F1 Grand Prix Of Canada
Final
for this game
Grand Prix of Canada Preview
Jun 8, 2008 - 10:21 AMJune 8, 2008
Gilles Villeneuve Circuit
Montreal, Canada
Race 7 of 18 in Grand Prix Series
Laps: 70
Race length: 189.545 miles
Track length: 2.75 miles
Lap record: Rubens Barrichello - 1:13.622 (2004)
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Fernando Alonso (Spain)
Team: Renault
2008 Points: 9 (8th)
Began his season with a fourth at Australia and eighth at
Malaysia, then slipped to 10th in Bahrain also finished 10th in
Monaco; two-time champion had a tumultuous 2007 season with
McLaren, but still managed to finish third overall; had the same
points as teammate Lewis Hamilton, but lost the tiebreaker for
second place; won four times last season, but relationship with
team and Hamilton deteriorated after Ferrari spy scandal affair
and returned to Renault for 2008 season; won consecutive titles
in 2005-06 with Renault; won six races in 2006 and seven in 2005;
finished seventh this race last year.
Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
Team: McLaren
2008 Points: 38 (1st)
Won at Monaco to take over the top spot in the standings, three
ahead of Kimi Raikkonen; opened the season with a dominant win
at Australia then ran fifth at Malaysia and 13th in Bahrain;
bounced back to finish second at Turkey; had a stunning rookie
season, scoring podiums in his first nine races; won four times
and captured six poles to outperform more heralded former
teammate Alonso; was the favorite to win the championship last
year until errors in final two rounds dropped him to second
place behind Raikkonen; needed to only finish immediately behind
Alonso to claim the championship; retired from the race at China
to give his teammate and Raikkonen the chance to steal the crown
in the final race; won at Japan to open a 12-point lead over
Alonso with two races left; made history at Canada where he
became the first black driver to win a Formula One race;
followed that victory in Canada by winning the United States
Grand Prix; placed second in four consecutive races prior to his
back-to-back wins; was the first rookie since 1964 to capture
podium finishes in his first three races.
Nick Heidfeld (Germany)
Team: BMW Sauber
2008 Points: 20 (5th)
Finished 5.4 seconds behind Hamilton to claim second at
Australia; followed up with a sixth at Malaysia, fourth in
Bahrain and fifth in Turkey; ran 14th at Monaco; was the best of
the rest behind the Ferrari and McLaren drivers last year after
an impressively consistent season for BMW, finishing fifth
overall; did not win last season as best race of the season was
at Canada where he finished second; had consecutive fourth-place
finishes at Italy and Turkey and was third in Hungary; opened
the year with three consecutive fourth place finishes at
Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain; forced to retire at Spain and
the United States Grand Prix; has nine top-five finishes in 17
starts last year; ran second to Hamilton here last year.
Felipe Massa (Brazil)
Team: Ferrari
2008 Points: 34 (3rd)
Rebounded from an awful start to the season by winning at
Bahrain and Turkey; completed only 29 laps before retiring at
Australia with engine issues; also retired at Malaysia by
spinning out early; posted three wins and six poles last season,
but reliability issues and a disqualification in Canada put him
out of title contention and he wound up fourth; contract with
Ferrari runs until 2010; retired from the Italian Grand Prix
with suspension problems, dropping to fourth place in the
standings; bounced back from a 13th-place finish at Hungary by
winning in Turkey; posted a runner-up finish at the Grand Prix
of Europe after slipping to fourth place following a fifth place
finish at the British Grand Prix; was runner-up to Raikkonen at
Magny-Cours and season finale at Brazil; ran third at
Indianapolis and Monaco after capturing two straight checkered
flags at Bahrain and Spain; had 11 top five finishes in 17
starts last season.
Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)
Team: Ferrari
2008 Points: 35 (2nd)
Finished ninth at Monaco to drop to second in the standings;
opened defense of his title by running eighth at Australia,
completing just 53 laps before having engine problems; bounced
back to win at Malaysia, ran second at Bahrain and third in
Turkey; won first appearance for Ferrari in Australia last
season then went on to win five more times; biggest win came at
the season-ending event at Brazil, which gave him his first
drivers title by a single point over Hamilton; trailed Hamilton
by seven points entering final race; retired from the Grand Prix
of Europe after consecutive checkered flag wins at the British
Grand Prix and Magny-Cours; had six wins and 14 top-five
finishes in 17 starts last season; struggled to eighth place at
Monaco and retired due to electrical problems at Spain, dropping
him from first to fourth in the standings; joined Ferrari after
spending five years with McLaren where he went winless in 2006;
finished fifth here last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren-Mercedes
2. Nick Heidfeld, Germany, BMW-Sauber
3. Alexander Wurz, Austria Williams-Toyota
4. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Renault
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari
6. Takuma Sato, Japan, Super Aguri-Honda
7. Fernando Alonso, Spain, McLaren-Mercedes
8. Ralf Schumacher, Germany, Toyota
9. Mark Webber, Britain, Red Bull-Renault
10. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Williams-Toyota
Past Champions
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2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes
2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault
2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren-Mercedes
2004 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2003 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2002 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2001 Ralf Schumacher, Williams BMW
2000 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
1999 Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes
1998 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
1997 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
1996 Damon Hill, Williams
1995 Jean Alesi, Ferrari
1994 Michael Schumacher, Benetton
1993 Alain Prost, Williams
1992 Gerhard Berger, McLaren
1991 Nelson Piquet, Benetton
1990 Ayrton Senna, McLaren
1989 Thierry Boutsen, Williams
1988 Ayrton Senna, McLaren
1987 (no race)
1986 Nigel Mansell, Williams
1985 Michele Alboreto, Ferrari
1984 Nelson Piquet, Brabham
