Canada: post-race analysis 2019

Well, I had felt confident about the Verstappen bet and it ended up coming off. Huzzah! But the race was memorable for rather more contentious reasons.

Off the line it was largely formation flying. Early laps saw Vettel pull out a surprisingly lead quite swiftly on Hamilton. Both Bottas and Verstappen struggled to make much early progress, and when the Dutchman found himself behind the Finn he was clearly faster but unable to effect a pass (this harmed Verstappen because Bottas’ medium tyres meant his first stint was relatively long, and Verstappen was on the hard compound, hoping to go long himself). The Renaults, looking racy, had both pitted and were too quick for Verstappen to pit and pass, whilst Gasly had gotten himself stuck behind someone (Stroll, I think) and his inability to make headway meant he ended up behind the Renaults.

At the sharp end, Vettel led comfortably, though Hamilton wasn’t too far off, Leclerc was a lonely third and Bottas was quite some way further back.

Norris encountered a race ending problem of a weird nature. It appears his rear brake got so hot it melted his suspension and his car became a three-wheeler. He was able to park near the pit exit without necessitating a safety car, or even a virtual one.

When Verstappen pitted, he was behind the Renaults and, bearing in mind earlier passing difficulties, I imagined he’d struggle, but he actually cruised past both in a couple of laps and then strolled off into the sunset. So the bet came off. Huzzah!

Late on, Bottas had a pit stop in hand over Verstappen and the team wisely pitted him for fresh rubber, duly enabling him to get the fastest lap point.

After the pit stops Hamilton was about 5s behind Vettel but, on the hard compound tyres, catching very rapidly. The gap narrowed a lot, and soon the Briton was hot on his German rival’s heels. But passing, as we’ve seen, is tricky and the Ferrari was damned swift in a straight line.

Vettel made a small error and cut a corner, without full control, over a patch of grass. Hamilton sought to take advantage and pass but Vettel, returning to the track not entirely in control and seeking the racing line, prevented it. Hamilton was forced to back out (or collide with Vettel or the wall). He complained. The stewards gave Vettel a 5s time penalty, and destroyed the race.

Hamilton no longer needed to pass. Vettel was furious, and his radio outrage seemed to compromise his pace. But Hamilton’s tyres had lost their competitive edge and he wasn’t able to effect an on-track overtake. Vettel crossed the line in 1^st, and was 2^nd in the classification, behind Hamilton (Leclerc nearly nabbed a place too, but ended up 3^rd).

The penalty, as well as, in my view, being wrong in itself also robbed us of a great on-track battle. It also means the most winning team and most winning driver ended up winning again, depriving us of a speck of variety, due to a stewards’ decision rather than because of who actually won the race on the track. If any team doesn’t need rulebook assistance, it’s Mercedes.

Hamilton ‘won’. Vettel was 2^nd, Leclerc 3^rd. Bottas was 4^th and Verstappen 5^th. Renault had a great day (Hulkenberg had a technical problem that appeared to resolve itself) with Ricciardo 6^th, immediately ahead of his team mate. Gasly ended up 8^th. Given where he and Verstappen started and finished, this isn’t going to enhance his prospects of a long term stay at Red Bull. Stroll had a strong race, rising from almost the back of the grid to finish 9^th, and Kvyat nabbed the final point.

Very poor race for Alfa Romeo, who were 13^th and 15^th (Giovinazzi ahead of Raikkonen), and dire for Haas, Grosjean being 14^th and Magnussen 17^th, behind Russell’s Williams. The Dane bitched about it on the radio and was effectively told to shut up, nobody else was enjoying it either.

Albon failed to finish, boxing to retire late on.

Drivers:

Hamilton 162

Bottas 133

Vettel 100

Bottas might stage a comeback, otherwise this title seems to be done. Could be wrong. But I’m probably not.

Constructors:

Mercedes 295

Ferrari 172

Red Bull 124

McLaren 30

Renault 28

Racing Point 19

Toro Rosso 17

Haas 16

Alfa Romeo 13

Williams 0

Top three are a bit isolated but the midfield is very competitive. McLaren and Renault tight for best of the rest, whilst the four behind are separated by just half a dozen points. More woe for Williams, though they did outdo Magnussen, so that’s a consolation prize.

An intriguing and exciting race will now be remembered for a highly contentious decision. Betting-wise, the tip came off, which is nice (I’m rarely that confident of bets and for much of the race I’d thought it was going to fail).

Next race is France, in a fortnight.

Morris Dancer