Now Canada is a race where on occassion a heavy outsider takes home the win (Kubica, Alesi,...) the money is once again on the Mercedes boys, as they put in a front row lock out in qualifying, puttin Rosberg in before Hamilton.
Gutteriez though on the other side of the field didn`t even manage to get to qualies due to damage in free practice three, and starts from the pit straight at the steward`s discretion. But what is perhaps more intresting is that behind the Mercedes cars we find both Red Bulls and both Williamses on only minimal difference from each other... this could become intresting.
Start: Marussia, the heroes of Monaco, have a total off day as Chilton slides into Bianchi, knocking out both cars in turn 5, and ending the Cult of Chilton and his finishing streak, noooooooooo. But can Caterham, now up for sale apparently, take advantage of this? Or should they aim more at the tenth spot versus the heavy Saubers? Anyways, the Safety Car comes out and leads the field around.
7: And off we go, with a good start by Vettel whom nestles in between the Mercedes cars. Hamilton loses some terrain to Rosberg due to this.
9: Perez overtakes Button, as Ericsson has to retire with engine issues.
10: Kvyat spins and falls to last place, as Hamilton rockets past Vettel with his DRS and straight line speed, starting the hunt on the 1.7 secs in front Rosberg.
12: Seeing the Red Bulls hold on, I don`t dare say their car is actually worse, if not even better considering their cornering handling, but it is the Renault engine lacking a bit of topspeed versus the Mercedes engine. Newey apparently did a great job again.
14-20: The first round of pitstops, but even though Rosberg almost slides in the wall on his cold tyres, he manages to retain the lead.
22: Kobayashi is now 19th and 10 seconds behind number 18, Gutteriez. It really seems to be a closing book on my favorite green machines...
23: Maldonado retires with a broken sidepod wing
24: Hamilton puts in fastest lap after fastest lap in his chase for Rosberg, and works his way into Rosberg`s DRS zone.
25: Kobayashi`s left rear wheel breaks, and he has to retire, putting Caterham out of the race and odd chance for a freakishly good result.
26: Rosberg locks up and cuts the chicane, and clearly gained a position as Hamilton now is back out of the DRS zone. The stewards investigate and leave it be though as Lewis wasn`t putting an attack in at the time.
31: Bottas is pressuring Vettel and Hulkenberg
35: On his super soft tyres, Perez puts in his very first pit stop.
36: Second round of pit stops
37: Hamilton calls in a power loss, as does Rosberg! There is some issue with the Mercedes, apparently the battery units on both cars have failed at the same time, allowing the rest of the field to catch up.
38: Ricciardo passes Vettel under the pit stops, while the struggling Mercedes cars now lose 2-3 seconds a lap to an unleashed Massa
41: Raikonnen spins in turn 10, bagging all hope of a good result
42: Hulkenberg now makes his first pit stop of the race
45: As Rosberg and Hamilton pit, Massa takes the lead albeit briefly before his own pit stop, making it the first time an non silberpfeil is leading a grand prix this year. Hamilton comes out before Rosberg, but as they once again outbreak each other, something snaps on the Mercedes in it`s braking array. He quickly loses places before he is forced to retire, while Rosberg is now in a race to salvage what he can.
49: Perez is now hunting the Mercedes, closely followed by Ricciardo and Vettel. It seems the winner is going to be coming out of this foursome.
55: Ricciardo ups the pressure for 2nd, buying Rosberg valuable time.
57: Massa goes past Bottas and Hulkenberg and starts chaisng after the lead group on fresh tyres and the car with the fastest straight line speed.
59: Fastest lap Massa. If he can quickly pass the others, he might even be the prime candidate for the win...
60: Bottas on the other hand experiences issues, and is swiftly passed by Alonso and Button
61: Grosjean is forced to retire
62: Massa is now under the wing of Vettel
65: Perez is getting brake issues, as Ricciardo passes him and goes on an all or nothing sprint to Rosberg, barely a second in front
67: Gutteriez retires just as Ricciardo places himself in Rosberg's DRS zone
68: And it happens on the first attack, with two laps to go the aussie in his Red Bull takes the lead. This must sting with Vettel though.
69: Vettel passes Perez to 3rd, but as Massa wants to put in the attack, a horror crash happens between the brazilian and the mexican, bith cars shooting of the straight at 300 kmh and scraping the wall. The safety car comes out and leads Ricciardo home, but luckily both drivers emerge unscathed.
What a Race, full of drama, unexpected plot twists, and even the mighty german machines CAN have technical failures!!!
The result
1. Ricciardo - Red Bull Renault
2. Rosberg - Mercedes
3. Vettel - Red Bull Renault
4. Button - McLaren Mercedes
5. Hulkenberg - Force India Mercedes
6. Alonso - Ferrari
7. Bottas - Williams - Mercedes
8. Vergne - Toro Rosso Renault
9. Magnussen - McLaren Mercedes
10. Raikonen - Ferrari
11. Perez - Force India Mercedes
12. Massa - Williams Mercedes
13. Sutil - Sauber Ferrari
14. Gutteriez - Sauber Ferrari
Perez, Massa and Gutteriez are classified after DNF, leaving poor Sutil the last one driving to the line. Button is perhaps the best `survivor`, the last round accident yielding him some solid points after a lonesome and anonimous race.
Driver of the Race
Ricciardo. People love him, and the first (and only?) non Mercedes win this year is a good reason to put him up here
Team of the Race
Force India, though barely close over Red Bull. Without the crash, they would have been on the podium or right after it, but the fact is they qualified outside top 10, and did single stop startegies letting their super soft tyres last about twice as long as the other teams.
And so concludes a very spectacular race, ironically after a recent talk with another fan about `it is boring` earlier... and this one certainly delivered... and in good tradition a very unsuspected victor!
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