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Good strategy and some great driving ensured that Lewis Hamilton became the seventh winner in as many races this Formula One season with his superb victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton moved himself into the lead of the world championship, and also continued his record of either winning or crashing in Montreal.
Hamilton made his second pit stop on lap 50 and then successfully chased down Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who had stayed out on their old tyres.
“I think the team did a really great job with the pitstops and the strategy,” said Hamilton. “I was very, very surprised that I was able to look after my tyres and then push at the times that I needed to push. I was very, very surprised in the first stint, that I was able to close up on Sebastian. I never thought they would have such degradation.
“And so to catch them, and see them go in, and then still be able to push, was a real pleasure to see, because it's very, very rare. But I knew that Fernando was going to be the one to beat. When he was behind me I thought he was going to be the one to beat today, as he generally has great pace on long runs. But we did it. I wasn't able to do a one-stop. I don't think I would have been able to do it – I think I would have fallen back as they did, perhaps even further. I think a two-stop was just right.”
Hamilton said a two-stop was always the plan.
“Of course we went into the race knowing that we'd be doing a two-stop. And when the guys were behind me, I kinda had a feeling that Fernando would be doing a one-stop, so I knew I had to make a gap while looking after the tyres. I was able to make a gap and then hold it, even though Fernando started to pick his pace up. It was one of the best stints that I've had for a long, long time.
“And then at the end I had a serious gap to catch up but I was able to be 1.5-1.7 seconds faster than Fernando each lap, which was fantastic. And the greatest thing here is that at this circuit you can overtake. Even if it's not the back straight, you still have opportunities to overtake, which always gives us good races.”
Lewis says he expects the unpredictability to continue this season.
“I think this mix-up is normal, this is what is going to be normal for the season. It's just my feeling, but then again my guess is as a good as yours. I think it will continue to be like this throughout the year. We're still trying to fully understand these tyres. Sometimes you're overheating them, sometimes you're not heating them up enough.
“We don't understand why sometimes a Lotus is quicker than us, or a Mercedes is quicker than us and then we're quicker than them another time. But I think it's great for Formula One, it's great for the fans to see. I'm guessing there was a lot of overtaking today and a real mix-up and as I said, seven different winners in seven races – I can't remember hearing of anything like that. I hope there's no more, I hope there's not eight winners!
“I'm definitely not going to change my approach, but I think it's working reasonably well so far. I probably definitely had to be more on the limit today to catch the two guys ahead, perhaps a little bit more risky than in the past but it is about consistency this year.
“I think it will be about consistency. It's unbelievable to see just how close it is. We got a win and 25 points and I only have a two point lead, so it's incredible how close it is and I think it will stay that close throughout the year. Again, it just highlights how important consistency is.”
source:Autoweek
