Canadian Grand Prix Thoughts

The only adjective I can use to describe the Canadian GP is surreal. Every so often you get a race like this which defies description and serves up a heaping helping of the unexpected. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was the scene of such an event.

*****Spoiler Warning*****

Sato (Super Aguri-Honda) passed both the Ferrari of Kimi Raikonnen and the McLaren of Fernando Alonso. That sentence should give you an idea of what the world just witnessed in Canada. It was bananas!

Reigning two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso messed-up FOUR TIMES in the Turn 2-3 complex. Plus, he pitted when the pit lane was closed and had to serve a 10-second stop and go penalty.

Massa (or Ferrari?) did one worse and did not come in for their penalty. Black flag came out, Massa had to park it. Not a smart move when you are fighting for the Championship. Raikonnen had an underwhelming race as well, he was never a factor. The result was near disaster for the Scuderia, they have to recover at Indy and regain their momentum.

Did I mention that Lewis Hamilton drove a perfect race? He was utterly dominant and in control, this guy is the real deal. Oh yes, he is a rookie and never drove on this track before. I don't know what else to say other than young Mr. Hamilton is going to be one of the dominant drivers of his era. Raikonnen and Alonso are going to have to bring their A-game to beat him, he is the stuff.

I see shades of Piquet, Prost, Mansell, and Senna here. Four top drivers with a couple of decent up and comers (Kubica and Rosberg) in the wings. F1 has a bright future with these guys.

Speaking of Kubica, his crash was horrific but he should recover. Sebastian Vittel will take his place while he recovers but BMW should remain strong. Lest I forget to mention that Nick Heidfeld is the most underrated F1 driver out there. I have been saying this for years but now he is reminding the world that he has the skills. A win is in his future methinks.

Four safety car periods for a rash of wrecks is a new record for Canada. High speed track with low downforce and little/no runoff can produce a lot of flying carbon fibre... There were only twelve cars at the finish, which is a fair amount of attrition for F1 these days.

Wurtz did well to finish third and Kolvanien salvaged a horrid weekend with his run. I think others will be able to say it better than me, but this was certainly a memorable Grand Prix. There were a lot of errors made and it was an unpredictable race, which is good for the sport. You can't script this stuff after all.

*****Spoilers End*****

Now it is on to Indy for the USGP. I still think that Ferrari will have the upper hand at this event but McLaren and BMW should be up there as well. I think BMW could pull an upset if they can run a clean race because both of the top teams have shown moments of weakness this season. It should be another good race, I'll be watching.