Canadian GP: Lewis Hamilton on pole position at Montreal F1 2007

9 June 2007

NEW DELHI

Lewis Hamilton finally does it! Formula One's most sensational rookie, Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes, sped ahead of his teammate world champion Fernando Alonso to take P1 during the second qualifying session today.

Lewis Hamilton is the first ever Formula One rookie to take podium positions in the first five F1 races he has participated in. His teammate, Fernando Alonso, is the current world champion.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who has been having a horrid time in the last few races, redeemed himself with P4, ahead of his teammate Felipe Massa who has been earning praise as the better driver of the two.

P3 was claimed by Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber, who is probably having the best time of his entire F1 career. P3 is brilliant, considering that he is ahead of the capable duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa of Ferrari.

In Q1 at Montreal, Fernando Alonso was faster than his teammate Lewis Hamilton, but during Q2, Alonso could not catch up to his speeding teammate. He seemed to have made a mistake at the final chicane, and consequently lost speed on the main straight.

The team, McLaren Mercedes, has been under attack from the British Formula One press for favouring Alonso over local boy Hamilton. With his performance today, Hamilton has definitely endeared himself to many, as a new star rising in F1 is always welcome - and the fact that is the first black driver ever in F1 also adds to it. The F1 race organisers of Canadian GP actively marketed Hamilton to fill their stands, and it worked. With today's performance, Hamilton has cemented his place as a genuine title contender for the 2007 championship.

What is there for Ferrari fans to take back home? Well, it looks like McLaren has finally managed to catch up and overtake Ferrari - but it could also be the different strategies that the two teams were on. Were the McLarens fueled less than the Ferraris? At this time, no one knows. We will have to wait for tomorrow to see if the Ferraris mange to catch up and overtake the McLarens, will they do it in the pits, or will Hamilton take his first win in F1.

Qualifying times at the Canadian Grand Prix:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren one minute, 15.707
2. Fernando Alonso (Sp) McLaren 1:16.163
3. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:16.266
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:16.411
5. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:16.570
6. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:16.913
7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:16.919
8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:16.993
9. Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Renault 1:17.229
10. Jarno Trulli (It) Toyota 1:17.747
11. Takuma Sato (Jp) Super Aguri-Honda 1:16.743
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi (It) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.760
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:17.116
14. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:17.304
15. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:17.541
16. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:17.571
17. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1:17.542
18. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:17.634
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:17.806
20. Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Toyota 1:18.089
21. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 1:18.536
22. Christijan Albers (Ned) Spyker-Ferrari 1:19.196