For more than three minutes and two laps the safety car lead Lewis, his carefully-crafted lead now nullified, and company around the course. When the safety car finally made its way back into pit lane the top cars dove in after it. Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Kimi Raikkonen, and Nico Rosberg were among those who made the initial charge for more fuel.
Raikkonen and Kubica were first out, with BMW-Sauber being recognized as the hands-down best team during pit stops, but found that the light at the end of pit lane was lit red. As Lewis Hamilton made his way out of pit lane he failed to see the stopped Ferrari and BMW. The resulting wreck destroyed the rear of Raikkonen's Ferrari and stalled the McLaren-Mercedes of Hamilton.
A split second later saw Rosberg's Williams-Toyota careen into Hamilton. The Goddess of Speed can be a cruel mistress, indeed. In the blink of an eye, Lewis Hamilton's hopes of winning (or even finishing) the Canadian Grand Prix were dashed, and Robert Kubica's were suddenly elevated.
From that point forward Robert Kubica neglected to put a wheel wrong, as BMW-Sauber delivered a driver's clinic. Nick Heidfeld, long thought to be the leading man at BMW but struggling as of late, returned to his previous form of solid and consistent driving. Following the spin of Renault's Fernando Alonso, Quick Nick found absolutely no resistance in helping to secure two spots on the podium for BMW-Sauber's thrilling maiden win.
BMW-Sauber's Director of Motorsports, Dr. Mario Theissen, was quoted in 2006 as outlining 2008 in which to expect the team's first victory. As he, Nick Heidfeld, and Robert Kubica took to the podium, Theissen flashed a smile rarely seen on his mustachioed face, and was visibly shaken as he hefted the Constructors trophy above his head.
It can only be surmised the feeling of not only achieving that which he set out and boldly proclaimed to do, but also that in that moment of victory the best possible result was achieved. A truly epic day for the young team.
Despite BMW-Sauber being the story of the day, one would be remiss in not mentioning the brilliant drive of Red Bull-Renault's David Coulthard. The most senior driver in Formula 1 (he's 37 years old) finally returned to the podium after a long drought of mechanical unreliability and non-fault accidents by climbing up to third place.
And so it was that parc ferme, for the first time, was host to two BMW-Saubers and a Red Bull-Renault. Not to be completely counted out, Ferrari fought back after the demise of Raikkonen, with Felipe Massa handing in a brilliant race. The Brazilian simply outdrove the middle of the pack after a fuel-delivery issue put him at the back.
Following a plethora of replay-worthy moves, including a double-pass at turn 10, and the out-and-out trouncing in the straightaways following, Massa was able to secure a fifth place finish for the Scuderia.
Consequently, both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have been penalized ten places at the coming French Grand Prix for their roles in the pit lane stop light debacle.
Regardless, the day belongs to Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, Dr. Mario Theissen, and the team at BMW-Sauber for their first win in Formula 1. Congratulations.
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