Vote for your Canadian GP driver of the weekend

2012 Canadian Grand Prix

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Which F1 driver had the best race weekend in Canada?

Compare all the drivers’ performances below and vote for who you think was the best driver of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Driver notes

Sebastian Vettel – Was fastest in every session on Saturday and produced two laps quick enough for pole position in Q3. Kept the lead at the start but had already begun to fall into the clutches of Hamilton and Alonso before his pit stop, and ended up behind both of them. Red Bull gave up on their attempt to finish the race without a second stop, allowing Vettel to recover to fourth.
Mark Webber – More than half a second off Vettel in qualifying, his biggest deficit this year, admitting he wasn’t comfortable with the car in the final corner. Dropped back from the pace of the leaders and lost time behind some of the one-stoppers, finishing seventh.

Jenson Button – Given his recent difficulties with the tyres, losing around 50 laps of running on Friday was exactly what he didn’t need. Scraped into Q3 thanks to Maldonado crashing in Q2, but never figured in the race and ended up a lapped 16th after three pit stops and no pace.
Lewis Hamilton – Looked committed and fast from the word go on Friday, but couldn’t match Vettel’s pace for pole position. A quick in-lap got him ahead of Vettel when he made his first pit stop, despite pulling out of his pit box slowly. Had to pass Alonso after the Ferrari driver got ahead through the stops, then pulled away into the lead. McLaren committed to a two-stop strategy which left Hamilton needing to re-pass Vettel and Alonso to win, but with both slowing on worn tyres they were easy pickings in the DRS zone, allowing Hamilton to claim his first win of the year.

Fernando Alonso – After the race Alonso said this was the first time the team had tried to win a race instead of limit damage – an interesting comment in light of how close he came to victory in Spain. He also said his 1’14.1 in qualifying was the car’s limit. Alonso started third and jumped into the lead after staying out longer than Hamilton and Vettel. Stuck to a one-stop strategy despite losing pace in the final laps – as a result he was passed by Hamilton, Grosjean, Perez and Vettel.
Felipe Massa – Carried on his improved pace from Monaco, qualified sixth and passed Rosberg at the start. But he threw away a strong position in the opening laps with a spin, and ended up last of the points-scorers.

Michael Schumacher – Schumacher’s dreadful 2012 luck persisted in Canada. His DRS jammed open during the race – a repeat of a problem he suffered in qualifying in Bahrain. He was running a lowly 12th at the time.
Nico Rosberg – Lacked pace at the start and was passed by Massa and di Resta while Mercedes were preoccupied with saving fuel and tyres. Committed early to a two-stop strategy which allowed him to jump Webber. But taking to the chicane while trying to pass Massa on lap 56 cost him dearly – he was passed by Perez and the resultant delay denied him a chance of taking advantage of Vettel and Alonso for what could have been a podium finish.

Kimi Raikkonen – Did not reach Q3 after an hydraulic problem in Q2. Started on soft tyres and ran long but was jumped by Perez when they pitted, which also allowed Rosberg past. Had strong pace at the end but couldn’t pass Webber for seventh.
Romain Grosjean – Slightly quicker than his 2005 Canadian Grand Prix-winning team mate in practice on his first visit to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Stayed out until lap 21 before making his single pit stop – only three to five laps later than the leaders – then kept his tyres alive until the end. Picked off the slowing cars ahead to finish second, 2.5 seconds behind Hamilton. The only blot on his weekend was another poor start, falling behind Paul di Resta, which may have cost him up to ten seconds and perhaps an even better result.

Paul di Resta – Ran as high as fifth early on after passing Rosberg. But struggled for pace after his first pit stop and lost out to the one-stoppers.
Nico Hulkenberg – Having been nine places behind his team mate in the opening stint he ended up following him home for 12th place.

Kamui Kobayashi – Ran a similar strategy to Grosjean, making his first stop three laps later. Just fell short of pulling out enough of a gap over di Resta to come out in front of the Force India, which harmed his chances of finishing higher. He held off Massa for ninth place in a reversal of their finishing positions last year.
Sergio Perez – Sauber split their strategies, starting Perez on the soft tyres. He ran long and pitted a lap later than Raikkonen to jump the Lotus driver. He then took advantage of Rosberg cutting the chicane to overtake the Mercedes on the outside of turn one, before slipstreaming past Massa on the same lap. That left him free to collect another place when Vettel pitted and finally passed Alonso for his second podium finish of the year – at a track where he hadn’t raced before.

Daniel Ricciardo – Comfortably out-qualified his team mate but couldn’t make much progress despite a good start. Lost time with a late spin but probably wouldn’t have caught Hulkenberg and Maldonado anyway.
Jean-Eric Vergne – Said the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was his favourite track when playing the F1 video game, but seemed to find the real thing a tougher proposition. Was out-qualified by both Caterhams and picked up a drive-through penalty after “some sort of problem with the pit lane speed limiter”. Despite all that, he still finished five seconds ahead of Button.

Pastor Maldonado – Crashed at the end of Q2 while on a lap which probably would have put him in the top ten. Another gearbox change penalty dropped him to 22nd – his third start from the back two rows in the last four races. Couldn’t get past the Toro Rossos until they made their second pit stops and finished the race pressuring Hulkenberg for 12th.
Bruno Senna – Lost out to Kovalainen at the start then lost three places on the fifth lap, falling to 19th. Ran a long second stint on the soft tyres but his pace on those wasn’t much better and he finished over 50 seconds behind his team mate.

Heikki Kovalainen – Ran in front of Senna’s Williams early on but dropped behind after his second pit stop. Was disappointed with the car’s pace during the race.
Vitaly Petrov – Stayed in close contention with his team mate all race, finishing five seconds behind.

Pedro de la Rosa – Out-qualified both Marussias for the first time this year but retired on lap 25 with brake trouble.
Narain Karthikeyan – Retired two laps before his team mate with the same problem.

Timo Glock – Struggled in the race with a loss of power, high tyre degradation and finally a brake problem which put him out.
Charles Pic – His nearest opponents all dropped out with brake trouble leaving him to finish two minutes behind the Caterhams.

Qualifying and race results summary

StartedGap to team mateLaps leading team matePittedFinishedGap to team mate
Sebastian Vettel1st-0.562s69/7024th-7.79s
Mark Webber4th+0.562s1/7027th+7.79s
Jenson Button10th+1.095s0/69316thNot on same lap
Lewis Hamilton2nd-1.095s69/6921stNot on same lap
Fernando Alonso3rd-0.314s70/7015th-11.861s
Felipe Massa6th+0.314s0/70210th+11.861s
Michael Schumacher9th+0.401s0/432
Nico Rosberg5th-0.401s43/4326th
Kimi Raikkonen12th+0.107s19/7018th+13.054s
Romain Grosjean7th-0.107s51/7012nd-13.054s
Paul di Resta8th-0.109s62/70211th-8.543s
Nico Hulkenberg13th+0.109s8/70212th+8.543s
Kamui Kobayashi11th-0.468s23/7019th+19.172s
Sergio Perez15th+0.468s47/7013rd-19.172s
Daniel Ricciardo14th-1.05s57/69214thNot on same lap
Jean-Eric Vergne19th+1.05s12/69215thNot on same lap
Pastor Maldonado22nd+0.061s65/69113thNot on same lap
Bruno Senna16th-0.061s4/69117thNot on same lap
Heikki Kovalainen17th-0.219s66/69218th-4.597s
Vitaly Petrov18th+0.219s3/69219th+4.597s
Pedro de la Rosa20th-0.838s22/220
Narain Karthikeyan24th+0.838s0/220
Timo Glock21st-0.354s20/561
Charles Pic23rd+0.354s36/56120th

Review the race data

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job this weekend?

Cast your vote below and explain your choice in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend?

  • Charles Pic (0%)
  • Timo Glock (0%)
  • Pedro de la Rosa (1%)
  • Narain Karthikeyan (0%)
  • Vitaly Petrov (0%)
  • Heikki Kovalainen (0%)
  • Bruno Senna (0%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (0%)
  • Jean-Eric Vergne (0%)
  • Daniel Ricciardo (0%)
  • Sergio Perez (19%)
  • Kamui Kobayashi (0%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Paul di Resta (0%)
  • Romain Grosjean (15%)
  • Kimi Raikkonen (0%)
  • Nico Rosberg (0%)
  • Michael Schumacher (0%)
  • Felipe Massa (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (3%)
  • Jenson Button (0%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (59%)
  • Mark Webber (0%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (1%)

Total Voters: 735

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2012 Canadian Grand Prix

    Browse all 2012 Canadian Grand Prix articles

    Images © Red Bull/Getty images, Mrcedes/Hoch Zwei, Sauber F1 Team

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    117 comments on “Vote for your Canadian GP driver of the weekend”

    1. Hamilton. Was quick all weekend, kept his composure whereas last year he might have got a bit frustrated when Alonso and Vettel didn’t pit, and when you consider the lack of pace Button’s had over the last three or four races he is driving really well.

      1. agreed, over the weekend Hamilton has looked strong, and during the race he seemed to be on it from lights out. Grosjean and Perez had great races to with some great tyre management. Not the best race but well deserved to Hamilton

        1. Lewis was on it. Plus, I see the young man who dazzled the world of F1 in 2007 back again. Fast, few errors and full of grace.

          However, Grojean is my driver of the weekend. Great late effort on Saturday to reach Q3 and make his ambitious strategy work to beat both Ferrari and Red Bull on similar strategy, thumbs up!

      2. Right, and Lewis actually had to race for his result rather than circulate at a tyre saving delta. Felt like giving Schui a sympathy vote.

      3. If im not wrong I heard Paddy Lowe also saying that Jenson Button got the same car as Hamilton had the race, because they couldn’t collect much data they used Hamilton’s data and an equal setup, that just shows you the difference between them to be honest.

        1. A setup is like a pair of well worn shoes. They are never going to comfortably fit another person. Considering HOW different Button and Lewis drive, Lewis’s setup is NEVER going to suit Button and therefore gain him no benefits whatsoever.

          So if you believe that Button should have performed equally as well as Hamilton on Hamilton’s setup then you know nothing about F1.

          Button spent almost all of P1 and P2 in the garage waiting for his car to be ready. This gave him no time to set the car up effectively to suit HIS style of driving.

          1. couldn’t agree more.

            iirc lewis prefers the back end to move about whereas jenson likes it neutral / understeery.

    2. A tough choice between Grosjean and Hamilton. Hamilton had a great weekend, was quick in practice, didn’t quite have Vettel’s pace for pole, but drove a superb race despite some pitstop problems to take the win. Grosjean had never driven at the track before, and while Kimi had a problem in qualifying, Grosjean still looked as though he had the measure of Kimi in the practice sessions. He was able to keep life in his tyres and make a one stop strategy work, finishing only a little bit behind Hamilton, in his (almost) rookie season, at a track he’d never raced at before, and convincingly beating his world champion team mate.

      Well, after typing that all out I think I’ve convinced myself, my vote goes to Grosjean.

      1. in his (almost) rookie season

        Is there “Most Improved Player” award? Despite some races ending to early, comparing to his first attempt at Renault, Mr Grojean is much better.

        1. @jcost : At the end he is probably the most impressive come back of the three (the 2 others being Raikonnen ans Schumacher), we always speak about the other 2 because they won championship but what a desastrous apparence Grosjean made before, even if he had some crashes this year and doesn’t totally looks in total comfort it is not the same as Maldona or Senna destroying cars because they pay for it (kind of)

          He will surely figure in the top 5 of the Championship by the end (if Lotus stay as competitive as now) … We don’t hear him a lot on radio, would be curious to know which kind of message are exchanged

          1. Jayfreese (@)
            11th June 2012, 19:54

            Nothing more to say, completly agree with both of your comments :)

          2. He probably doesn’t say much, he’s too busy smiling like a madman in his helmet…

    3. Hamilton drove extremely well, his excellence seems to know no bounds this year. However, Perez has to win it this weekend I think – up 12 places on a 1-stop strategy when most other 1-stoppers struggled is just a fantastic drive.

      1. Even if Perez and Grosjean have driven superb races, still feel Hamilton deserve it as the other two have been handed places on the podium (they probably wouldn’t get if Alonso and Vettel didn’t try to outsmart Hamilton).
        They would have gained it by themselves, my vote would have probably been different, but as it is, sticking with Hamilton

        1. Totally agree with you, but do not forget that Sauber is a car of half board, and could hold off Webber, when he was over 35 laps and Webber only 5 turns, also just as Rosberg was the fastest on the track, Perez remained stuck to it, and started to sets records of fastest laps with more worn tires. I think that any of the 3 was the best, Just an amazing race.

    4. Great job by Lewis Hamilton, he had it won quite comfortably in the end. Managed his race brilliantly, didn’t get flustered with the minor pit lane scares or with the team calling the strategy of the other cars wrong. Perez and Grosjean did superb races as well, and how Perez was still setting fastest laps at the end of an epic stint on the super soft tyres was just incredible, but his qualifying was so so.

      I’m actually voting for Pedro De La Rosa though. He did a great job outqualifying the Marussias and was running nicely ahead of them in the race before the brake issues.

      1. Great shout for De La Rosa. I hadn’t actually noticed what he had achieved before reading your comment. Ok qualifying was good but actually being able to stay ahead of the Marussias in the race is very positive for HRT.

      2. I also came to the conclusion, that I will have to vote for Pedro there @Dan-thorn, he really did a great job to show that we should never count any team out to fight for all they have got.

        Agree with what you mention about Hamilton as well, it was nice to see he seemed to pick up on the communication with the team to make sure he knows what’s going on. I also think Vettel was really good this weekend, right on it in qualifying and good call from his team to admit the loss and pit to pass Alonso in the end.

        Second on my list would be Grosjean, who outqualified his teammate again, did lose places, but not his wing or complete car at the start and did a wonderfull job to get into second. Perez was good for some nice overtakes, just as he had done in Monaco, also a driver I am getting a good feeling about.

        Massa – it was good to see him fighting and not being satisfied with the result, and even annoyed at himself for that spin, because he knows he might have been right in the mix with Vettel and Alonso at the end.

      3. I voted De La Rosa, was strong in practice too, really did well the whole weekend. But last I looked we’re out-numbered by the Charles Pic ironic vote…

    5. Also a shout out to Perez, Vettel and Alonso who drove fantastically as well.

      1. The more I think about how much pace Hamilton had over Alonso and Vettel yesterday the more impressive Vettel’s pole lap becomes. He arguably had the third fastest car but stuck it on pole by over 3 tenths away from the faster McLaren.

        1. ^^ This

        2. or you could also say that Hamilton beat Vettel who was 3 tenths faster?

          1. @blackmamba assuming quali and race pace are relatively similar, then either Hamilton shouldn’t have been 3 tenths slower in qualifying, or Vettel should’ve been quicker in the race.

            Contrary to what people believe, it’s easier to make a difference in qualifying, by immediately being able to translate feel into pace. That’s why people always regard the wet as a good judge of a driver – because in rain, the track is either getting wetter (still raining) or drying (no longer raining) – It’s very rare you get the rain to equal the amount of water the tyres are clearing – and so those drivers with better confidence and feel are better able to shine, given that corner by corner, lap by lap grip levels are changing. There is less chance to “build a rhythm” in the wet. As is the case in qualifying.

            In a race situation the drivers all have a chance to build up to a rhythm – which in turn allows all of them to go closer to the maximum, and hence the pecking order will gravitate towards the cars rather than the drivers making the difference.

            In the age of these Pirellis it’s doubly so – for a slower car to match the laptimes of a faster car they will need to be closer to the limit for longer, and you will burn out your tyres quicker. Working towards a target pitting lap constrains each car to their own set laptimes.

            Take for example Car A and Car B. Car A is only 80% as quick as Car B. For the two to lap the same, then Car B would be pushing at only 80% while Car A is constantly at 100% – Car A will naturally fry the tyres more.

            It’s like asking someone to produce a miracle 1 time, versus asking them to produce the same miracle 70 times. Which is harder?

            I’m more inclined to go with @f1fannl on this.

            1. Rohan (@neobrainless)
              12th June 2012, 10:33

              I have to disagree, as others have said, you can set a car up fir single lap speed as Red Bull did, or bias towards race pace as Maren did. In which case Hamilton being second on the grid and within 3 tenths was pretty impressive…

        3. Qualifying and race pace are usually a compromise. If you noticed, McLaren have actually toned down Lewis’ qualifying pace for more race pace as earlier in the season that was their main problem. When I saw LH not on pole my 1st thought was that he will win.

          1. You’re absolutely right. Its a compromise. I think Vettel and Hamilton both go all out in qualifying at every grand prix, leaving nothing in reserve, but being faster on low fuel does not mean you’ll be faster when fueled for the race.

        4. I think Vettels Q pace was more to do with the RB getting its tyres upto temp over one run. Good for Q pace, bad for race deg.

    6. If it was driver of the race I’d say Perez, but since it’s driver of the weekend, got to go with Hamilton.

      Looked fast all of Friday, and although Red Bull and Ferrari looked the faster cars on Saturday, still pulled out a good lap to qualify 2nd. In the race he pushed when he needed to, made his tyres and strategy work. He also seemed to drive with his head, asking team for info on others and not rushing his moves on Vettel and Alonso at the end, knowing he had the time and pace he was patient and picked them off at the right moment. Apart from the slow getaways for his pit-stops (which may or may not be his fault) he had pretty much a flawless weekend.

      1. Perez was easily driver of the day. He’s becoming a superstar. How on earth did he make the supersofts last for so long and remain so quick. He’s an incredible talent.

        Driver of the Weekend though is a lot closer.

        1. I can’t believe Perez has 2 podiums before Kobayashi’s had one! Anyway, I believe Sergio, who is only 22, could very well be the next big thing.

          1. Agreed. Due to other commitments I’ve only just watched this race and I couldn’t believe the times Perez was banging out. Also kudos to Hamilton who seems to have relaxed and become very likeable in his interviews this year, as well as driving like a champ.

    7. Hamilton, without a doubt.

      He was flawless all weekend but crucially, when it mattered the most, he was impeccable. He fought against two ropey pit-stops as well as an unexpected Vettel and Alonso who were meant to pit again, according to the McLaren pit wall. He kept his cool, even when setting purple sectors, knew he had a job to do and delivered. Easy the best race victory and race management I’ve seen from him. A very mature drive, fantastic.

      Mentions for Perez and Grosjean too. Deserved podiums and a demonstration from Perez of how to look after your tyres once again.

      Oh and Massa, well done! Aside from his spin he looked hungry and feisty. Keep it up!

      1. This comment sums it up for me.

        1. Exactly what I thought.. great call by Mclaren to pit lewis when they did! If not I’m pretty sure that would have been Grosjean’s race. Gutted for Kimi was really hoping he’d do much better the same goes for Jenson. never mind..

          Well done Mclaren :)

          1. What’s wrong with Jenson? He’s like early season Massa, miles away from his teammate for some reason he (and McLaren) can’t explain.

            1. I don’t know but it’s not doing himself or the team any favours :\

              Hope he can snap out of it soon and haul in more points for the team.. surly we can’t allow RedBull a 3rd title in a row!

            2. It’s not Jenson, it’s Jenson and the car. I think he has an engineer problem. Either the race engineer and/or his engineer are missing something associated with the setup of that car.
              He is trying to race with a car that is too buggy to compete. They will get it worked out and he will be competitive again.
              However he won’t be able to compete with Hamilton without some help from Whitmarsh.

    8. I was tempted to say Hamilton, but on overall performance above and beyond the car and tyres capabilities – it would have to be Grosjean. Quick in qualifying, and despite single-stopping and going longer than Alonso managed to keep the tyres together well enough to be right behind Hamilton, and almost challenging him at the end.

      It’s difficult to decide between the two, but at the end of the day, I think Grosjean got more out of the Lotus, comparatively, than Hamilton did out of the Mclaren (They were both 110% performances, but I think the Mclaren was already at 95%, whereas the Lotus was more like 90-92%).

      1. I enjoyed seeing Hamilton on top because his performance in previous 6 weekends lacked a win and he deserved it but my DOW is Grojean too.

        I wonder were should he be without his “first lap woes”

      2. To be honest, while Grosjean and Perez had awesome drives (and would have still been impressive if they finished 4th/5th), i think the reason Alonso/Vettels one stop didnt work and theirs did, was because Alonso and Vettel were going into the race with the mind-set of 2 stopping, only to change to a one stop during the race once it unfolded. They would have used more of their tyre life early in the 2nd stint, pushing to stay with Lewis, only to find they’d used to much of the tyre performance by the end of the race. Where as Perez/Grosjean may have gone into the race expecting to one stop, and therefore drove their cars/tyres in the appropriate manner, keeping performance in them for the end of the race.

        I think they ‘lucked’ their way into 2nd/3rd because Ferrari and Redbull where too indecisive on strategy. This is not to take away from Perez/Gro, they still drove impeccibly, but i think the podiums where a bit of a gift.

        On this basis Hamilton still gets drive of the day for me, as he took the race by the scruff and made it work, which always has to be held in higher regard than one stopping and looking after tyres.

    9. I’ve gone for Lewis.

      Fastest on Friday, still not far away in the hotter conditions on Saturday and near faultless on Sunday. He lost time in the pits, due to anti-stall as well a sticky rear wheel, but it didn’t stop him from being at his absolute best. Last year, he might have faded after seeing Vettel and Alonso stay out, but he was on it all race and took a deserved victory. Also he, correctly, second-guessed the McLaren pit wall in relation to Vettel and Alonso’s strategies. Showing he can use his head as well as his raw speed to win races.

      If it was driver of the race, I’d have voted for Perez, narrowly over Grosjean. 15th to 3rd is a great drive, and he arguably managed his tyres better than anyone else on the track.

      1. I Love the Pope
        11th June 2012, 13:52

        I give a hat-tip to Perez as well. 15th to 3rd is quite surprising. Ferrari, take note.

    10. I Love the Pope
      11th June 2012, 13:51

      Right up to the point where Ferrari gambled, I had Alonso as the driver of the weekend. No one has gotten more out of their car than Alonso this year. The guy is incredible – while his teammate cannot keep the car on the track, he runs as high as P1.

      But those closing laps by Lewis were simply remarkable. Like Vettel’s special effort for pole, Hamilton’s scorching drive through the front runners makes him the driver of the weekend.

    11. A brilliant drive from Hamilton. He was quick all weekend, faultless from lights to flag and he showed maturity when he realised that Alonso & Vettel were one stopping. Clean overtaking and great tyre/fuel management. Probably one of his most complete drives to date. Watch out the rest of the field. This win will give Lewis added confidence and belief. McLaren now need to match him in all areas if they are going to be at the top when the curtain comes down in Brazil. C’mon Martin Whitmarsh…………….crack that whip.

    12. Driver of the weekend I believe, should be changed to driver of the race.
      For the weekend it’s Hamilton, flawless
      For the race Ham, Gro or Perez.. Stella drive by Lewis, showed great focus and mental strength. Smart drive by Grosjean and Ballsy drive by Perez 15th to 3rd and only one of those cars between retired.

      1. and no safety cars to aid his (Perez) progress either.

    13. Obviously a choice between Lewis, Grosjean & Perez.
      I had to go for Lewis despite my preference to go for those that fight through the field.

      1. Yeah, any of those three would be a deserving winner. I wonder if the top three in this vote will mirror the podium places of the actual race?

        I have to give it to Hamilton. He drove just about flawlessly to take the victory and a lead in the drivers’ championship, which is a just reward for the calmness and consistency he has showed so far this year when things haven’t been going his way. I was quite skeptical going into this season when he said he had turned things around, but the result in Canada proves it beyond any doubt.

    14. Without doubts the driver of the weekend is Felipe Massa – the only driver who cared for fans and did a doughnut for them while others were racing indifferently caring only about their results.

      1. LMAO. Felipe’s quite the accidental showman

      2. @klaas
        HAHAHAHA good one! : )

      3. In that case, you should at least give a shoutout for Maldonado doing a donut on the start-finish straight instead of just doing a boring quick lap

      4. @klass Plus well done to HRT for bringing some smoke to the show!

    15. It’s hard to choose between Hamilton, Grosjean and Perez. Hamilton was in a different race to Grosjean and Perez really, and all three had challenging phases in the race before reaching the podium. Credit has to be given to Hamilton for making a two stop strategy work as it did. Grosjean and Perez showed that really the one stop strategy ought to have been the better one to be on. Hamilton must have driven his socks off!

      Having said that, if the race was a couple of laps longer, Grosjean might have caught Hamilton and possibly overtaken. Of course, Hamilton may have been going relatively slower in the last few laps to save fuel and save a little life in the tyres just in case, but if we’re to assume that this isnt the case, Grosjean must be wondering how long it will be before he’s standing tall on the podium.

      Also hats off to Perez for making it to the podium. He’s really underlining his credentials as a future star for a top team. People are touting him to join Ferrari, but let’s wait and see on that one. If he joins Ferrari tomorrow, his results wont transfer accross straight away, we’d probably expect him to slip a bit before coming on song later (Fisichella in 2009 comes to mind). Also, his style may not be suited to the current Ferrari car. Having said that, he did himself proud yesterday and must be wondering if it’ll be long before he progresses up the grid.

      A quick well done for Alonso too, for keeping it on the black stuff and in the right direction (for the most part) when his tyres were causing him to slide and oversteer out of every corner.

      A great race overall and unfortunately I dont think I can pick a driver of the day.

    16. I feel a bit guilty about doubting Hamilton in the pre-race analysis, but it seemed even he expected Vettel to drive off on the horizon. My vote is for him although it is difficult to compare his drive to those of Perez and Grosjean. The McLaren was probably the faster car, but the Lotus and the Sauber seemed kinder on their tyres. All of them drove fantastic stints.

      What made me vote Hamilton is the way he drove around the pit stops, very similar to Nurburgring last year: he jumped Vettel in the pits and then held him off when Vettel’s tyres were up to temperature, then when Alonso jumped him he got the place back the same lap (although his DRS-assisted pass of yesterday cannot compare to his move on the outside of Alonso in turn 2 at the German GP last year). Again after his second stop, he was up to speed very quickly, first setting some very fast laps, then more calmly reeling Vettel and Alonso in when it became obvious they were not going to stop.

    17. Although this is the Hamilton I like to see, but when asked about this race a year from now I’ll remember Grosjean and Perez…

      So my vote goes to Perez for doing everything so perfect.

    18. A reporter in one of India’s top news channels: “Lewis Hamilton wins in Canada ahead of Alonso”…..Pretty much sums up F1 coverage in India!

      1. “Lewis Hamilton wins in Canada well ahead of Alonso” would be a bit more appropriate…

      2. Well technically they’re not wrong.

    19. Very difficult to choose between any of the podium scorers. I think I might just have to vote for Hamilton for doing everything he could to win. Perez was outqualified by his team mate.

    20. Even though it’s a three way split between Hamilton, Grosjean and Perez, went for Perez.

      Hamilton was without doubt the one to follow all weekend and put on a great performance all in all, but Perez driving a different race to Hamilton’s and managing to brilliantly salvage a poor quali session in an enjoyable to watch style weighs a lot in my opinion. Maybe just as much as Lewis’ win.

    21. I think that clearly Perez is the driver of the weekend. Despite qualifying just 15th he drove an outstanding race in pace and mastered his tyres very well. Being able to lap in 1″16.4 on the 67th lap to me says it all (.6 fastest then Hamilton´s best lap who had fresher tyres).
      In second place Grosjean, who did what Vettel and Alonso tried and failed.
      In 3rd Hamilton who drove a flawless race and was very quick all weekend long.

      1. It’s driver of the weekend though, not just the race, so Perez perhaps shouldn’t have qualified so poorly in the first place ;)

        Or did he have a problem on Saturday?

        1. Yes you´re right Perez didn´t do as much as he could in qualification but his performance in the race I believe that trully compensated. And as drivers say on Saturday “points are given on Sunday afternoon” – it´s when it matters the most.

      2. Bear in mind though that by the time Perez delivered that lap, Lewis was already leading. Perez was also on super softs that hadn’t been on for that long a time, so the fact that he was faster is no surprise with Lewis cruising and on the slower tyres.

        1. I think that Perez stopped around lap 41 so those supersoft had 26 laps on when he pulled that, in my opinion, excellent lap. Hamilton stopped on lap 50 though he put on soft tyres. It´s true also, as you say, by then Hamilton didn´t need to push, he had the race controlled, but a few laps earlier he was pushing as hard has he could and the best he did was 1″17 flat.

          1. Yeah as you say, a few laps earlier he did that time. 4 tenths faster after a couple of laps sounds reasonable to me, Hamilton could have done that time on the slower tyre no problem. He just didn’t need to.

    22. Missed the race so I can’t comment. But the tyres seem to bee the great equalizer in all the races we’ve seen thus far, hence a trophy should be given to tyre manufactures as well. Problem is that there is only one. We are this far into the season and no team or driver is really dominant neither in the drivers or constructors companionship. I know that tyre wars are a sore point for some, but I say let’s open it up. Let each team wear the rubber that suits them best. I’d expect no less from a brothel n Amsterdam!

    23. As I’m now used to doing, I was thinking who to nominate DotW, and whilst Alonso or Vettel were looking like the most likely winners I was thinking of picking Hamilton. He absolutely excelled during the weekend, and overshadowed (the still great) Alonso and Vettel. Perez and Grosjean also deserve a shout-out.

    24. I think it was pretty easy for me to decide my vote: Lewis Hamilton. Over the weekend he looked fantastic. He never looked outclassed apart from by Vettel in qualifying, which was a great lap as expected.

      I’m really impressed with Hamilton this season as he is really thinking about the long game rather than trying to make ‘the big overtake’ and possibly ruin his race. It takes a lot of a driver to hold back and wait for the right moment to attack which is what I thought Hamilton displayed during this race and also so far this season.

      What makes his performance even more impressive is his comparison to Button who was struggling driving around at the back of the field.

      Noteable mentions must go to both Grosjean and Perez who made Alonso and Vettel look bad towards the end of the race even though they tried the same strategy.

    25. Lewis Hamilton got my vote. His final stint was superb!

    26. I’m going for Hamilton. He was fast straight from the off like he has been all year, overcame the car’s struggles in quali to snatch a second place the Ferrari probably should have had, then to top it all off he delivers a stunning win. I was so happy when he was reeling in Fernando and Seb because it’s not often we get to see drivers pumping in fastest lap after fastest lap, completely on the limit this year. His first few corners after the second pitstop were epic to watch, the tail was dancing and he was flicking it in to all the corners with so much confidence. A classic Lewis Hamilton race, it just belonged to him the minute he started hunting Vettel down in the first stint.
      Bit disappointed for Fernando, I wanted him behind Lewis but on the podium and ahead of Sebastian. Still it was great to hear him say he was happy with the strategy because it was the only chance they had of winning, top champion.
      The other drivers really need to figure out how Seb blasts away like he does at the start, it’s every single time and in races where they’re all virtually even, those vital seconds could cost them a lot of points.
      Top three in the championship: Lewis, Fernando, Sebastian. The cream really does rise to the top.

    27. I´m going with Hamilton as the driver of the weekend but for the race itself i´m going the Perez because he started from 15th and ended up 3th only a few seconds from the first two.
      I couldn´t believe how fast he was in the last 1/3 of the race, only Vettel was faster because he had fresh super soft tyres. Grojean made a great race too.

    28. Top 3 deserve it but ham for the victory.

    29. I really do not understand why people think Hamilton was the best driver. He wasn’t quickest on Saturday, as he should have been. On sunday he did win the race, but that had more to do with conserving the tyres for the first pit stop, which promoted him to first. Then his rivals screwed up in the final 20 laps, which meant Lewis was handed the victory quite easily.

      If you just look at where Perez and Grosjean come from! They conserved the tyres perfectly, in contrast to Alonso, Vettel and even tyre-yoda Button. They did an exceptional job, whereas Hamilton did a great job. I eventually voted Perez just because he started from 11th and finished 3rd, something we haven’t seen a lot in recent races. Special mention goes to the Caterhams, who finished just 15s behind Senna (on merit this time!).

      1. I agree entirely. And Perez came from 15th even.

        Hamilton drove a strong race but he had the best car this weekend. I don’t know if McLaren opted to sacrifice a little quali speed so they could have a strong race but after the first stops Hamilton easily gained 3 tenths a lap on Alonso and Vettel.
        I think McLaren’s (and Hamilton’s) mistakes in previous races have blinded people to the fact that the McLaren is (overall) the best car on the grid. Hamilton is only now doing what he should have been doing in the first few races. Hamilton hasn’t finished qualifying outside the top 3 yet this year. He should be leading the championship by a considerable margin, instead it’s 2 points on Alonso and 3 on Vettel.

        1. Whoops little typo concerning Perez’ starting position!

      2. Why should Ham have been quickest on Saturday? Redbull clearly went with gear ratios that suited hot lapping, and their car typically suits warmer temps over the Mclaren. (see Bahrain)

        Hamilton had to make that race work, he didnt win by driving around to a delta, looking after tyres.

        Perez and Grosjean where awesome, but at the end of the day, taking race into your own hands and going gung-ho for the win surly has to out-weight cruising around looking after tyres for 50 laps.

        1. I disagree entirely. Hamilton had one of the quickest cars on Sunday along with Vettel and Alonso, but they messed up and practically handed Lewis victory.
          So it was the race strategy that eventually made Lewis victor, so I guess McLaren should be praised for having the best strategy for this race (I’m not saying Lewis wasn’t awesome). But you’ve got to give credits to Perez and Grosjean for going from nowhere to a spot on the podium!

          1. The right strategy did win it, but your looking at it retrospectivly.

            From Lewis point of view, at the time in the race, we where all under the presumtion that the top runners were all 2 stopping, so he had to take the win into his own hands by taking 1st place on track from Alonso after the first pits. This is what forced RB and Ferrari into trying something alternate. I dont think Ferrari and RB went into that race with a one stopper in mind, i think it came about as a result of Lewis taking first from Alonso.

    30. Perez’ race performance makes up for his weekend until then. So I went for Perez. Hamilton and Grosjean also did very well.

    31. Between Hamilton and Perez for me, Perez for that great, opportunistic pass, but Hamilton takes it for me with the blistering, unrelenting pace he kept up whilst frequently asking the team for updates on his rivals (something that lost him places in Monaco).

      Agreed though that the top three all put in drives fit for champions.

    32. I think it can only be Hamilton. Fastest in a couple of practise session’s, fastest in the race, caught and passed 2, 2time WDC’s on the way to winning the race.

    33. Hamilton was in rare form and delivered a brilliant drive. Also, Gro and Per getting to the podium as Canadian GP rookies was very impressive.

      However, I need to understand why we keep talking about Schumi’s “bad luck”. To finish two out of seven races for a total of 2 points is not simply luck – it is a pattern of poor performance. Hamilton has faced some bad luck (bad pit stops, misguided directives from his team) but has put himself at the top of the WDC standings. I don’t understand why Brawn is apologizing to Schumi and why the fans/media are so eager to sugarcoat his embarrassing performances.

      1. I Love the Pope
        11th June 2012, 20:26

        Well, okay, but what could he do with a broken DRS? Take flight?

        Has he made his own life difficult this year? Sure. But not every single thing was his fault either.

        1. Fair enough – mechanical failures happen and I don’t mean to suggest that everything is Schumi’s fault. I just don’t understand why much of the coverage of his season has been apologetic at the expense of being candid or realistic.

      2. I’m sorry, but have you just blatantly ignored what’s happened to Shuey this season to justify your silly statement. He’s barely put a foot wrong for christ’s sake.
        Aus – Great qualifying, gearbox failiure loses him 3rd. Not his fault.
        Mal – Great qualifying, Grosjean smacks him to the back but he still claws his way up to tenth ahead of his team mate. Not his fault.
        Chi – Good qualifying, sat in second when pit stop mistake retires him. Not his fault.
        Bah – DRS failiure in qualifying puts him at the back, claws his way up to tenth. Not his fault.
        Spa – Ok qualifying, makes a silly mistake and crashes in to Senna. His fault but his first, and only mistake.
        Mon – Pole position, brilliant. Penalty from last race puts him back, then car fails once more. Not his fault.
        Can – Team send him out too late in qualifying, starts 9th. DRS fails in the race and he retires. Not his fault.
        You’re wrong, it’s pretty much all bad luck and team mistakes. He deserves the sympathy.

        1. +1
          He’s had only one really bad weekend in Spain, but all the top runners have had at least one:
          -Hamilton: Bahrain and Spain
          -Alonso: China
          -Vettel: Malaysia
          -Webber: Spain
          -Rosberg: Australia and Malaysia

        2. It would be silly to suggest that Schumi is unfit to race in F1 or that his poor/embarrassing results are his fault alone but the fact remains that Schumi and Mercedes are not delivering. The baffled and apologetic quotes coming out from Merc don’t make it better… as the gap in results between Schumi and Rosberg grows it will only fuel speculation regarding Schumi’s future with Merc and/or F1.

    34. My heart says Perez but my head says Hamilton. He was on it all weekend, qualified 2nd when the car was least competitve and drove a faultless race for the win. Him and the team having faith in the 2-stop strategy was the key to a very good win.

    35. I Love the Pope
      11th June 2012, 20:22

      I have to say that, prior to his ride’s almost-inevitable failure, Pedro De La Rosa was actually doing pretty well with his HRT, keeping ahead of the Marussias for qualifying, and battling them in the race.

      Not driver of the weekend honors, but still, not bad for an old guy!

      1. +1 he was looking sharp

    36. PEREZ 15th to 3rd , with **** car , nuff said

      1. How is it a **** car? It’s finished on the podium twice and through most races is on a par with the leading lot. It’s the Sauber driver’s inconsistency that’s making it look bad.

    37. While Hamilton drove a great race it has to be Sergio Perez as he came from 15th from both a brilliant strategy and driving that Sauber to its limits.

    38. I couldn’t choose between the top three, so went for Button, oh no wait, my fat finger on the itouch hit Button and not Hamilton. Oh well.

    39. There can only be 3 guys for it in my opinion.. The 3 podium finishers… Vettel and Alonso both made a mistake risking the strategy.. Hamilton played an absolute blinder in that last stint to make up the pitstop, can’t be happier for him. Grosjean and Perez also 1 stopped but made it work.. (I think, did Grosjean 1 stop?)
      For being the only guy who I’m certain 1 stopped, made it work, and got the best out of his car this time around (unlike Malaysia where he was told to back out) I’ve gone for Perez..

      And although I know this is a British site with lots of Hamilton supporters, I do fully believe he earned this race win. Not just with his performance on Sunday, but throughout most of the year.. I actually felt happy for him for the first time in a while…

    40. Easy poll.

    41. Hamilton was quick all weekend in a McLaren. But Grosjean came out of nowhere to keep the tires alive and get a 2nd place in the Lotus. My vote goes to him with Perez a close second.

    42. I voted for Perez. Hamilton was incredibly good. But starting from 15th and finishing 3rd on a track you’ve never raced before is astounding.

      1. Whatever Montezemolo says to the contrary (regarding inexperience), I won’t be surprised at all if Ferrari replace Massa with this guy at the end of this season.

    43. For me the driver of the weekend was Hamilton.

      Perez had a great race on Sunday, but given his pace he should have qualified higher then 15th unless he had a problem. Grosjean also had a great weekend for him on his first visit to Montreal, qualifying well and finishing 2nd in the race, but I think Alonso and Vettel may have stayed ahead had they went with 2 stops like Hamilton.

      Hamilton was on it all weekend, fastest in p1 and p2, qualifying 2nd behind qualifying king Vettel, and then he had an excellent race on Sunday to round off his weekend.

    44. Button is the new Massa

    45. Lewis. Easily.

    46. Very easy and obvious, it is Hamilton. Canada 2012 reminds me of Germany 2011 where Hamilton, Alonso and a Redbull were so close and fighting all race and Hamilton came out on top and with some stylish moves on Redbull of Mark Webber and Alonso. When cars are closer pace wise, best drivers rise to to the top and we have seen Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel again fighting for the top position. I also believe the trio were very equally matched on Sunday pace wise and it is wrong to suggest Hamilton was faster, it is just that Alonso and Vettel were thinking of doing 1 stop and so were not pushing as much as Hamilton, meanwhile Hamilton’s strategy was clear all race that he will do a 2 stopper and so took everything out of the tyres in the stints. Great Great job Hamilton and he proves again and again in China 2011, Germany 2011 and now Canada 2011 that he is one of the very few who are capable of such stylish wins.

    47. My top three drivers of the weekend were the three drivers on the podium Hamilton, Grosjean and Perez, but which order to rank them?

      We all know how good Hamilton at Montreal, the only real surprise to me was that he wasn’t closer to Vettel in qualifying. I know some have said it was inevitable that Hamilton would catch and pass Alonso and Vettel when it became obvious what was happening on the strategy side, but he still had to it.

      Ideally that is similar to how I would like the tyres to be overall, but a bit closer at the end, nurse the tyres on a one stop or have an extra stop and go flat out.

      Grosjean out qualified Raikkonen, although Raikkonen did have car problems in qualifying, and had an impressive race, I didn’t realise until the post race analysis that he only did one stop the way he caught Alonso and Vettel, I assumed he was on the same strategy as Hamilton and the second stop just hadn’t been included in the BBC highlights.

      The fact that Perez managed to make the one stop work doesn’t surprise me as he has form in this area, and while he put in a great performance during the race I don’t think his qualifying was as good.

      In the end I chose Grosjean as my driver of the weekend, partly because his overall performance was the one I was most surprised by.

    48. Every team has strong and weak points. A driver and his engineer must have the wisdom to accept this and focus on both. Every racetrack is different. You can work the setup for every race, but there is a limit to it for every car. Perez worked all night with his team to overcome a terrible configuration that kept him out of Q3. Based on all the data they were able to collect, they fixed the setup and decided from the beginning to go for a one stop strategy. Alonso and Sebastian played it by ear, not by strategy. Taking all these elements into account, and considering what a mindset you need to have to start in the 15th and work your way one car at a time; managing his tires to give it all in the last laps, and achieve more than one fastest lap, my vote goes to Perez. The best driver is not the one that gets the most of the best car, but the one that recognizes its limitations. Perez played it with his brain for most of the race but had the guts when he needed to climb to 5th and made some risky moves.

    49. Well from where i was sitting with a great view of the hairpin, Perez was my guy for the weekend. He was the most aggressive at the braking point of anyone throughout the weekend and seemed to have the track well figured out. I was very impressed with how he was able to carry that car to the finish.
      Super happy for Lewis and Grosjean too.
      I couldn’t believe Seb and Alonso didn’t pit for the second time, it seemed to me that the way they were pushing that there was no way that those tires were going to make it all the way. Further, had they pitted there was a strong chance IMO that they could have got Lewis in the end as he was locking the left front at the entrance of the hairpin nearly every lap, that tire must have been totally buggered! Plus Vettel’s pace in Q3 showed that his car was better on low fuel.
      Ballsy move on the part of Ferrari and RB but the strategy still makes no sense to me…
      Oh and the HRT’s were definitely going to blow the brakes up, they were so red up front all weekend compared to everyone else. The front rotors looked smaller too???

      Such a wicked race, what a great weekend!!!

    50. Only Lewis!.-) Has to be him! Congrats for this brilliant win!

    51. Gotta be Hamilton. Finally his good qualifying pays off. It would be easy to pick Grosjean and Perez, but I believe being “kind” to your tires is at least 50% of what makes a good car this year, and in that respect, the Lotus and Sauber seem every bit as good as the McLaren.

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