F1 Classic Races: Canada 2014: The Roar of the Honey Badger

The Story of the Classic 2014 Canadian Grand Prix

The latest in The Sporting Blog’s series of classic F1 races takes us back to 2014 and to Canada, in which a young Australian driver took his first career win in a race full of intrigue and on-track drama.

The iconic Canadian Grand Prix, 2014

Montreal Magic

The Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, based in Montreal, has long been a fan favourite.

Situated on the picturesque Notre Dame Island by the St Lawrence River, its long straights and heavy braking points provide daring overtaking opportunities, whilst the changeable climate has led to exciting wet-dry races.

It’s a demanding race on engines and tyres, often exposing reliability issues and creating a wide variety of strategies.

2014’s Biggest Rivalry

Montreal was the 7th round of the 2014 season, and it was already evident that the driver’s title was a straight fight between two teammates.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were reaping the rewards of an utterly dominant Mercedes car, the team grasping the new regulations far better than any of its rivals.

With the exception of a mechanical failure in the season opener for Hamilton, the Mercedes drivers had finished 1st and 2nd in every race so far.

Every race had become a straight fight between the two drivers, and so tensions were simmering between the long-time friends - in particular after great controversy at the previous round, Monaco.

Whilst on provisional pole in qualifying, Rosberg made an ‘error’ which forced him to go down an escape road and abort his lap.

In doing so, Hamilton was forced to back off his final attempt, leaving Rosberg on pole.

Whether or not this move was intentional, Rosberg was cleared of wrongdoing and would go on to take victory at Monaco - and the lead of the world championship.

With just 4 points between Rosberg and Hamilton, the F1 world was fascinated to see how the next chapter of this increasingly strained title fight would play out over Canada’s 70 laps.

Teammate Clashes

Rosberg qualified on pole for Canada, with Hamilton alongside him on the front row and reigning champion Sebastian Vettel in 3rd.

Daniel Ricciardo, impressing in his first season for Red Bull, lined up 6th, with the Williams cars of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa sandwiched in between.

As the lights went out, Hamilton made the better start and pulled alongside Rosberg.

The Brit looked to have it but Rosberg locked up and forced Hamilton wide onto the grass, with Vettel moving into second.

The safety car was then deployed following a huge accident between the two Marussia cars, Max Chilton sliding into the side of Jules Bianchi, who hurtled into the wall.

After the restart, Hamilton used the back straight to get past Vettel and set after Rosberg. By lap 25, he was right on the tail of his teammate.

Under pressure, Rosberg would then lock up and cut the final chicane, and to the dismay of Hamilton would not be forced by the rule-makers to concede the lead.

The first stops then saw a change in the lead, as Hamilton stayed out a few laps longer and managed to emerge a fraction in front of Rosberg.

Similarly, Ricciardo had jumped Red Bull teammate Vettel, both of whom had been passed by the Force India of Sergio Perez.

Car Problems

On lap 38, Hamilton and then Rosberg reported car issues on the radio, suggesting a lack of power.

The engineers told the drivers that they were both experiencing the same problem and to do their best to manage the best situation.

On lap 46, Hamilton ran deep at the track’s hairpin, allowing Rosberg past.

Hamilton then got a run on the German but failed to stop at the chicane, cutting across the track just as Rosberg had done earlier.

Hamilton immediately let Rosberg pass, but it was soon clear that he had bigger problems, his rear right brake duct smoking away.

His brakes had failed and he was out.

Rosberg was instructed to firmly manage his pace in order to avoid the same fate as Hamilton, which allowed the chasing pack to close in.

A Frantic Finish

With just 5 laps to go, there were 5 drivers in close contention for the podium positions - Rosberg led Perez, Ricciardo, Vettel and the Williams of Massa.

Ricciardo, sensing the rare prospect of a first race win with a single, vulnerable Mercedes at the front, made an ambitious lunge at the first corner down the inside of Perez, clipping the grass as he wrestled the car into 2nd.

Two laps later he had closed on Rosberg and breezed past on the back straight.

As the last lap approached, Vettel took Perez, who was fading on worn tyres.

Massa also saw an opportunity and prepared for a first-corner lunge on Perez, when it all went badly wrong.

Maybe Perez moved a fraction under-braking - an absolute no-go in racing - or maybe Massa misjudged his braking point.

Either way, the repercussions were huge, as both cars lost control and veered wildly into the barriers, miraculously flying either side of Vettel in the process.

The safety car was deployed as both drivers emerged unscathed from their massive impacts.

Ricciardo took a fond first victory and one that would epitomise the best years of his career-fighting spirit, daring overtakes and securing unlikely results from further back on the grid.

These skills would earn him the affectionate nickname of ‘The Honey Badger’.

Ricciardo would go on to take a further 2 victories that year, whilst Hamilton would prevail against Rosberg at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.