The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix will be one Formula One race that will always be an integral part of F1 history. And, as we go into the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix weekend, I have to ask the question. "Was the 2011 race one of the greatest F1 races of all time?"
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's the greatest but it has to be up there. And, year after year we are reminded of just how great it was.
So, here's a quick recap. There was drama and it was wet. Very wet. In fact, a two hour delay in proceedings meant that this race holds the record for the longest race in F1 history at over 4 hours long.
The race began behind the safety car with Sebastian Vettel eventually pulling an early lead on Fernando Alonso. Later on, McLaren drivers; Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, would collide on the start/finish straight, resulting in a second safety car which reduced Vettel's lead. The rain continued to fall and gain intensity and on lap twenty six, the race was red flagged. Two hours passed before the cars graced the circuit once again.
On lap thirty seven, it would be Button that was involved in yet another incident. This saw him fall to last place, as well Alonso's retirment. However, it wasn't over yet for Button. The Brit climbed from the back of the pack up into second, all by lap sixty seven. Button would continue to set consistent fastest laps before trailing Vettel by only 0.9 seconds as they went into the last lap. Things were tense and, with a drying track that was still damp in places, Vettel went wide at turn six giving Button the lead. He managed to hold off Vettel for the remainder of the final lap, taking the chequered flag and giving him his first win of the 2011 season.
So, there you have it. The longest race in Formula One history. Are you starting to understand the reasoning behind this article? Maybe this next part will help.
Of course, as we've already established, this was the longest race in F1 history. But don't expect to see any other race break this record any time soon. This is because the maximum time allowed for a race, including suspended periods such as red flag, has been shortened to three hours. That is why in recent times we've seen the races timing out rather than running out of laps.
Now, let's forget about it being the longest race and focus purely on the driving. Surely this was one of Button's greatest drives during his F1 career? The McLaren driver started 7th before getting tangled in numerous incidents before falling to the back of the grid. He recovered well and won the race. Of course, he was on a different strategy to the rest of the field by this point but nothing should take away from the fact that he went from last to first in the blink of an eye. And, to make it sound ever so more impressive, he managed this during the era which saw Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull dominate.
And, then we have the weather. The safety aspect in Formula One has become so dominate in recent years that wet races like these are pretty much non-existent. Putting it simply, we'll most likely never see a race of this calibre in these type of conditions again. Or, in the near future at least.
In hindsight, the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix definitely has the factors to qualify for the list of greatest races. And, obviously, there are probably people out there who disagree with me but I think that it's everything that Formula One no longer is which, in short, makes it great.
What do you think?
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