Canadian GP – To BMW, happy 1-2, from Lewis.

June 8, 2008 by Dominic Alder

Formula 1 BMW driver Robert Kubica has won his first F1 race at the Canadian Grand Prix. Kubica took the chequered flag from his team-mate Nick Heidfeld to give BMW their first 1-2 since taking over the Sauber team in 2006.

The result moves Kubica four points clear in the drivers’ championship, a year after his horrific crash at the same race. This was a deserved result for Kubica, cementing his strong second season in Formula One. Heidfeld struggled in qualifying yesterday but recovered well to finish second in the race.

“I never struggled so much, I was pushing so much to do it and I managed to do it so it was a great race,” said Kubica in the post-race press conference.

“The last laps were very, very difficult. The team was telling me to stay calm and not push too much but I wasn’t pushing for 10 or 15 laps, it was just amazing.”

However, the race was gifted to BMW after a controversial incident on lap 19. Under the safety car, race leader Lewis Hamilton crashed into the back of Kimi Raikkonen in the pit lane. Raikkonen was waiting for the pit lane exit to reopen after the safety car period, and an unsighted Hamilton slammed into the rear of the Ferrari, putting them both out of the race.

Hamilton had the race under complete control up to this point, and would have further stretched his championship lead. He now slips to second behind Kubica, and has been penalised ten places on the grid for the French Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

“It wasn’t a great stop. I saw the two guys in front battling in the pit lane and all of a sudden they stopped. I saw the red light but by the time I stopped it was too late,” said Hamilton to Autosport.com.

Hamilton’s slip opened up the race, with seven different drivers taking the lead.

The crumbling track surface continued to give all sorts of problems during the race. The organizers attempted to treat the worse affected areas, particularly turn 10, which looked like someone had painted the track with Plaster of Paris. Several drivers retired with brake failure, the combination of several straights and tight corners causing havoc for several teams.

Coulthard finally got his season under way with third for Red Bull, albeit by nursing his car to the finish with more brake problems.

Elsewhere, Timo Glock finished a career-best 4^th for Toyota. Felipe Massa had an opportunistic race, overtaking Kovalinen and Barrichello on the same corner on lap 51. His final laps saw him chasing down the two Toyotas, eventually sandwiching them to finish 5^th.

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