.001 83.918 84.157 82.383 81.819 81.615 80.248 83.385 79.507 81.659
Rubens Barrichello 155.624 125.44 124.846 119.751 101.075 101.69 98.952 106.346 113.798 131.06 125.906 119.111 98.155 98.634 113.647 97.989 95.289 96.291 121.539 115.143 111.71 109.68 109.318 131.187 145.003 129.378 122.23 120.509 120.135 120.459 122.049 122.558 133.941 95.99 92.546 104.781 113.405 125.867 121.114 94.525 92.469 92.223 91.985 91.757 89.497 89.515 90.279 89.592 103.235 95.028 86.803 85.586 95.316 83.763 85.501 104.227 103.875 97.899 119.523 93.956 83.263 83.68 83.216 81.951 80.818 80.42 80.316 80.625 84.772
Pedro de la Rosa 156.364 125.391 124.972 120.523 100.518 102.236 102.031 106.332 111.872 131.185 126.215 119.342 97.225 97.843 99.006 98.945 97.028 96.165 107.079 115.216 109.66 105.258 121.218 137.631 141.717 127.723 122.086 122.775 121.99 121.18 122.275 121.653 121.771 116.914 97.159 105.704 111.967 125.393 117.742 95.92 93.293 92.814 94.419 93.331 90.693 90.503 90.47 89.484 90.257 89.528 103.809 97.623 87.715 89.012 92.47 103.709 95.414 91.266 116.404 95.59 87.325 88.004 82.661 82.346 82.219 81.722 81.495 82.18 80.369
Jaime Alguersuari 169.371 121.375 125.704 116.127 100.808 99.685 100.4 108.12 112.352 130.517 126.912 117.512 97.865 98.954 98.47 97.102 97.831 97.569 123.011 115.732 109.781 108.446 107.144 136.239 144.099 127.531 122.994 120.813 120.773 120.639 123.09 121.984 118.5 112.317 97.589 103.914 112.309 125.763 119.89 94.894 93.403 92.265 92.317 91.765 90.043 89.462 90.067 90.873 88.322 104.46 98.753 86.628 85.906 86.666 84.07 104.624 105.271 93.82 119.177 88.804 83.192 82.073 81.488 82.515 81.665 81.582 81.21 80.371 80.423
Jarno Trulli 158.663 125.381 124.13 120.046 101.218 101.131 100.754 105.725 112.381 131.584 126.207 118.607 99.698 100.468 99.712 98.472 100.862 99.448 154.112 115.828 112.351 111.859 111.274 119.333 151.966 127.516 119.715 119.811 118.68 120.757 121.045 123.642 116.421 98.73 114.728 107.529 107.559 123.475 117.173 96.876 96.207 95.339 94.74 93.603 93.898 92.073 92.051 92.111 91.921 91.553 107.18 102.121 94.546 157.696 108.154 103.779 93.443 92.162 96.698 89.687 86.887 85.296 84.167 84.251 83.24 82.233 82.4 85.677
Heikki Kovalainen 160.244 124.948 123.985 119.486 101.368 101.185 101.216 107.577 111.51 130.796 126.888 118.223 98.805 100.209 99.838 98.46 99.059 98.883 147.006 111.994 114.551 112.752 111.894 109.675 149.407 127.42 121.579
Vitantonio Liuzzi 161.65 124.304 125.179 117.846 102.421 101.536 101.763 108.963 128.379 116.65 126.207 117.135 100.45 100.519 99.455 99.442 100.715 102.399 110.383 118.765 112.23 108.666 108.743 130.956 145.948 129.405 122.106 120.258 119.92 120.548 121.858 122.908 127.6 132.117 98.42 106.116 99.041 111.84 115.9 98.309 97.359 95.581 96.405 94.053 94.341 94.805 94.197 94.643 99.463 98.829 120.744 108.995 89.938 88.378 107.199 97.572 95.947 114.784 92.04 85.645 86.279 83.419 83.639 84.179 84.713 85.202 86.845 86.021
Timo Glock 163.407 123.699 124.886 117.89 101.067 100.498 101.391 107.898 112.637 129.793 127.091 117.91 99.456 99.229 100.157 99.217 99.945 101.786 113.178 118.339 111.194 109.689 109.039 131.666 143.991 129.02 122.528 120.236 120.291 120.631 122.877 122.25 134.022 98.552 96.692 105.436 112.106 125.758 118.106 97.103 95.89 95.328 95.335 93.307 92.422 93.464 92.853 92.102 92.107 109.777 104.317 89.314 92.647 93.929 99.908 106.832 120.348 121.223 88.761 89.752 86.613 86.677 85.536 92.462 87.382 85.36 84.59 85.74
Narain Karthikeyan 165.975 122.153 124.985 118.214 102.115 102.238 102.678 107.168 109.828 129.942 127.267 117.681 102.707 100.69 99.769 100.628 100.681 101.78 112.99 122.456 110.557 108.222 109.324 127.457 147.512 128.95 121.562 119.993 119.879 120.623 121.152 123.593 117.994 98.873 99.102 128.857 103.027 123.729 117.222 97.582 97.116 96.335 95.826 94.114 96.393 94.488 94.042 95.383 97.772 114.808 110.266 101.09 93.381 90.48 105.713 97.402 95.577 117.064 96.556 91.694 87.184 84.753 83.63 84.233 83.116 83.166 83.351 84.919
Jerome dAmbrosio 167.564 122.113 125.371 117.24 103.522 101.354 101.444 108.411 109.72 130.724 126.409 117.22 101.951 100.865 100.767 100.598 115.16 101.14 110.132 118.721 114.911 113.048 133.519 114.141 152.108 126.537 120.521 118.379 119.585 120.542 121.293 138.86 100.433 98.002 106.311 104.873 112.525 125.851 118.701 96.198 97.207 97.816 95.992 94.019 93.937 93.337 92.044 92.408 92.343 93.887 116.496 98.127 88.586 89.241 100.795 106.166 120.27 121.016 98.945 91.257 90.748 85.741 85.02 84.842 83.269 83.155 82.495 85.86

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89 comments on How Button went from last to first in 30 laps

1 2

  1. MacademiaNut said on 13th June 2011, 17:49

    HAM will be hitting himself on the head. This is a fine result that shows that the race is 70 laps and it helps to be patient at times. Hopefully, HAM will keep his cool in the coming races.

    Reply

  2. CJD said on 13th June 2011, 18:17

    Those of us around at the time rate Fangio’s German GP, Moss’s Mille Miglia and Argentine GP and Monaco GP, some of Senna’s races. Jim Clarke’s perfection. Brave old Mansell, Damon Hill reviving Williams after Sennas death, so many others and now our grandchildren have Jenson’s Canadian Grand Prix. In every one of the races quoted there have been other great drivers who have known that it is not their day.

    Reply
  3. Avatar Image

    sid_prasher (@) said on 13th June 2011, 19:47

    Wow it takes only 1 super drive to qualify for the most complete driver ever?…and this was his 10th win in how many starts?

    What are the parameters to judge this on?

    Reply

    • Carl Craven said on 13th June 2011, 20:01

      Being fast in changeable conditions is at least one.

      I don’t think he’s the most complete driver ever. But he is an intelligent driver with a great deal of skill a title and the respect of those who know what talent is, the team principles. Dave Richards heaped praise on Button when bringing him to BAR, Brawn compared him very favourably to Schumacher and he has the complete support and respect of one of the best and one of longest standing F1 teams currently on the grid.

      Ha, but what do they know, they’ve probably never even been on a forum to learn the real truth about the drivers they pay millions to drive cars worth millions. It’s all a big lucky dip for them.

      Reply
      • Avatar Image

        sid_prasher (@) said on 13th June 2011, 20:13

        Of course…and I am sure none of the teams are interested in who the most “Complete” driver is…

        Reply
  4. Avatar Image

    AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 13th June 2011, 22:02

    Button .261s faster than Vettel? That’s worth 25 points in itself!

    He just seemed to get in tune with the tyres at the right time and at precisely the right time.

    ReplyReport user
  5. Avatar Image

    AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 13th June 2011, 22:08

    I can’t leave this article without showing my appreciation for Button’s time in the pit-lane. 6 times including the puncture and penalty? Outstanding stuff. To get it right every time is some accomplishment!

    ReplyReport user
  6. Avatar Image

    wasiF1 (@wasif1) said on 14th June 2011, 2:56

    This drive have to be rated as just much as Kimi’s drive in Japan 05.Probably one of the greatest race & drive of all time in the history of 847 F1 races ever raced since 1950.

    ReplyReport user
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