 |
BMW-Sauber wins the Grand Prix of Canada
BMW-Sauber reached its stated goal of winning a Formula One race in 2008 when Robert Kubica took his team’s first overall win at the Formula One Grand Prix of Canada. His teammate Nick Heidfeld finished second, making it a BMW-Sauber one-two. Kubica’s win, his first as well as BMW-Sauber’s first, came on the circuit at which he had exited the race after a horrendous accident in 2007.
The victory came in a race in which Lewis Hamilton, the drivers’ points leader before Canada, ran a red light while trying to exit the pit lane, rear-ending Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who was stopped alongside Kubica waiting for the light to turn green. The incident took both drivers out of the race.
 Robert Kubica scored BMW-Sauber's first overall win at the Grand Prix of Canada
Kubica had made a strong start, holding on to his second place starting spot despite a challenge from Raikkonen. Heidfeld briefly dropped to ninth (he had started eighth) but soon returned to the eighth position.
A full-course yellow on lap 17 was brought out by Adrian Sutil’s disabled Force India car. The leaders pitted as soon as the pit opened after the safety car came out. The incident involving Hamilton and Raikkonen took place when they finished their stops to return to the track. Nico Rosberg of Williams was also involved, rear-ending Hamilton. He was able to continue. Kubica, sitting next to Raikkonen waiting for the green light, was not hit.
Meanwhile, Heidfeld stayed out, assuming the lead. He eventually took his single stop on lap 28. He returned to the circuit just ahead of Kubica, but Robert got by his teammate in just under a lap. After the rest of those who had not pitted made their stops, Kubica regained the lead, where he stayed for the balance of the race. Heidfeld was chased by Fernando Alonso, who eventually hit the wall trying to pass and damaged his transmission, ending his challenge. From that point, Kubica and Heidfeld cruised to a convincing one-two finish.
Rounding out the podium was David Coulthard of Red Bull, at 37 the oldest driver in Formula One, running on a one stop strategy. The best that Ferrari could do was Felipe Massa’s fifth position. He had to make an extra pit stop early in the race because of a fuel delivery problem, and while he regained several positions on the track, he could not find his way to the front. McLaren-Mercedes scores no points; Hamilton took himself out, and his teammate Heikki Kovaleinen finished ninth.
The win moves Kubica into the drivers’ championship lead ahead of Hamilton, with 42 points to Lewis’ 38. Heidfeld, with 28 points, is fifth. The race gave notice that BMW is a contender for the Constructor’s championship in 2008; BMW-Sauber is second in the Constructors’ chase with 70 points, three points behind Ferrari and seventeen points ahead of McLaren. The series races again in two weeks at the Grand Prix of France.
Brian S. Morgan, Motorsports Editor, bmwcca.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
Return to Top
