Canadian GP: Hamilton claims another 1-2 finish for McLaren

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBVNSxG4UGI/AAAAAAAAGVk/4LbsxZQ1vUQ/s1600/Hamilton+claims+another+1-2+finish+for+McLaren.jpg

June 13 '10

Lewis Hamilton won the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, the most exciting race of the season so far. It was Hamilton's second victory in three visits to Montreal.

"It's been a tremendous weekend; it's been fantastic," Hamilton said. "Things have just gone so well throughout the weekend...The team did an exceptional job. I think the race was one of the toughest races so far, but that's what you want, to have the hardest part that these guys did. Jenson did a great job, and it's another one-two finish for us. I'm very happy for the team."

Mark Webber started seventh on the grid after taking a five-place penalty due to a late gearbox change. Red Bulls thought that they had a race advantage by starting on the harder tyres compared to Hamilton who started the race on the softer tyre. But Hamilton's superb drive and McLaren's inabilty to destroy its tyres quickly, lead to a fine victory to Hamilton.

His team mate Jenson Button finished second. It was McLaren?s third 1-2 finish of the season promoting them to the top of the constructor's championship.

Fernando Alonso fought well with the McLarens and seemed like he was going to win the race. But eventually he finished third after Button overtook him for second with 15 laps remaining, when he was slowed down while trying to overtake a lapped car.

Michael Schumacher had an eventful race all the way to the chequered flag. "Michael was looking strong in the first phase of the race and was very well-placed," said Brawn. "Unfortunately the incident with Kubica punctured the right front tyre and coming in for the extra stop meant we were out of phase with where we wanted to be with the tyres.

Schumacher was running eighth until he started to struggle badly for grip late in the race, leaving him helpless to defend his position as he dropped out of the points. Sebastian Buemi overtook him for 8th place with 9 laps to go. Schumacher lost two more places at the end to the two Force Indias.

Vitantonio Liuzzi in his Force India enjoyed the best weekend of the season and had he not been involved in collision with Felipe Massa at the start of the race, he would have had a better result. Nonetheless, Force India scored a double points finish, their second this season.

Race incidents involving few cars are being investigated. Will update once the results are out.

Update:

  • The stewards decided not to take any action over the collision between Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in the closing stages of the race.
  • Massa was given a 20-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane (with a buckled front wing after his collision with Schumi).
  • Robert Kubica was reprimanded for weaving past Adrian Sutil at speed on his way into the pits.
  • Jaime Alguersuari was reprimanded for a collision with Rubens Barrichello, which caused Barrichello to pit for a new front wing.

Meanwhile, analyze the race lap-by-lap, thanks to Formula 1 broadcaster and journalist, James Allen's tweets below. (Hint : Read the tweets bottom-up!)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4TX80ivI/AAAAAAAAGVc/CCUHeN9bSSQ/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_5.PNG
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4Six-SHI/AAAAAAAAGVU/Hu5aNrGOaes/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_4.PNGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4R2p5QmI/AAAAAAAAGVM/bFpHdjW3zUw/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_3.PNGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4QyR4cYI/AAAAAAAAGVE/0PztANdzT4M/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_2.PNGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4Pr2Wk3I/AAAAAAAAGU8/anu92RqJFiQ/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_1.PNG

Heading to Valencia in two weeks time, Lewis Hamilton now leads the drivers championship with 109 points. His team mate Jenson Button is second in the standings with 106 points and Mark webber who was leading the championship until now drops to third with 103 points.


Canadian Grand Prix Race times

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 70 laps 1hr 33m 53.456s
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +2.2s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari +9.2s
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +37.8s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +39.2s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes +56.0s
7. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault +57.3s
8. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +1 lap

11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +2 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault +2 laps
18. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth +4 laps
19. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +5 laps

Rtd. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50 laps completed
Rtd. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 42 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 30 laps completed
Rtd. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 13 laps completed
Rtd. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1 lap completed


Fastest lap:

Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 16.972s


Image(C) Daylife

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/dXU9osMjK-E/canadian-gp-hamilton-claims-another-1-2.html

Danny Kladis Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien

Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR Dynasty May Make Him Greatest Champion

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson joined his team on the crowded stage, hurriedly set up on the Homestead-Miami Speedway front stretch and, with confetti flying in the air, raised NASCAR's crown jewel, the Sprint Cup Series championship trophy, for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time.

Only seven-time champions Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt have more hardware. And as the humble, low-key Californian hugged his wife, kissed his infant daughter, embraced his dad and gazed out into the crowd, Johnson was struck by something that helped him realize he had finally made it.

"There was a fan standing right up front with an 'I Hate the 48' T-shirt and he gave me the thumbs-up and said, 'Congratulations,' '' the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet recalled with a laugh. "I have people tell me they hate me, but they respect me and that's always cool. If this takes it to the next level, then right on.''

So it is for the most dominant race car driver in NASCAR history. The more he wins, the more trophies he collects, the more people clamor for someone else to step up.

How about, instead, we honor this great accomplishment and appreciate the good fortune to be witnessing sports history.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/21/jimmie-johnsons-nascar-dynasty-may-make-him-greatest-champion/

Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling Ernst Klodwig

Pick your classic grand prix - race 19

Welcome to the final classic grand prix selection of the 2010 Formula 1 season.

We have an eclectic but hopefully fascinating mix of races with which to whet your appetites for the potentially explosive showdown between Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

In their way, our choices collectively sum up everything that is on the table at the Yas Marina circuit on Sunday - there is a title decider, a last race of a classic season, a twist in a battle between two of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport and a showdown between two drivers in one of history's defining cars.

Your job is the same as ever - tell us which is your favourite and we will use the responses on this blog to help us choose from which race to show you the full 'Grand Prix' highlights programme broadcast on the BBC at the time, as well as the shorter highlights edits we cut for all the races.

We will also make available short and long highlights of last year's inaugural race at Abu Dhabi.

The classic races will be available on this website on Wednesday.

I'll run through the choices chronologically.

First is the 1979 United States Grand Prix East - the last race of a classic season.

It was won by Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve after a battle with Williams driver Alan Jones, the two fastest drivers of the season, both men overshadowing the new world champion, Villeneuve's team-mate Jody Scheckter, as they had all year.

Villeneuve underlined his status as the fastest driver in the world with a scarcely believable performance in practice at the demanding Watkins Glen track in upstate New York. On Friday, in the streaming rain, he had been fastest by a quite staggering margin - nearly nine seconds - from Scheckter.

In dry qualifying, though, the Ferrari, which lacked the downforce of the English-built cars, could manage only third in Villeneuve's hands, with Scheckter 16th. Jones and Brabham's Nelson Piquet were on the front row.

Gilles Villeneuve in the 1979 Ferrari 312T4

Villeneuve was the star of the 1979 season in the Ferrari 312T4. Photo: Getty

But the race started wet, giving Villeneuve his chance, and the great Canadian duly stormed into the lead from Jones.

Villeneuve built a five-second lead in two laps but after that the gap between the two varied. The Michelins on Villeneuve's Ferrari performed better when the rain was heavier, while the Goodyears on Jones's Williams were faster when it eased off.

As the circuit began to dry, Jones closed on Villeneuve and took the lead on lap 31. Three laps later, Villeneuve came in for dry-weather slick tyres, with Jones coming in after a further three laps. There were problems with the right rear but the Williams was waved out when the team manager thought the wheel was on firmly.

As Jones accelerated away, though, the mechanic fitting the wheel signalled frantically that he had not finished and the wheel came loose at the beginning of the back straight, leaving Jones ruing a lost opportunity.

A classic battle was over - and Villeneuve cruised to an ultimately comfortable win.

The next choice is the 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix, our twist in what was to become the long-running battle between two of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport - with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna taking the place of Alonso and Hamilton in our analogy.

This was a season utterly dominated by McLaren, who won 15 of the 16 races. Their drivers, Senna and Prost, locked out the front row, and Prost started the race knowing he absolutely needed to win after a devastating run of form through the summer by Senna.

Senna led off the start but Prost tracked him all the way around the first lap, and was clearly faster and in a position to try to pass as they entered the pit straight.

The Frenchman pulled out of Senna's slipstream to the right, but Senna moved violently over on him, forcing him almost into the pit wall - a move that found an echo in Michael Schumacher's controversial defence from Rubens Barrichello in Hungary this year.

Prost, though, was not to be intimidated. He kept his foot in it and passed the Brazilian into the first corner of the second lap.

Prost went on to a win that was less comfortable than it looked - the McLarens, with their Honda turbos, were very marginal on fuel and Prost had to manage his car carefully while holding off the challenge of the Adrian Newey-designed March of Ivan Capelli, which finished a superb second.

Things did not go so well for Senna. To add to his fuel consumption problems, Senna's digital fuel read-out was proving unreliable, and he slumped defencelessly to finish sixth, putting Prost back into the championship lead with three races to go.

The Mexican Grand Prix of 1991 is our next race, contested between two drivers in one of history's defining cars - the Williams-Renault FW14 representing the 2010 Red Bull-Renault RB6.

Senna, still at McLaren, had won the first four races of the season, but by the time of Mexico, the sixth race, it was clear that the Williams - designed, like the 1988 March and the 2010 Red Bull, by Newey - had moved F1 car design on to a new level.

Unexpectedly, though, it was Williams's unfancied second driver, Riccardo Patrese, who initially got the most from the car, rather than their returning leading star, Nigel Mansell, who was fresh from a difficult season being overshadowed at Ferrari by Prost.

Patrese took pole on the superb Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, from Mansell and Senna.

But the Italian made a poor start, dropping to fourth behind Mansell, Senna and Ferrari's Jean Alesi.

Patrese was soon past Alesi and Senna, and set off after Mansell, who he passed on lap 15, continuing on to a superb, unchallenged win. Only later in the season did Mansell get on top of his team-mate, and go on to push Senna hard for the title.

Finally, there is Portugal 1993 - our title decider.

It is a somewhat overlooked grand prix, which is odd, because in many ways it was a defining race in F1 history.

Prost clinched his fourth, and final, world title at Estoril that sunny Sunday in September, but the weekend -my first foreign grand prix as a reporter, as it happens - was rich with intrigue.

It was overshadowed by Prost's announcement on the Thursday that he was retiring at the end of the season, a decision forced upon him by his Williams team's decision to employ Senna for what turned out to be an apocalyptic 1994 season.

At the age of 38, Prost, whose contract included a clause which said he would not drive alongside Senna, had no stomach for another bitter battle with his arch-rival, and decided to call time on his wonderful career.

But that was not the only way in which the race marked the beginning of the end of one era and the start of another.

That feeling was enhanced by events at McLaren, who had dropped the struggling Michael Andretti after the previous race in Italy and drafted in their test driver, Mika Hakkinen - who proceeded to outqualify Senna and take third place on the grid. The great Brazilian was not amused!

The race, too, had more than a hint of the changing of the guard about it.

Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost on the podium at the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix

Schumacher, the race-winner, pours champagne over the new world champion, Alain Prost, at Estoril in 1993. Photo: Getty

Prost had unusually been outqualified by team-mate Damon Hill, who then proceeded to stall on the formation lap, forcing him to start at the back.

Prost would almost certainly have cruised to victory had he got a good start. But he had struggled all season with the clutch on the Williams, and he was swamped by the McLarens - with Senna passing Hakkinen at the start - and, particularly, Alesi's Ferrari, which took the lead.

The top six circulated together for the first part of the race, with Alesi leading Senna, Hakkinen, Prost, Michael Schumacher's Benetton and the second Ferrari of Gerhard Berger.

The race distilled down to a battle between Prost and Schumacher, the only two cars stopping only once.

After the stops, Schumacher was in the lead. Prost was right behind, and much faster, but second place was enough for him to clinch the title, even though Hill had now worked his way back up to third place.

Prost made a few attempts to pass, but Schumacher employed some of the tricks that were to become notorious in later years and, not wishing to risk an accident, Prost decided discretion was the better part of valour, and settled for second.

So there it is - what we hope is a great choice to end not only a great F1 season, but our second year of classic grand prix.

I look forward to reading your views.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/11/pick_your_classic_grand_prix_-_1.html

Gator com Chevrolet Erik Darnell Reed Sorenson Dollar General Toyota

NASCAR Tickets - Gordon's Time to Shine (Again)

Kyle Busch knocked No. 17 Matt Kenseth out of the running for the historical measures of winning NASCAR's first three races in a row at the Shelby 427 last weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but it is the ever-popular No. 24 DuPont car and its similarly-famed driver Jeff Gordon who are celebrating now. Gordon fumbled a bit in Sunday's Las Vegas race as he lost the lead after lap 150, sliding past and missing pit road before consequently getting a flat tire and some fender damage. The mishap led him to fall back to 10th place with around 20 laps left to go in the race, but by the end of the day Gordon had secured a sixth place finish at the Shelby 427, racing to the finish line after first place Kyle Busch and successive finishers Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, David Reutimann and Bobby Labonte.

While Jeff Gordon's sixth place finish wasn't the race-winning finale he had hoped for while leading the race, the points from Las Vegas allowed Gordon to go around Matt Kenseth for the first place ranking in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, where he is up from number two last week. Gordon's current number one standing is significant in several ways, but it is important to the racing league mostly because it is the first time No. 24 has been ranked first after the third race of NASCAR season since 1997, when he won the Sprint Cup Series Championship. Gordon's consistency has brought him into his current first place ranking, as his sixth place finish from last weekend adds up with his 13th place finish at Daytona and second place finish at Fontana last month.

Jeff Gordon may be leading the NASCAR pack currently, but two more names are hot on the heels of this racing legend. One such name that inevitably comes up when mentioning top NASCAR drivers is Kyle Busch, the winner of last weekend's Las Vegas race. Busch has been a top contender for the Sprint Series title all year, and he is also the reigning champion of the Sprint Cup Series from 2008. Busch's win at Las Vegas bolsters his ranking to number six, but No. 18 still has a long way to go after the infamous Daytona crash that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. caused and Busch was involved in earlier in February, leaving Busch at a number 41 finish at the end of race. Kyle Busch has since been playing catch-up, snagging the number three finish in the Auto Club 500 at Fontana on February 22. His Las Vegas win will undoubtedly put him back in the running for the Sprint Cup Championship in 2009.

Another name thought to dominate the NASCAR series this year is Matt Kenseth, who made history by winning the first two races of the season (both Daytona and Fontana) this year, tying Jeff Gordon's record from 1997. Kenseth started up his engine in last weekend's Las Vegas race attempting to become the first driver to win the first three races of the season, but was disappointedly struck down just laps into the race, when his No. 17 Ford Fusion blew a motor and put him as the last place finisher from the Shelby 427.

While Jeff Gordon has some fierce competition in defending his position in the upcoming weeks and months, No. 24 is still sitting pretty atop the Sprint Cup dog pile, keeping NASCAR fans jazzed about his comeback to victory lane. To watch Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth battle it out for top honors at the end of the year, get NASCAR tickets online and pick your favorite races to attend!

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Gordon's Time to Shine (Again)

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/248655/nascar-tickets-gordons-time-to-shine-again

Phil Hill Peter Hirt David Hobbs Gary Hocking

Why America Loves NASCAR Racing

NASCAR Racing has become one of the most popular sports in America and its popularity is increasing every year. For those of us who are NASCAR fans we completely understand why it has increased in popularity, but many others don't understand why. To those non-NASCAR fans, they ask, "What is there to love about a sport with just left turns?".

So why is NASCAR racing so popular? It is hard to say, but I think that there are several reasons that come up over and over. This article will explore why NASCAR fans love the sport so much..

The first reason that NASCAR racing is so popular is that it is easy to follow. My wife has watched football all of her life, but to this day she does not truly understand the rules. However, the rules of NASCAR racing are fairly easy. As with any race, the NASCAR driver that finishes first wins. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Over 100,000 NASCAR fans show up at the racetrack every week to watch their favorite NASCAR drivers race toward the Sprint Cup. But many million more fans have a Sunday ritual of watching television on raceday. This doesn't even count the many more who gain access to BUSCH races, qualifying sessions, and practice sessions. There are also many race fans who make big weekend events out of races with tailgating and barbeque grilling.

The second reason why NASCAR racing is so popular is because NASCAR has done a great job making it a family sport. Husbands, wives and children all love to watch the races together as a family. A husband may like Tony Stewart, a wife Dale Jr and the kids liking Jeff Gordon. This is one of the biggest reason why NASCAR racing has seen an increase in popularity. It is a family sport. Both kids and adults like racing.

Another one of the many reasons why NASCAR racing has seen an increase in popularity is because of the drivers. Most racers seem like your average guys. They don't come off as primadonnas like in baseball and basketball. Many NASCAR drivers started racing around dirt tracks and come from normal upbringings just like the fans of the sport..

NASCAR is popular for many different number of reasons. One article can't describe in totality why millions of Americans tune into watch a NASCAR race. However, the results speak for themselves. NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in terms of popularity in the United States. It is showing no signs of leveling out in its grow of fans.

Find out more about NASCAR at Nascar Diecast Cars. Nascar diecast cars make great collections. Check out these great Dale Earnhardt Jr Diecast cars and these Carl Edwards Diecast cars.

Article Source: Why America Loves NASCAR Racing

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/62260/why-america-loves-nascar-racing

Patrick Gaillard Divina Galica Nanni Galli Oscar Alfredo Gálvez

History About The Start Of Nascar

What started off as a way of racing stock motorcars on dirt tracks has now become as America's biggest and most-watched sporting event. It has rapidly matched and in many places taken over even the NFL as the most-watched sport. Nascar is huge today. For those of you wondering, Nascar stands for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. There are many popular races that are put on by Nascar. There are more than 1500 races that are sanctioned by Nascar with the Nextel cup, Busch series, and the Craftsman series being the most common ones.

The History
It all began in the early days of the 19th century, when Daytona Beach became the setting for speed and racing cars. It had quickly become the place where speed records were being passed each and every day. In fact, more than 15 records were set here in a span of a few years. Drivers then begun to modify their cars in order to escape the fierceness of the police force. It was here that modified cars began participating in the racing circuit.

William France, Sr.
It was William France, Sr. who can be named the founding father of Nascar or the man who laid the groundwork for it. William France, Sr. had traveled to Daytona Beach from Washington, D.C. to escape from the Great Depression. He then entered in the racing event at Daytona Beach and finished fifth. He saw that very often the drivers were left lurking in the dark after sponsors made off with their money. They were left unpaid most of the times after doing all the hard work.

This led him to the conclusion that a set of regulations, a governing body, and an organized championship were necessary for the improvement of the race and the drivers. This gave way to negotiations with several racing enthusiasts, and Nascar was formed on the 21st of February, 1948.

The First Races And Rules
Can you believe that the first set of Nascar rules and the points system were written on a saloon napkin? The first racing event sponsored by the facultative body was held at Daytona Beach. But the first ever stock car race was held on June 19th, 1949, at the Charlotte speedway. Alterations on the car commenced after about six years after Nascar was formed. Soon, custom-made vehicles began appearing on the circuit.

The Racing Circuits
Some of the tracks expended in the initiatory racing circuits are still utilized today. Martinsville Speedway is one of them. Darlington Raceway, which opened in 1950, is another. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is a popular track on the Nextel Cup circuit, dates back to 1909!

This author is a HUGE fan of NASCAR licensed merchandise

Article Source: History About The Start Of Nascar

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/111202/history-about-the-start-of-nascar

JR Motorsports Chevrolet Kevin Lepage Hyatt Place Richmond Airport Toyota Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Canadian GP: Hamilton claims another 1-2 finish for McLaren

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBVNSxG4UGI/AAAAAAAAGVk/4LbsxZQ1vUQ/s1600/Hamilton+claims+another+1-2+finish+for+McLaren.jpg

June 13 '10

Lewis Hamilton won the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, the most exciting race of the season so far. It was Hamilton's second victory in three visits to Montreal.

"It's been a tremendous weekend; it's been fantastic," Hamilton said. "Things have just gone so well throughout the weekend...The team did an exceptional job. I think the race was one of the toughest races so far, but that's what you want, to have the hardest part that these guys did. Jenson did a great job, and it's another one-two finish for us. I'm very happy for the team."

Mark Webber started seventh on the grid after taking a five-place penalty due to a late gearbox change. Red Bulls thought that they had a race advantage by starting on the harder tyres compared to Hamilton who started the race on the softer tyre. But Hamilton's superb drive and McLaren's inabilty to destroy its tyres quickly, lead to a fine victory to Hamilton.

His team mate Jenson Button finished second. It was McLaren?s third 1-2 finish of the season promoting them to the top of the constructor's championship.

Fernando Alonso fought well with the McLarens and seemed like he was going to win the race. But eventually he finished third after Button overtook him for second with 15 laps remaining, when he was slowed down while trying to overtake a lapped car.

Michael Schumacher had an eventful race all the way to the chequered flag. "Michael was looking strong in the first phase of the race and was very well-placed," said Brawn. "Unfortunately the incident with Kubica punctured the right front tyre and coming in for the extra stop meant we were out of phase with where we wanted to be with the tyres.

Schumacher was running eighth until he started to struggle badly for grip late in the race, leaving him helpless to defend his position as he dropped out of the points. Sebastian Buemi overtook him for 8th place with 9 laps to go. Schumacher lost two more places at the end to the two Force Indias.

Vitantonio Liuzzi in his Force India enjoyed the best weekend of the season and had he not been involved in collision with Felipe Massa at the start of the race, he would have had a better result. Nonetheless, Force India scored a double points finish, their second this season.

Race incidents involving few cars are being investigated. Will update once the results are out.

Update:

  • The stewards decided not to take any action over the collision between Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in the closing stages of the race.
  • Massa was given a 20-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane (with a buckled front wing after his collision with Schumi).
  • Robert Kubica was reprimanded for weaving past Adrian Sutil at speed on his way into the pits.
  • Jaime Alguersuari was reprimanded for a collision with Rubens Barrichello, which caused Barrichello to pit for a new front wing.

Meanwhile, analyze the race lap-by-lap, thanks to Formula 1 broadcaster and journalist, James Allen's tweets below. (Hint : Read the tweets bottom-up!)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4TX80ivI/AAAAAAAAGVc/CCUHeN9bSSQ/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_5.PNG
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4Six-SHI/AAAAAAAAGVU/Hu5aNrGOaes/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_4.PNGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4R2p5QmI/AAAAAAAAGVM/bFpHdjW3zUw/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_3.PNGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4QyR4cYI/AAAAAAAAGVE/0PztANdzT4M/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_2.PNGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4Pr2Wk3I/AAAAAAAAGU8/anu92RqJFiQ/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_1.PNG

Heading to Valencia in two weeks time, Lewis Hamilton now leads the drivers championship with 109 points. His team mate Jenson Button is second in the standings with 106 points and Mark webber who was leading the championship until now drops to third with 103 points.


Canadian Grand Prix Race times

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 70 laps 1hr 33m 53.456s
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +2.2s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari +9.2s
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +37.8s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +39.2s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes +56.0s
7. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault +57.3s
8. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +1 lap

11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +2 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault +2 laps
18. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth +4 laps
19. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +5 laps

Rtd. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50 laps completed
Rtd. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 42 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 30 laps completed
Rtd. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 13 laps completed
Rtd. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1 lap completed


Fastest lap:

Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 16.972s


Image(C) Daylife

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/dXU9osMjK-E/canadian-gp-hamilton-claims-another-1-2.html

Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford Jimmie Johnson Lowe s Chevrolet

Who were the top 10 F1 drivers of 2010?

Sebastian Vettel was crowned the youngest world champion in history after a memorable final twist at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but was he the best driver of the year?

It's a subjective question, and so difficult after such a momentous season that I have been wrestling with it for some weeks.

Does Vettel's pace in the dominant Red Bull mean he was Formula 1's top driver? How does that rank alongside the performances of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in inferior cars?

What about Robert Kubica's ability to mix it with the title contenders in the Renault? Or Kamui Kobayashi's attacking verve in the Sauber?

Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Robert Kubica

Vettel is centre-stage among the class of 2010 - but is he number one in our list? Photo: AFP

Here is my list of the top 10 drivers of 2010:

10) After battling for the title with Brawn in 2009, it cannot have been easy for Rubens Barrichello, at 37 going on 38, to drum up the enthusiasm for a season battling to make the top 10 in qualifying with once-great Williams.

But drum it up he did, impressing the team with his technical feedback and producing some excellent drives that resulted in strong points positions when Williams had something of a purple patch mid-season.

The veteran Brazilian was outshone by rookie team-mate Nico Hulkenberg at times as the German found his feet late in the season.

Nevertheless, as he heads into an astonishing 19th F1 season in 2011, Barrichello clearly still has a lot to offer.

9) Kamui Kobayashi emerged as one of F1's most exciting talents with some all-action performances in 2010.

Overtaking is notoriously difficult but the Japanese simply went for it, finding unconventional passing places to liven up such races as Valencia and Japan.

There remain doubts about his ultimate potential, with Sauber drafting in the reliable Nick Heidfeld for the final five races of the season to give Kobayashi a benchmark to measure himself against.

But Kobayashi responded perfectly and gives all the signs of having a great future.

8) It all started so well for Felipe Massa, who out-qualified new team-mate Alonso at the first race of the season. But when Alonso passed the Brazilian around the outside of the first corner, it set the tone for the entire year.

Alonso trounced Massa in 2010, proving faster than him at virtually every race, and there is no doubt the Spaniard's relentless excellence got to the man in the second Ferrari.

There were some good drives from Massa - particularly his third places at Monza and Korea. But he will have to pull something very special out of the bag, not to mention rediscover his mental equilibrium, to reverse this trend in 2011.

7) Nico Rosberg convincingly beat Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher this year and, had he achieved that feat 10 years ago, there would have been no doubt he had emerged as a truly great F1 driver.

But the Schumacher of this year was not the same driver as before, as even the seven-time champion himself effectively admitted.

Rosberg drove a strong season, and some good races, and there are an increasing number of people in F1 who believe he is emerging as a top-class contender.

But until he goes up against - and beats - a driver of the highest calibre, it will be hard to tell whether he deserves to be considered as that himself, or whether he is nearly there, but not quite.

6) Not even Jenson Button probably expected to be leading the championship after winning two of the opening four races of 2010 and out-qualifying McLaren team-mate Hamilton 3-1.

Button's two victories in the wet in Australia and China owed a lot to clever strategic calls but that was not all. The sight of Button pulling away from Hamilton in China on a wet track and on tyres of comparable age proved once and for all that this is a driver of the very highest calibre.

After that, Hamilton got on top and stayed there but Button, who was rarely very far away in qualifying and often more or less matched his team-mate on race pace, provided a convincing answer to those who said he had gained his 2009 triumph more by luck than ability.

5) Mark Webber chose the name Aussie Grit for his Twitter account, and 2010 proved why. Expected to fulfil the role of an obedient number two at Red Bull, Webber went toe-to-toe with team-mate Vettel throughout the season and led him in the championship for most of it.

After a shaky first couple of races, Webber came on song when the season came back to Europe with dominant wins in Spain and Monaco that left Vettel bemused at where his team-mate had found such electrifying pace.

By mid-summer, Vettel had got his edge back, but Webber remained large in his mirrors, ready to take advantage of any mistakes. That he was able to do this despite suspicions that Red Bull were not perhaps being quite as even-handed in their treatment of their drivers as they insisted was all the more impressive.

But his challenge faded in the end, crashing in Korea and failing to make any real impact in the final two races of the campaign.

4) Did Renault's Robert Kubica perform better than any other driver on the grid when you consider the equipment he had at his disposal?

You can certainly make that case. No-one else can claim to have made so few mistakes while extracting what appeared to be the maximum from his machinery.

The Renault was not fast enough for Kubica to regularly mix it with the title contenders but on three occasions he transcended the car's limitations in a way only the truly great can - at Monaco, Spa and Suzuka, F1's three great drivers' circuits.

To qualify second in Monaco, third in Spa and fourth in Suzuka was a momentous achievement - and he backed that up by taking podium places in both Monaco and Belgium before being robbed of another when his wheel came loose in Japan.

There is still a slight question mark over a man who, in 2009, was not able to comprehensively overshadow Heidfeld at BMW. And let's not forget that Kubica was not burdened with the kind of pressure that the likes of Alonso, Vettel, Button and Hamilton were.

But put Kubica in a competitive car and all his rivals would fear him.

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3) Sebastian Vettel is a great talent and a deserving world champion but, considering the stunning pace of the Red Bull car, he should have won many more races and clinched the title much sooner.

The car's fragility did not help - failures in Bahrain, Australia, Spain and Korea cost him a lot of points - but the German also made a number of high-profile errors. He crashed into rivals in Turkey and Belgium, suffered a puncture following a red-mist moment at Silverstone and was penalised for misjudging the safety car in Hungary.

Ten pole positions and five wins speak for themselves to an extent but, as the (slightly) faster driver in comfortably the fastest car, they are to be expected.

Some of those pole laps were stunning, though, with Vettel possessing an Ayrton Senna-esque ability to pull that little bit extra out on his very final lap, no matter what the circumstances, while each one of his wins was a masterpiece of domination.

However, there have to be fewer mistakes, more wins dragged out of adversity and more convincing performances when he is back in the pack for him to be ranked above the next names on the list.

2) Had this article been written after the Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton would have occupied the number one spot.

Up to that point, Hamilton had made not a single mistake worth the name and he was leading the championship in what had from the mid-point of the season been the third fastest car.

Hamilton had maintained his exuberant, attacking style and stunning natural pace and had mated it to a consistency that was making him a formidable competitor.

His fantastic victory at Spa - not forgetting the qualifying lap that earned him second on the grid on slicks in a shower of rain - confirmed him as the outstanding driver of the season to that point, notwithstanding the canny Button's two wet wins.

Suddenly, though, it all went wrong. Hamilton crashed out of the next two races in Monza and Singapore and when he crashed again in Friday practice at the next race in Japan his season appeared to be coming apart at the seams.

But then came one of the laps of the season - third on the grid at Suzuka in a car in which he had done just six flying laps before qualifying. It was a reminder of Hamilton's amazing talent. By then, though, as far as the championship was concerned, the damage had been done.

1) Fernando Alonso's first year with Ferrari started with a few shaky races and finished with a strategic mistake that cost him the title. In between the Spaniard did just enough to earn the right to call himself the best driver of 2010.

Early-season errors were born of trying too hard in a car that was not quite on the pace. Combine that with Ferrari losing their way for a while and Alonso was 47 points off the lead at the midpoint of the season.

But in a car that established itself as the second fastest behind the Red Bull, he recovered that margin by driving with a consistent, relentless brilliance that his rivals were not able to match. His victories at Monza and Singapore were stunning. Only Hamilton at Spa and perhaps Webber at Monaco can claim a performance of comparable quality.

That ultimately Alonso did not win a third title was only because of his team's error in Abu Dhabi. For the 2005 and 2006 champion, as he said himself, it was still a great year.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/11/who_were_the_top_10_f1_drivers.html

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