5 Memes summing up the Canadian Race Weekend

The 2016 Canadian Grand Prix was a downcast but thrilling race weekend.  Lewis Hamilton has roared back into the title race as Nico Rosberg faltered once again. Sebastian Vettel gave the reigning Champ a run for his money, but ultimatley would settle for 2nd as Lewis took his 5th win at Canada. Bottas bought up the first podium of Williams in 2016. Meme’s that sum up the Canadian Race weekend are

1. Magnussen causes a massive crash towards the end of FP3.

With most drivers and teams preparing for a qualification run towards the end of Free Practice 3, Magnussen was out on track, collided with the barriers. The damage to the car and the wall meant the final practice session of the the Canadian Grand Prix ended prematurely. Such was the damage done, the Wall section hit by the Lotus had to be inspected for damage.

Poor Kevin would not take part in qualifying as the car would not be ready in time.

2.  Despite showing good pace in the Practice sessions, the Canadian Front row was locked out by the Silver Arrows.

Vettel who showed good pace in the Friday and Saturday was beaten by the sheer pace of the Silver Arrows. Vettel’s time of 1:12:990 meant he was the only non-Mercedes driver to be in the 1:12s. However, both Mercedes Drivers were more than a tenth faster than the German.

With rain seeming like a strong possibility, Vettel would have hoped it would be a wet race day. That could have allowed him to over take Nico Rosberg, who is not as strong in the rains.

3. Despite a blitzing start, an early strategical blunder by the Ferrari pitwall cost Vettel and the team their first win of 2016.

Vettel who passed both Mercedes drivers heading into the first corner, would build up a sufficient advantage over the then second placed Lewis Hamilton.  The low track temperature meant tyre degradation would be minimal. However, when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Jenson Button pulled over to the side. The team boss called Vettel into the pits, thereby taking a 2 stop strategy.

This early call was a blunder that cost him the race, as the Ferrari and Mercedes were able to match each other. Despite trying to make a charge towards the end of the race, Vettel was denied a second Canadian Grand Prix win by an early blunder.

4.  Daniel Riccardo and his steak of horrible pit stops and strategies continue.

Daniel Riccardo has had his issues with the Red Bull pit strategy given to him over the past few races. It continued in the Canadian Grand Prix.  A fast start for Daniel for Daniel saw him end up behind a struggling Nico Rosberg and then his team mate Verstappen. Despite Max Verstappen being told not to hold Daniel up, he was not able to catch up and his tyres degraded rapidly.  After his stint on the Ultra Soft tyres, he pitted for a set of Softs.

Surprisingly, he would enter the pits again after just 17 laps,  after a severe lock up. This stop would be a shamble, as the team took too long to get the right front tyre up.  He would be battling with Kimi for the rest of the race but would finish a lowly 7th, despite having 2 brilliant races prior to this (not including the pit strategies).

5. That’s not the only reason Lewis and his side of the garage will be smiling about.

Lewis Hamilton, like many at Mercedes are enjoying their fine run over the last few years. This season, Lewis’s season has now taken and up swing.

He is right back in the title race, 9 points behind his team mate and has taken back to back victories. He looks certain to win his 3rd consecutive Championship.  He is also certain to photo bomb more Mercedes F1 group photos.

Its such a strange coincidence that McLaren struggle after Lewis Hamilton left for Mercedes.