Michael Schumacher was looking for his first top-three finish in his return to racing after a three-year retirement. Instead, the seven-time Formula 1 season champion ended up 11th Sunday in the Canadian Grand Prix.
The 41-year-old Schumacher, driving for Ross Brawn-led Mercedes GP, started 13th after his worst qualifying performance of the season, then ran into early trouble when he made contact with Renault's Robert Kubica.
``The first stop was perfectly timed, so it was looking quite promising,'' Schumacher said. ``Then I had a puncture on the front right tire ... after I got together with Kubica, and that obviously decided my race. From there, I was stuck in traffic and there was nothing more to do because today our weapons were not very sharp.''
Hoping to build on a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in Turkey, the German star rarely resembled the dominant driver who won a record 91 F1 races - seven in Montreal - before stepping away from the cockpit after the 2006 season.
``Toward the end, I was trying as hard as I could to defend myself, but it was only possible to a certain degree and my tires were just ruined after having done more than half the race distance,'' Schumacher said. ``I was fighting cars with a good top speed, which was quite tough. Otherwise, I would have been in a good position, I think, so we have something to take away to the next races.''
Schumacher's teammate, Nico Rosberg, finished sixth.
``Sixth place was probably the best result that we could have achieved today, so I'm pretty happy,'' Rosberg said. ``It's been a difficult weekend with a poor qualifying performance yesterday due to the tires not working properly and I was unlucky on the first lap today to lose so many places from the chaos in front of me.''
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HAPPY PRINCIPCAL: McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh wasn't exactly at a loss for words after Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button swept the top two spots for the second straight race to take the first two places in the season standings.
``I'm told I sometimes overuse the phrase 'Fantastic job' when describing the performances of Lewis and Jenson, but I make no apology whatsoever for using that phrase again today,'' Whitmarsh said. ``This afternoon's race was extremely exciting from a spectacle point of view and decidedly challenging from a strategy point of view, and I think our engineers rose to that challenge supremely well.''
Hamilton has 109 championship points through eight of 19 races, giving him a three-point lead over Button and six-point advantage over Red Bull's Mark Webber. In the constructors' standings, McLaren has a 215-193 advantage over Red Bull.
``Lewis and Jenson did indeed do a fantastic job. ... They drove with controlled aggression when it was needed, tempered by patience and discipline when those qualities were required. I firmly believe (we) have the two best racing drivers in the world today.''
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LOVE AFAIR: Race winner Lewis Hamilton made it clear that Montreal is one of his favorite places, repeatedly praising the city and its rabid F1 fans.
``I'm so glad Formula One returned to Canada,'' Hamilton said. ``The fans here are incredible. It's almost unbelievable how passionate they are about Formula One. I had my debut win here in 2007, so this track will always have a special place in my heart. That's why I hope that we come back here again for many more years.''
Hamilton was asked about getting an ``I Love Montreal'' T-shirt.
``I think I should get one,'' the 25-year-old British driver said. ``Maybe I will get one at the airport or something.''
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MESSY MASSA: Ferrari's Felipe Massa made contract with Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi at the start and ended up 15th after pitting four times.
``This was a horrible race, in which everything happened to me,'' Massa said.
``At the first corner, I had an accident that put me out of the game in terms of fighting for a top-place finish. I got a very good start, but I found myself sandwiched between (Jenson) Button and Liuzzi, who touched me, and you all saw how it ended up. A shame, but these things happen.
``The car was very good today, as is usually the case in the races when compared to qualifying. After that, I was always in a lot of traffic and when I had at least managed to get back into the points, there was another collision, this time with Michael (Schumacher) and that put an end to even that slight chance of points.''
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SUCCESSFUL RETURN: The race made a successful return after being dropped from the F1 schedule last year after failed contract negotiations.
``We sold all our grandstand seats and admitted the maximum number of spectators in general admission,'' Canadian GP president Francois Dumontier said. ``In total, we have again seen on the site during the three days more than 300,000 spectators.''
