• Canadian Grand Prix

Kubica takes maiden victory

ESPNF1 Staff
June 8, 2008
BMW took a one-two at Montreal © Sutton Images
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After a maiden pole position in Bahrain, Robert Kubica took his first Formula 1 win in Canada at the end of a bizarre race that included a pit lane accident as its main talking point.

Lewis Hamilton made a clean start from pole position to lead Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen and he continued to build his lead lap after lap. Adrian Sutil, however, would have a say in the outcome of the race - with his Force India struggling for gears he eventually parked at turn three - the safety car had to be deployed to help the marshals clear the track.

Hamilton, Kubica, Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg were amongst those who dived for the pit lane, Hamilton had a fractionally slower stop than the others who leapfrogged him. The pit lane light was on red as the pack went down the pit straight, and while Kubica and Raikkonen saw the light - Hamilton strangely did not. He didn't even register that the cars ahead weren't moving and clumsily drove into the back of Raikkonen. Equally blind to his surroundings was Rosberg who bumped into the back of Hamilton's McLaren.

Hamilton and Raikkonen's races were over. "I don't know what happened," bemoaned Hamilton. "All of a sudden they stopped. It wasn't a racing incident as such." He and Rosberg were handed 10-place grid penalties for the next race in France.

Kubica, meanwhile, jumped past the later-stopping BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld which affected his race pace and meant he had an insufficient gap over Kubica to retain his lead. The podium was completed by David Coulthard's Red Bull ahead of Timo Glock's Toyota. A subdued Felipe Massa was sixth.

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