[Race] The GROAT - Round 1 - 2011 Montreal vs 1990 Phoenix Street Circuit vs 2003 Interlagos

[crmalcolm]

Apologies for the delay in getting more fixtures up and running. Here we go again:

2011 Montreal
The track was wet before the race, as rain showers had hit the area throughout the day. The race was due to start at 13:00 local time, and heavy rain was expected to arrive an hour into the race. The air temperature ranged between 17–19 °C (63–66 °F), with the track temperature between 18–20 °C (64–68 °F). Standing water on the track, which was causing heavy spray and impairing visibility, meant that the race would start behind the safety car and all cars would use the full wet tyres. Alguersuari would start the race from the pitlane, as he modified his Toro Rosso's set-up to optimise the car for the wet conditions.

The race began behind the safety car, with no formation lap, and despite the slow speed drivers struggled for grip on the wet surface. The safety car came into the pits after five laps, and the cars were allowed to overtake. Vettel retained first place withstanding Alonso's attempts to pass, while behind Hamilton and Webber collided at the first corner – dropping the drivers to seventh and fourteenth respectively. Button lost fifth place mid-lap after running wide, losing two places to Schumacher and Hamilton. At the end of the first racing lap, di Resta had moved up to eighth position, followed by Heidfeld and Kobayashi, who made three places off the grid. Vettel extended his lead over the next lap, while the positions behind continued to change. Kobayashi had improved to eighth and Webber recovered to twelfth, while di Resta fell back to thirteenth. Hamilton lost sixth position running wide on a failed overtaking move on Schumacher, and fell behind Button. He attempted an overtake on the pit straight, but the two drivers collided and Hamilton hit the pit wall. The accident caused Hamilton's retirement, which prompted a safety car deployment at the end of lap eight.

The race was resumed on lap 13 and Button, who had changed to intermediate tyres before the safety car period, was given a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car, emerging in 15th place. Vettel began to enlarge his lead over Alonso and Massa in second and third. Alonso and the Mercedes pitted for intermediate tyres, leaving Massa in second and Kobayashi in third by lap 17. Barrichello, who switched for intermediates as the safety car came in, began setting times at the same pace as the leaders, and gained 15th position as the drivers in front changed tyres. On lap 19, a rain storm arrived at the circuit, forcing the drivers on intermediate tyres to switch back to full wets. Alonso and Button, who were in fifth and eighth respectively, fell to ninth and eleventh, while the drivers on the full wet tyres began pitting for fresh wet tyres. The safety car was brought out on lap 20 due to the intensity of the rain, and Vettel, Webber, Massa and Buemi, who had not changed tyres, went to the pitlane for fresh full wets. After six laps under the safety car, the conditions were getting worse, and the race was suspended.

Torrential rain prevented the resumption of the Grand Prix for over two hours, until the rain eased at 15:50 local time. The race was restarted behind the safety car with the drivers in the positions held before the suspension. Vettel was first, followed by Kobayashi, Massa, Heidfeld, Petrov and di Resta. Webber was in seventh place with Alonso, de la Rosa and Button behind. The safety car remained out for seven laps, during which the circuit began drying enough to be suitable for intermediate tyres, and D'Ambrosio pitted on lap 33 to change from the full wets. Vettel began to extend the lead over Kobayashi once the safety car came in on lap 35, as Massa and Heidfeld fought for Kobayashi's second place. Schumacher led several cars into the pitlane to change to intermediate tyres, while Button, Heidfeld and di Resta were among those who pitted the next lap. Vettel and Karthikeyan were the only drivers not to change tyres by lap 37, when Button came upon tenth placed Alonso as he exited the pitlane. As Button attempted to pass at turn 3 the two cars touched, and Alonso's Ferrari spun and beached upon a curb, bringing out the safety car. When the race resumed three laps later, Vettel, Kobayashi and Massa retained their positions, as Heidfeld, di Resta, Webber and Schumacher fought for fourth place. Button had a punctured tyre after the collision and was in twenty-first and last place, but immediately began to make up positions and was 14th by lap 44. Di Resta damaged his front wing attempting to overtake Heidfeld; the subsequent pit-stop and drive-through penalty dropped him down to last. Schumacher, having overtaken Webber, passed Heidfeld in fourth place, and set the fastest lap of the race.

DRS was enabled on lap 46, as Barrichello and Rosberg were contesting eighth position. Button had caught Maldonado and Alguersuari, and passed both cars for tenth place. Mark Webber was the first driver to switch to slick tyres, and was followed by Barrichello and Buemi. Kobayashi and Massa, fighting for second place, were both passed by Schumacher on lap 51; Massa then passed Kobayashi for third place. As the drivers pitted for slick tyres over the next three laps, Massa damaged his wing forcing him into another pitstop, while damage to Adrian Sutil's car led to his retirement. Button had risen from ninth after his pit-stop to fourth, and was catching the leading trio of Vettel, Schumacher and Webber. On lap 56 Heidfeld, while battling Kobayashi for fifth place, collided with the rear of the Sauber which damaged his front wing. The wing then detached and folded under the car, and Heidfeld after losing control of his car ran down an escape road on turn 3. The debris on-track from the accident called the sixth safety car period of the race.

Following the pitstops and safety car deployment, Petrov had gained sixth place while Barrichello, Alguersuari, Rosberg and Maldonado were in the remaining point scoring positions. Schumacher and Webber, who had contested second place before the safety car, resumed their fight as the race resumed on lap 61. Barrichello was passed by Rosberg and Alguersuari before Massa, who had been in eleventh place, overtook both Williams cars for ninth. Kobayashi lost fifth place to Petrov, and Maldonado retired by spinning off on the wet track at turn two. Webber, passing Schumacher using DRS, cut the chicane on lap 64 and ceded the position back to avoid a penalty. Button passed Webber, after he again cut the chicane, and Schumacher on the same lap, and gained second place. As Button began catching race leader Vettel, Webber overtook Schumacher for third place on lap 67. On the same lap di Resta retired because of a puncture, and Massa gained eighth position from Alguersuari. The fastest lap of the race was set by Button on lap 69, setting a time of 1:16.956 as he was closing to Vettel for the race lead.

Vettel led by 0.9 seconds on the final lap, before he ran wide at turn six. Button passed him to take the lead, and held it to win the race. Vettel recovered from going off-track and finished second, ahead of Webber in third and Schumacher in fourth. Petrov took fifth place, while Massa passed Kobayashi on the finish line for sixth place. Alguersuari, Barrichello and Buemi filled the final point scoring positions, and Rosberg's car had lost the front wing, dropping him to eleventh. De la Rosa was twelfth, and Liuzzi, d'Ambrosio, Glock, Trulli and Karthikeyan were the final classified drivers.


1990 Phoenix Street Circuit
Race day was cool with a chance of rain. Berger quickly pulled ahead of Martini and moved over in front of him, but Alesi, whose F1 career had begun in his home country of France the previous summer, made an even quicker start, passed them both and outbraked Berger into the first corner. He immediately began pulling away, and led by 2.4 seconds after one lap.

Senna passed de Cesaris for third, and closed on Berger, who was giving up a half second a lap to Alesi. The Brazilian got by his team-mate when, on lap 9, Berger hit a bump under braking, backed into the tire wall and damaged his rear wing. He pitted for a new wing, and later recorded the fastest lap of the race, but eventually retired with a clutch problem.

When Berger spun, Senna was 8.2 seconds behind Alesi. Not knowing whether the Tyrrell's Pirelli tires would last, Senna was reluctant to push too hard early on. After 30 laps, Alesi remained in the lead, but on lap 34, Senna passed him on the inside. The Tyrrell held the outside line on the exit and retook the lead on the next turn. At the same point, one lap later, Senna took the lead again, and this time he held it.

After several attempts to regain the lead, Alesi decided to conserve his tires, and let Senna go. Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet had progressed from sixth on the grid to third by lap 17. Brake trouble caused him to flatspot his tyres, however, and on lap 28 he pitted for new ones. This allowed Thierry Boutsen's Williams through, and though he battled a problem with his engine intermittently cutting out, he maintained third place to the flag. Piquet had to settle for fourth in his first drive for Benetton.

Prost had fallen back to ninth at the start with gearbox problems, and, while he advanced to fourth place by lap 17, his gearbox troubles proved terminal on lap 21. In the other Ferrari, Nigel Mansell retired from fifth on lap 49, when his clutch disintegrated and pierced the oil tank. The engine seized and caught fire, sending Mansell into a spin.

Senna built his lead over Alesi to 28.5 seconds, but backed off slightly when his engine began sounding less than healthy. Stefano Modena and Satoru Nakajima, in a Brabham and the second Tyrrell, respectively, finished the scoring in fifth and sixth places. It was the 21st win of Ayrton Senna's career and the first of six for the season. Alesi's podium finish was the first of his career.

The first two finishers were full of praise for one another after the race. Senna said he knew Alesi had the ingredients to be World Champion, and Alesi gushed, "He is my hero and has been for many years." Other winners in the race were Ken Tyrrell, with two cars in the points; and Pirelli, with three points finishers.


2003 Interlagos
On the morning of 6 April, McLaren sought permission from the FIA to change Räikkönen's engine after a crack in its casting was detected via telemetry. The FIA authorised the engine switch after it analysed data proving the engine was damaged. Telemetry from BAR also detected damage to Villeneuve's engine and were also allowed to change it. Rain was forecast for the race; at the start the track was flooded because of a torrential downpour that fell from at 11:00 Brasilia Time. 120,000 spectators attended the Grand Prix. It was due to commence at 14:00 local time, before the FIA race director Charlie Whiting delayed it for fifteen minutes, to enable standing water to be drained from the circuit. Event organisers permitted teams to alter the setup of their cars to run on a sodden track, specially the wings and ride heights. The standing water caused heavy spray and impaired visibility, and all vehicles used wet-weather tyre compounds. The track's deficient drainage caused a large amount of water to cascade from a slope onto the tarmac surface at the Curva do Sol corner and made it susceptible for cars to aquaplane.

The race began behind the safety car, with no formation lap; notwithstanding the slow speed drivers struggled for grip on the flooded track surface. Some drivers (including Verstappen, Frentzen, Pizzonia, Panis, Fisichella and Firman) elected to make pit stops for fuel under safety car conditions in an attempt to avoid having to make a second pit stop later in the race. After the rain had stopped, the safety car drove into the pit lane at the end of lap eight, and cars were allowed to overtake. Barrichello bunched up the field on the approach to the start/finish line; the manoeuvre failed to work and Coulthard passed him for the lead under braking for the Senna S chicane. Barrichello was circumspect for the rest of the lap as Webber and Räikkönen pressured him. Further down the order, Montoya moved from ninth to fifth. Heidfeld became the Grand Prix's first retirement on lap nine when his engineers informed him over the radio of an oil feed problem that cut out his engine. He pulled off to the side of the track to ensure that no oil was deposited on the racing line.

On lap ten, Räikkönen overtook Barrichello for second at the Senna S chicane and lost third when Montoya passed him later that lap. There were overtakes further down the field on that lap. Ralf Schumacher moved past Trulli for sixth and Pizzonia passed Verstappen for fifteenth. On the 11th lap, Räikkönen closed up to his teammate Coulthard and passed him to take the lead on the approach to the Senna S chicane. Not long after Montoya overtook Coulthard for third at the end of the Reta Oposta straight that leads to the Descida do Lago corner. That same lap, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli made contact, causing the former to spin. Webber then overtook Barrichello for fourth and Michael Schumacher did the same on his teammate soon after for fifth. Ralf Schumacher began to recover lost positions with an overtake on Villeneuve for tenth on the 12th lap. At the front of the field, Räikkönen had increased his lead over Montoya to five seconds by lap 14. On the same lap, Montoya reported a loss of rear tyre grip to his team over the radio and ran wide leaving Juncao turn. Coulthard overtook Montoya for second.

As the circuit began to dry, except for turn three which continued to have water stream across it, Coulthard began to close up to his teammate Räikkönen, as Michael Schumacher overtook Webber on the inside for fourth on lap 15 leaving Arquibancdas turn. On the 16th lap, Michael Schumacher moved into third position with a pass on the slower Montoya around the outside at the Bico de Pato corner. Wilson drove through a river at the Curva do Sol turn and aquaplaned off another on the following lap. He retired after he was unable to restart his car. Coulthard drew close enough to his teammate Räikkönen by the 18th lap, just as Barrichello moved past Webber for fifth place. That same lap, Firman's right-front suspension system failed going into the braking area on the start/finish straight, causing him to lose control of his car and his flailing right-front wheel narrowly avoided striking its cockpit. He narrowly avoided a collision with his teammate Fisichella, struck the rear of Panis' car at almost 190 mph (310 km/h). Panis' rear wing was removed and the front of Firman's car sustained damage.

The safety car was deployed for the second time for debris clearing. Several drivers took the opportunity to make pit stops for fuel and tyres. Montoya avoided a collision with Trulli and Alonso stopped twice since he had the incorrect tyres installed on his car. The safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap 22 and Räikkönen closed the field up to maintain the lead from Coulthard, Michael Schumacher and the yet-to-stop Da Matta. On the Reta Oposta straight, Barrichello overtook Da Matta for fourth on lap 23, as a driver error dropped Frentzen from eighth to sixteenth and Ralf Schumacher passed Verstappen for eleventh. Montoya overtook Da Matta for fifth and Ralf Schumacher moved past Button for ninth during lap 24. On the 25th lap, Montoya aquaplaned at the Curva do Sol and crashed into a right-hand side barrier. Pizzonia hit the water stream flowing across the circuit at the same corner and aquaplaned. He collided with the wall, ricocheted off it and struck Montoya's car. The accidents elevated Da Matta to fifth and Webber to sixth. By lap 26, Alonso had passed Villeneuve and Fisichella to move to tenth.

Lap 27 saw the third safety car deployment: Michael Schumacher aquaplaned off the stream of water at the Curva do Sol turn and avoided hitting a recovery crane extricating Montoya and Pizzonia's vehicles from the side of the track. He stopped on a run-off area and failed to finish a race for the first time since the 2001 German Grand Prix. Räikkönen and Da Matta made their pit stops for fuel under safety car conditions. Coulthard took the lead and maintained it at the lap 30 restart. Räikkönen overtook Fisichella and Verstappen to return to seventh position and Da Matta passed Frentzen. On the 31st lap, Verstappen aquaplaned on the stream of water at the Curva do Sol corner and retired. The water caught out Button on lap 33: he lost control of his vehicle and crashed heavily against the barrier. Button was unhurt. The accident necessitated the safety car's fourth deployment. In the meantime, his teammate Villeneuve spun and fell behind Frentzen and Trulli. During the safety car period, Da Matta made a pit stop to correct a technical problem. At the lap 37 restart, Da Matta and Webber passed Villeneuve.

Räikkönen overtook Alonso on the start/finish straight into the Senna S chicane for fourth on the 38th lap. Further round the lap, he passed Ralf Schumacher on the outside line going into the Descida do Lago corner. Frentzen in eighth was overtaken by Webber and Villeneuve re-passed Da Matta for tenth during the same lap. On lap 40, Alonso steered to the inside to extract additional grip and passed Ralf Schumacher at Mergulho turn for fourth position. As Barrichello gained on race leader Coulthard, the stewards informed Renault on the 42nd lap that Alonso had been issued a drive-through penalty because he was deemed to have overtaken Ralf Schumacher under yellow flag conditions. He took the penalty on the same lap and fell from fourth to ninth. On the 44th lap, Webber lost control of the rear of his car at the Curva do Sol corner and spun through 360 degrees. He avoided contact with the barrier and merged onto the track after Frentzen, Alonso and Villeneuve passed him.

At the front of the field, Coulthard (on worn tyres) ran wide on the approach to the Senna S chicane and Barrichello used the driver error to pass him for first position on lap 45. Barrichello began to pull away from Coulthard, extending his lead to 4.2 seconds by lap 46's conclusion, who in turn, was 15 seconds ahead of his teammate Räikkönen. On lap 47, Barrichello pulled off at the side of the circuit to retire from the Brazilian Grand Prix for the ninth consecutive time. A fuel feed problem was suspected to have caused Barrichello's retirement until it was traced to a malfunctioning in-car computer calculating it had 12 l (2.6 imp gal; 3.2 US gal) more fuel than normal and an error with Ferrari's telemetry did not inform the team he had run out of fuel. Coulthard returned to the lead, eighteen seconds ahead of his teammate Räikkönen in second and Fisichella third. By the 48th lap, drivers became concerned over fuel. Ralf Schumacher made a pit stop and rejoined in ninth. Alonso and Frentzen overtook Trulli and demoted him to sixth during laps 49 and 50.

On the 52nd lap, Coulthard made a pit stop for tyres after a minor loss of car control through Juncao corner and the start/finish straight. He rejoined the race in fourth position. Räikkönen retook the lead with the faster Fisichella second and Alonso third. On lap 54, a lack of tyre grip caused Räikkönen to understeer on the approach to the Mergulho turn and Fisichella passed him to claim the lead. Both drivers were borderline on fuel and it appeared Coulthard would return to the lead and win the event. At Arquibancadas corner, Webber attempted to prevent his tyres from overheating wherever possible and lost car grip on lap 54. He lost control of his car, and crashed heavily against the concrete barriers on each side of the circuit before the start/finish straight at 240 km/h (150 mph). Debris from Webber's car and three of its tyres were strewn across the track and causing the safety car's fifth deployment. Webber clambered from his car unhurt.

Fisichella and Räikkönen negotiated their way through the debris and the latter entered the pit lane to stop for fuel. Alonso did not notice the waved yellow flags informing him of a hazard, because he was discussing whether to use dry or wet tyres with Renault over the radio. He hit one of Webber's detached rear wheels at around 270 km/h (170 mph) in an impact measured at 4.5 g (44 m/s2). Alonso veered left and struck a tyre wall at 35 g (340 m/s2) lateral and longitudinal. He was launched broadside across the circuit and into a concrete barrier at 60 g (590 m/s2). Alonso sustained a bruised left elbow, knee and thigh, a group of medical personnel placed him on a stretcher for transport by ambulance to the Saint Louis Hospital in São Paulo for observation.

Because of a large amount of debris, personnel tending to Alonso, and 75 per cent of the race completed, its continuation behind the safety car was impossible. The race ended early with a red flag and all cars returned to the pit lane. Fisichella's car overheated because the safety car was slow and fire emerged from the engine bay as he stopped in parc fermé, Under Article 154 of the 2003 Formula One Sporting Regulations, the race was "deemed to have finished when the leading car crossed the line at the end of the lap two laps prior to that lap during which the signal to stop was given" in the event more than 75 percent of it was completed. The official timekeeping screens first showed that Fisichella had begun his 56th lap; then this status briefly disappeared and displayed it as on his 55th. The race stewards based their decision on the belief Fisichella was still on his 55th lap. Fisichella celebrated with the Jordan team in the belief he had won before they were informed Räikkönen had won; the latter was told of the decision as he was weighed. Alonso was third, Coulthard fourth, the non-stopping Frentzen fifth, Villeneuve sixth, Webber seventh (notwithstanding his crash) and Trulli eighth. Ralf Schumacher and Da Matta (who had oversteer) were the final provisional finishers.

[Racing Harz]

Montreal... what a f*cking fantastic race.

[BTCC frog]

It's shame you've put it with two great races that I'd like to progress to the next round, because nothing can beat Montreal 2011. Obviously I will always be biased towards races I saw live, but for me that was the greatest race of all time.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

It's shame you've put it with two great races

To be honest - I used a scoring system to create the seeding, and then the bracket is formulated around that.

The beauty of a bracket I guess - you get some match-ups that mean personal favourites can get knocked out early...

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

To be honest - I used a scoring system to create the seeding, and then the bracket is formulated around that.

The beauty of a bracket I guess - you get some match-ups that mean personal favourites can get knocked out early...

It wasn't meant to be a criticism, I was just giving some praise to the other two candidates before picking the winner.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

It wasn't meant to be a criticism, I was just giving some praise to the other two candidates before picking the winner.

No worries, I didn't take it as such.

It's part of the bracket appeal.