Formula One: Hamilton wins in Canada; Kovalainen 4th, Räikkönen 5th

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Great Britain’s Lewis Hamilton achieved in Montreal what he had yearned for already in Monaco, namely his first Formula One Grand Prix win.
      And the way Hamilton capped a race best described as "chaotic" – the Briton led from start to finish in a contest where the safety car was deployed no less than four times – left little doubt that this is a newcomer capable of becoming the World Champion even during his first season in F1.
      In the overall points Hamilton, who has produced a podium finish in all six races so far this season, now leads his McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso of Spain by eight points. The Spaniard, who is the reigning F1 World Champion, could finish no better than seventh in the crash-strewn Canadian Grand Prix.
      On the podium the Briton was accompanied by relatively unfamiliar faces: Nick Heidfeld (BMW) of Germany and Alexander Wurz (Williams) of Austria.
     
The unexpected Finnish hero in Montreal was Heikki Kovalainen (Renault), who ultimately came in fourth after starting from the last row on the grid. Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen finished behind him in fifth.
      Nico Rosberg (Williams) of Germany, the son of the Finnish former World Champion Keke Rosberg, finished tout of the points in tenth.
      Kovalainen, if anybody, benefited from the safety car’s four visits to the track.
      But his success was not down to just pure luck. "We straightened the car’s wings yesterday. This gave me more speed on the straights enabling me to overtake others", Kovalainen explained.
      During the race Kovalainen’s overtaking moves got his team all excited. "Good job, keep it up", the team instructions rang in the Finn’s earphones.
     
Kovalainen benefited from the fact that both Räikkönen and Alonso had super soft tyres on their cars, a choice that proved completely wrong for the Canadian track. Kovalainen, in turn, used a harder rubber mixture.
      "At some point I believed I could even overtake Wurz, as he was also on softs, but on his car for some reason they seemed to work", said a puzzled Kovalainen after the race.
      "Shame I did not quite make it to the podium, but I did not dare to chance it by trying to overtake Wurz, as I had already crashed and trashed two cars this weekend", Kovalainen explained.
     
But even the fourth place should silence those who have criticised Kovalainen for not living up to expectations during his rookie season as an F1 pilot. "I have heard rumours of my getting sacked, but chose to ignore them. I knew that once everything falls into place I can deliver", the Finn stated.
      Unlike Kovalainen, Kimi Räikkönen suffered rather than benefited from the safety car’s numerous appearances on the track. But the Ferrari pilot had other worries as well right from the beginning.
      "On the grid I had no traction at all. The car did not seem to move at all", fretted Räikkönen, who was overtaken in seconds by both his teammate Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg.
     
Robert Kubica’s serious-looking shunt further added to Räikkönen’s problems. "Some debris from Kubica’s vehicle hit my front wing, after which my car started to understeer, and the brakes began to act irregularly. It was difficult to drive not knowing exactly whether the brakes would work or not", Räikkönen complained.
      "Still, I suppose it could have been worse. We lost some more points with regard to Hamilton, but gained some in relation to Alonso", the Finn concluded. Räikkönen remains in 4th spot in the table, six points behind his teammate Massa (who was disqualified for a safety violation) and 21 behind leader Hamilton.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Räikkönen dissatisfied with third place in Bahrain (16.4.2007)

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