Lewis Hamilton overcame all the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in what was quite possibly the most dramatic race in
Formula One history to claim his debut grand prix victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal in only his sixth outing with the
McLaren Mercedes team.
Despite four safety car periods, penalties, a massive crash for
Robert Kubica and some strange strategies, the outcome may have been determined right at the start, when an error from
Fernando Alonso – the Spaniard’s second opening lap misdemeanour of the year following his overly ambitious attempt to pass
Felipe Massa around the outside in Barcelona last month – saw him skate across the turn one run-off area as he endeavoured to brave it around the outside of team-mate Hamilton.
This not only safeguarded the Briton’s advantage, but crucially also let the racy-looking
Nick Heidfeld by into second place. The incident, which saw Alonso slither across the grass before rejoining across Hamilton's bows, began a miserable afternoon for the world champion, whose car looked to have suffered underbody damage as it persisted in taking to the scenery at the first turn.
Still, that was better than the fate that befell
Jenson Button, whose
Honda refused to leave the grid at all, the 27-year old’s dreadful luck in 2007 continuing as he became the race’s first casualty.
Elsewhere, the main candidates all seemed set to cause themselves maximum difficulty, with Felipe Massa getting the better of
Ferrari team-mate
Kimi Raikkonen into the opening complex of corners, only for the Finn to give the Brazilian a nudge, damaging his front wing. Further back,
Mark Webber lost three places at the start, allowing
Nico Rosberg into fifth as Raikkonen recovered from his error.
