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Results at the 2015 Canadian Grand Prix were predictable: Lewis Hamilton, starting on pole, took victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Teammate Nico Rosberg, who started in 2nd, stayed there for the race as well, completing another Mercedes 1-2 – with both Mercedes drivers on the podium the 7th time this year. It is Lewis Hamilton’s 7th podium and 4th win of the year.
Ferrari suffered some bad fortune this racing season – their improved power units looked good in free practice, but they were let down in qualifying. While Kimi Raikkonen was 3rd at the end of Q1, his teammate, former World Champion Sebastian Vettel was eliminated at the end of that session, suffering problems with his power unit and unable to keep the pace. He came back decently from near the back of the grid to 5th, however.
The team had announced they were using tokens for a mid-season upgrade, with changes to the cylinder block and combustion units, and at first glance, during early sessions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, these appeared to have paid off. However, by the end of the race it seems Ferrari’s streak had run out– the Iceman finished with an almost-podium in 4th, his German teammate right behind him in 5th – not bad by Formula One standards, especially as both drivers have been awarded points, but bad for the team as Ferrari have had one driver on the podium every race of the season until now. Raikkonen did, however, have the fastest lap, with 1m 16.987s
Another Iceman took over 3rd spot in Canada this year. Valtteri Bottas of Williams looked in fine nick as he took his (and Williams’) first podium of the season. The Finn has showed promise, and this has capitalised for the team this race. The Mercedes engine upgrades appear to have paid off for Williams, who use their power units, as well. Felipe Massa, who with Vettel was eliminated from Q1, came back similarly to finish right behind the Ferrari driver in 6th.
Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado finished his highest of the 2015 season in 7th spot, taking his first points of the year as well.
McLaren-Honda’s troubles continued well into this race, with yet another retirement, this time of both drivers. Jenson Button, who earlier sat out the qualifying due to issues with his engine and began with penalties, retired due to problems with his exhaust, while an audibly agitated Fernando Alonso did so due to a loss of power. The CEO of Honda had announced last month that Honda too had used tokens to upgrade their power units and fix issues – this seems not to have helped at all, both retiring due to internal mechanical issues rather than crashes or collisions.
