As you may know if you have followed the blog, the first race I ever watched was the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix. It being the two year anniversary of my introduction to the sport, I thought I would revisit it and see if it still holds up as one of my all time favorites.
Two years on, this race is most known for the five second penalty levied on Seb for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner, forcing Seb to try and build a five second buffer to the chasing Hamilton, but failing. In the end this penalty cost Seb the win despite him crossing the finish first. Out of frustration, Seb parked in the pitlane, rather than Parc Ferme and took the position markers in front of the podium placing cars after the race and put the first place sign in front of where his car should have been and the second place sign in front of Hamiltons.
While it was certainly the most entertaining drama of the weekend, it was certainly not the only unexpected moment of the Grand Prix weekend.
On Saturday, Seb took pole in the Ferreri with his teammate Charles LeClerc in third. Splitting the Itialians was Championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes with his teammate running in sixth. The biggest shocker of the session was Max Versatppen qualifying in 11th after being caught out by a crash involving Kevin Magnussen in the Haas.
In rewatching this race I noticed that it may have not been the most exciting race when it comes to on track action, it was an excellent race for pit strategy. Not to say that there was no on track overtaking, one that comes to mind is the overtake from Perez over Grosjean around lap 32. But due to it being an incredibly hot day for Canada (around 63 degrees) the tire strategy was the truly important aspect in the race.
After about 20 laps most drivers found their way into the pits to switch over to the hard tires, trying to make the one stop work, Leaving them with worn tires in the later stages of the race, which may be to blame for the previously mentioned incident between Vettel and Hamilton on lap 48.
At the time I’m sure I was just mesmerized by the speed and the drama of the Vettel incident, upon second viewing I still find myself enthralled by the race due to the strategy decisions being made at the front around the 20-30th laps of the race. I also found a lot of enjoyment in the fight between Danny ric and Bottas for 5th place eventually being won by Bottas.
The fight between Hamilton and Vettel is the true highlight of the weekend. A fight for the top spot is something we miss far too often nowadays and it is nice to witness two titans of the sport go at it for all the glory. It’s a shame that the fight was cut short due to a questionable penalty by the stewards but it was a treat to watch while it lasted.
My personl favorite part of the weekend came after the final flag flew. Sebastian Parked his car on the worng side of the pits and marched his way into the FIA office to compane about the penetly. Then we saw him walk down the pitlane to the Ferreri motor home before being convinced to the podium. He then took a shortcut through the Merc gradge, making me belive he was trying to fight someone but he was really just looking for his way to the podium, but before he found his way to the cool down room he did the now infamous sign switch.
In the end this race was an incredible start to my Formula one experience and solidified a lot of things I still believe about the sport. This race made Sebastian Vettel my favorite driver on the grid, and he remains my favorite to this day. It shows everything Formula One has to offer, high speeds, drama, otherworldly talent and endless excitement, and those tenants are what keep me waking up at unhealthy hours and tuning in to watch rich men drive in circles.
Mikey McGuire F1 