Bridgestone Motorsport celebrated the 110th Formula One Grand Prix victory on Bridgestone Potenza tyres after McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took the chequered flag for his first Formula One victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton delivered a faultless performance in an incident filled race with no fewer than four safety car periods. The momentous win took place just hours after Casey Stoner scored the fifth victory on Bridgestone tyres at the Circuit de Catalunya in the MotoGP category this season.
Both Bridgestone Potenza compounds withstood the high track temperatures and fluctuations in tyre pressure brought about by the numerous safety car periods, allowing a variety of strategies. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) converted his third place on the grid to second in the race whilst Alex Wurz (Williams Toyota) drove through the field from 19th at the start to the final podium spot by employing a single stop strategy, completing 40 laps on the super soft compound in his final stint.
Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) finished in fourth after a strong drive through the field whilst Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) was fifth. Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato overtook Fernando Alonso (McLaren Mercedes) in the late stages of the race to finish in sixth position. Alonso was seventh whilst Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) took the final point. The Bridgestone Potenzas employed on the safety car performed faultlessly too in the four stints they ran at the head of the field.
Hamilton now leads the drivers’ championship with 48 points to Alonso’s 40 whilst McLaren Mercedes lead the constructors’ championship with 88 points to Ferrari’s 60. Bridgestone Motorsport heads now to the tough test of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the soft and medium specification Potenzas will be put through their paces on the punishing Indy banking.
Kees van de Grint, Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering Operations said: “It was an excellent victory by Lewis Hamilton who did everything perfectly. He looked after his Potenzas very well and this is shown by his dominant performance. Nick Heidfeld drove a fine race too and after their difficulties early in the weekend the drives of Alex Wurz and Heikki Kovalainen were particularly noteworthy.
Due to the number of safety car periods it is difficult to judge the performance of the two compounds of Potenza. My impression is that the soft was more consistent whilst the super soft presented more of a challenge with graining, which some managed better than others. In terms of heat resistance and wear rates there were no issues and this was illustrated in particular by Wurz running for 40 laps on the super soft. As happy as I am with the results we’ve seen today my thoughts are with Robert Kubica after his incident. There was enough drama in today’s race to fill a book. ”
| 
|