Google+ Jack Leslie F1: 2015 Canadian Grand Prix Weekend Report

5 June 2015

2015 Canadian Grand Prix Weekend Report

The seventh round of the 2015 Formula 1 season took place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.
© Octane Photographic
It was the 46th running of the historic event, which first appeared on the F1 schedule in 1967, and followed a controversial Monaco Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton headed into the weekend with just a 10 point lead over his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the drivers' standings, after losing the Monaco win thanks to a Mercedes strategy error.

The Canadian Grand Prix is always one of the most popular races on the calendar, thanks to Montreal's warm atmosphere, the passionate fans and the challenging temporary street track.

FP1
It was a busy start to the first practice session, with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa first to emerge from their pit garages. Grip levels were low at the temporary circuit, while conditions were cool and overcast.
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Nico Rosberg set the opening timed lap with a 1:23.011, while Jenson Button was forced to pit with a gearbox issue, reporting that his car was stuck in second gear. He moved to the front and quickly decreased the benchmark to a 1:16.608 with one hour remaining. 

After two stints in the pit lane while his car was being repaired, Button was able to complete some useful running in the final 50 minutes of FP1. Conditions were extremely tricky, with lots of off-track excursions and spins. 

Hamilton ended practice one quickest with a 1:16.212, with Rosberg second and Romain Grosjean third. Nico Hulkenberg, Sebastian Vettel, Massa, Daniil Kvyat, Pastor Maldonado, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen completed the top 10.

FP2 
With rain set to arrive 30 minutes into the second session, it was a busy start to FP2. Teams attempted to make the most of the dry conditions before the wet weather arrived. Vettel was the first to emerge onto the circuit, on the super-soft Pirelli tyre.
© Octane Photographic

The German briefly held the fastest time before being displaced by Raikkonen. Hamilton switched to the option compound and jumped to the top of the timesheets, despite an early off-track excursion across the run-off area at the final chicane.

The rain arrived with 40 minutes remaining. Hamilton was quickest with a 1:15.988 and due to the wet weather intensifying as the session progressed, he stayed there by the chequered flag.

However, the two Mercedes drivers did emerge on the intermediate tyre mid-way through the session. Rosberg made it back to the pits but Hamilton aquaplaned off at the hairpin and hit the wall. Vettel and Raikkonen were second and third, with Rosberg fourth. Maldonado, Bottas and Grosjean were next up. Massa, Kvyat and Ricciardo rounded out the top 10. 

FP3
After rain limited running in second practice on Friday, it was a busy start to the third and final session on Saturday morning. Maldonado and Ricciardo were the first to take to the track, with plenty of practice starts being completed at the end of the pit lane.
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Ricciardo went off at Turn 1 but set the opening timed lap, putting in a 1:24.212. Vettel led the way with a 1:17.543 after the first 15 minutes of the session, while numerous drivers took to the run-off area at the final chicane.

The red flag emerged with 22 minutes remaining after Nasr lost the rear of his car on the back straight while weaving to warm up his tyres and hit the wall heavily. 

The session resumed with 11 minutes to go. Alonso emerged from his pit garage after an engine change delayed running, but the red flag appeared for the second time with six and a half minutes to go after Button stopped his car at the exit of Turn 7. 

Third practice did not continue. Rosberg was fastest with a 1:15.660 from Raikkonen, Grosjean, Bottas, Sergio Perez, Kvyat, Massa, Vettel and Carlos Sainz Jr. Maldonado completed the top 10, with Nasr, Button and Alonso 14th, 15th and 18th.

Qualifying
Q1
The first segment of qualifying saw the slowest five drivers eliminated from the fight for pole position. Only 19 cars took to the track, with Button failing to compete in the session after an ERS-related failure in practice three.
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Hamilton was the first out on track, followed by Roberto Merhi and Alonso. The Englishman set the opening timed lap with a 1:23.178. Times tumbled and Hamilton improved to a 1:15.895. Maldonado spun at Turn 2 but managed to continue, after a little bit of help from some marshals.

Vettel was forced to pit after his opening lap with a MGU-H problem. He emerged late in the session and went 16th with his first lap, but failed to improve on his second and was eliminated from qualifying in the first session. He was joined by Massa (who suffered power unit problems), Merhi, Will Stevens and Button. 

At the front, a flurry of lap times changed the order considerably. Grosjean was quickest, from Rosberg, Hamilton, Maldonado, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Verstappen. Ricciardo, Kvyat and Bottas completed the top 10.

Q2
Five drivers were also eliminated from the second segment of qualifying. Nasr was the first to return to the circuit, with Verstappen following the Sauber driver out. 
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Grosjean briefly led the way early on, before Raikkonen hit the front for Ferrari with a 1:15.602 on the super-soft tyre. The Mercedes duo then moved up to first and second, with Hamilton going 0.012 seconds clear of his team-mate.

Bottas displaced Raikkonen to go third fastest with three minutes remaining. He slipped to fifth by the chequered flag, with Hamilton finishing fastest from Rosberg, Grosjean and Raikkonen.

Behind the lead Williams driver, Maldonado, Hulkenberg, Kvyat, Perez and Ricciardo completed the top 10. Sainz Jr, Verstappen, Ericsson, Alonso and Nasr were all eliminated. 

Q3
12 minutes decided the top 10 on the Canadian Grand Prix grid. Hulkenberg was first out and kicked off the session with a 1:16.110. Raikkonen soon moved ahead, with the Mercedes duo completing a slow first lap before attacking on the second.
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Hamilton went fastest with a 1:14.393, with Rosberg going three tenths slower. Bottas was third for Williams but he slipped to fourth behind Raikkonen in the closing stages of qualifying, after the second runs.

Neither Mercedes driver improved by the chequered flag, giving Hamilton his 44th career pole position. Rosberg was second, ahead of Raikkonen and Bottas. Grosjean rounded out the top five for Lotus.

His team-mate Maldonado qualified sixth, ahead of Hulkenberg and Kvyat. The Russian rookie out-qualified his more experienced team-mate, with Ricciardo ninth and Perez 10th. The full qualifying result can be found here.

The Race
Hamilton lined up on pole position for round seven of the season, ahead of Rosberg and Raikkonen. Two penalties - for Button and Verstappen - were handed out before the race had even started, while it was a mixed up grid.
© Octane Photographic

The revs rose, the lights went out and the Canadian Grand Prix got underway. Hamilton had a strong start to hold onto the lead into Turn 1. Raikkonen attepted to go around the outside of Rosberg at the second corner but had to back off. 

It was a clean first lap, with only minor contact. Hulkenberg moved ahead of Maldonado, while Sainz Jr dropped back. Button pitted to serve his drive-through penalty at the end of the opening tour. Massa and Vettel started to make progress, passing Sainz Jr and Alonso in quick succession.

Vettel pitted for the first time at the end of lap seven. It was a slow stop and he emerged at the back of the pack on the prime tyre. He soon made progress and was up to 16th by lap 18, while Massa had moved up to eighth, helped by Maldonado's early pit stop.

Alonso and Vettel got very close into the final chicane on lap 20, briefly touching as the latter climbed over the kerbs. The Ferrari driver had to wait one more lap before moving ahead of the McLaren into the first corner. 

Raikkonen was the first front-runner to pit on lap 26. He emerged in fourth but lost a lot of time after a spin a few laps later at the hairpin. The mistake helped Bottas move into third place, emerging ahead of the Ferrari driver. Hamilton and Rosberg stopped one lap apart, but the gap between the two was cut to 1.6 seconds by the 36th tour.

Vettel and Hulkenberg battled over seventh place, with the Force India driver spinning at the final chicane as they went side-by-side. There was no contact and both were able to continue. Meanwhile Alonso was the first retirement from the race after losing power. 
© Octane Photographic

Grosjean and Stevens made contact as the Lotus driver lapped the Manor car, with both quickly pitting for repairs and the former being handed a five-second time penalty. Button retired with just over 10 laps to go, with Merhi joining him on the sidelines.

Rosberg's challenge faded late in the race, with Hamilton crossing the line 2.2 seconds clear of his team-mate after 70 laps to claim his fourth Canadian Grand Prix win. Behind Rosberg, Bottas was a distant third, collecting the Williams team's first podium of the year.

Raikkonen was fourth, ahead of the recovering Vettel and Massa. Maldonado scored his first points of 2015 in seventh, with Hulkenberg, Kvyat and Grosjean - despite a five second time penalty - completing the top 10. The full race result can be found here.

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