Montreal: Robert Kubica claimed his maiden victory and took control of the world drivers’ championship as Lewis Hamilton’s Canadian Grand Prix ended in disaster here on Sunday. Pole Kubica survived a horrendous crash at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 12 months ago and the BMW Sauber driver took full advantage of a pit-lane accident that took out McLaren’s world championship leader Hamilton and world champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. Hamilton crashed into the back of Raikkonen as t h e y emerged from a pit stop on lap 18 with the Englishman failing to spot at the red light at the end of the lane as the Ferrari was waiting on the line. It was a BMW Sauber one-two as Nick Heidfeld claimed the runners-up spot for the second year in a row. The drama also cleared the way for Scotland’s David Coulthard to score his first points of the season with an invaluable third-place finish to ease the pressure on his seat at Red Bull Racing. Hamilton, the defending race winner, started on the pole for the second straight year at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and led until the safety car came out and the leaders pitted on lap 19 of the 70-lap race. That followed Adrian Sutil parking his Force India entry on the grass alongside the track. Raikkonen, who came into the race trailing Hamilton by three points in the world championship, was third before the stops, but came out ahead of the McLaren driver and Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber on pit road. The Ferrari driver stopped at a red light at the end of pit road and Hamilton, picking up speed, rammed into the Raikkonen’s car, knocking off the rear wing. Nico Rosberg then hit the rear of Hamilton’s car. Both leaders got out of their damaged cars and Raikkonen tapped Hamilton on the helmet as he walked past, pointing toward the light. Hamilton, obviously angry at himself, pushed past several cameras in the McLaren garage.
Monday, June 9, 2008
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