2012 Canadian Grand Prix

Fine, dry and warm; [ 2 ] with air temperature approaching 29 °C (84 °F) [ 2 ]

The 2012 Canadian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2012 ) [ 1 ] was a Formula One motor race that took place on 10 June 2012 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec , Canada. The 70-lap race was the seventh round of the 2012 Formula One season , and the first of two North American rounds. [ 3 ] It was the 49th Canadian Grand Prix , and the 33rd to be held at the circuit since its début on the calendar in 1978 .

After experimenting with two Drag Reduction System (DRS) zones with a single activation point in 2011 , [ 8 ] the FIA decided that the 2012 race would use a single, shorter DRS zone. [ 9 ] In 2011, the DRS zone was 650 metres from the l'Epingle hairpin to the final chicane, with a secondary zone placed along the main straight. For 2012, the detection point was once again placed after the l'Epingle hairpin, and the DRS zone was shortened to 600 metres, while the secondary zone along the pit strai...

The Monaco Grand Prix saw several teams question the legality of parts used by Red Bull Racing on their car , [ 11 ] and although Mark Webber 's win went uncontested, rival teams sought clarification on matter. [ 12 ] One week before the Canadian Grand Prix, the FIA declared the parts used in Monaco to be illegal, forcing the team to change them. [ 13 ] The team was also forced to change the design of their axles, after FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting felt that holes in the axles contravened t...

Like the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix , tyre supplier Pirelli brought its yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the red-banded supersoft compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre. [ 15 ]

Following a smoke bomb incident on Montreal Metro subway, student activists from the Université du Québec à Montréal threatened to prevent the race from going ahead as part of ongoing demonstrations across Quebec . [ 16 ] Further threats emerged two weeks later, with activists calling for disruptions to the race, which they depicted as a symbol of the "capitalist class", [ 17 ] while students from the Faculty of Arts at the Université du Québec à Montréal described the Grand Prix as "[representi...

After attacking the Formula One website in protest against the Bahrain Grand Prix , [ 20 ] [ 21 ] hacktivist community Anonymous threatened similar action against the sport to protest the Canadian Grand Prix as a part of "Operation Quebec" , [ 22 ] promising to block access to the circuit, light fires within the circuit limits, and foreshadowing attacks on hotels in the city proper. [ 23 ] Anti-capitalist group CLAC also threatened to target Crescent Street in downtown Montreal to "disrupt this ...

In response to these threats, organisers for the event cancelled the "Open Doors Day" scheduled for the Thursday before the race. [ 26 ] Three hundred protesters gathered at an official pre-race function on the same day, with riot police called in to disperse the crowd. [ 24 ] Montreal police also carried out raids on eighteen homes in the city, arresting eleven people suspected of widespread vandalism. [ 25 ] Thirty-seven people were arrested on Friday evening when they staged a nude protest in...

Montreal resident and former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve was highly critical of the protesters, comparing them to rioters who took part in the 2011 England riots and describing them as "people [who] grew up without ever hearing their parents ever tell them 'no'." [ 29 ] After claiming that plans by activists to block the Montreal Metro system on the day of the race could be considered an act of terrorism, Villeneuve claimed he had received "insulting" and "dangerous" e-mails. [ 30 ]

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in the first practice session, a tenth of a second faster than Sebastian Vettel and two-tenths faster than Nico Rosberg . [ 31 ] Jenson Button was forced out of the session early after his team discovered an oil leak in his car, but still finished the session tenth, while Caterham driver Heikki Kovalainen crashed at Turn 9 halfway through the session, bringing out the red flag. [ 32 ] Sebastian Vettel was summoned by the stewards after he was observed cuttin...

Hamilton continued his form in the second session, this time leading the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa . [ 34 ] Jenson Button emerged late in the session, the team having overcome his oil leak, to set the ninth-fastest time; likewise, Caterham managed to rebuild Kovalainen's car in time for him to take part in the session. As in the first session, the second was interrupted by a red flag when Bruno Senna crashed at the final chicane, destroying one of the experimental rear wings W...

Jean-Éric Vergne was eliminated in Q1, out-qualified by the Caterhams of Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov . Petrov was faster than his teammate for most of the Q1 session, but a late lap from Kovalainen – which included a bumpy ride across the kerbs at the final chicane – put him two-tenths of a second clear of the Russian. Pedro de la Rosa outqualified both Marussia cars by half a second, with teammate Narain Karthikeyan within a tenth of a second of Charles Pic , completing the final row of...

All ten cars took to the circuit for Q3. Vettel qualified on pole, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso . Mark Webber was fourth, ahead of Nico Rosberg who finished fifth. Felipe Massa was sixth in his second appearance in Q3 in as many races, ahead of Grosjean in seventh and Paul di Resta eighth. After bettering Nico Rosberg's times in Q1 and Q2, Michael Schumacher finished ninth, half a second behind Rosberg. Onboard footage showed Schumacher visibly frustrated with a slower car on his ...

Massa had started closing in on Webber after passing Rosberg, but he then spun and dropped down to 12th, at the tail of the second group led by di Resta. At the head of the field, Vettel built a two-second lead in the first four laps over Hamilton, but then Hamilton slowly started reeling him back in as the super softs slowly began to wear out. Before the first round of pit stops, Hamilton closed right up to Vettel and started to get held up, with Fernando Alonso taking the opportunity to join t...

Alonso stayed out two laps longer than Hamilton and, helped by a quick pitstop was able to rejoin in second place, ahead of Hamilton and Vettel and only behind temporary leader Romain Grosjean who was yet to pit. Hamilton immediately attacked him in the DRS zone on the same lap and succeeded to take 2nd place, which became the lead two laps later when Grosjean pitted. Webber was unable to keep up with the leading trio in the first stint and thus, after his stop rejoined behind the yet to stop Se...

On lap 24 Narain Karthikeyan was the first retirement after spinning on turn 1 and pulling over shortly afterwards. Shortly afterwards, his HRT teammate Pedro de la Rosa stopped in the pits with worn-out brakes and didn't re-emerge.

Räikkönen and Pérez, running 4th and 5th having started on the soft tyres both had a long first stint as they tried to make the race on a single stop. With Webber being held up behind the duo, this allowed both Grosjean and Nico Rosberg to close up on him. Rosberg made his second stop on lap 40, one lap before Räikkönen made his only stop. Räikkönen rejoined in front of Rosberg, but Rosberg was able to pass him in the DRS zone on the same lap, just as Hamilton did on Alonso earlier. Pérez made h...

Hamilton was able to open up a 4-second lead over Alonso, with Vettel being initially held up by the Spaniard, but unable to keep up with him as the Ferrari driver found the grip in his tyres. As the stint wore on, Alonso was able to pull clear of Vettel and close down Hamilton's lead to just over 2 seconds, and Hamilton decided to make a second stop for new tyres. He rejoined in third, 9.5 seconds behind Vettel and 13 behind Alonso, and just ahead of Webber and Grosjean who were fighting for 4t...