F1 - Canadian Grand Prix: Kubica Wins After Hamilton Error

Kubica finally delivered on his promise as one of F1's rising stars

We all pitted together, I saw Kimi side by side with me. Then I just heard a big shunt and saw Kimi's moving and realised it was Lewis. He was over Kimi's rear wing. I just kept concentrating waited for the green light and managed to pull away well. I have to thank him that he shunts Kimi and not me

By Citizen Correspondent Sir Stephen

Date Posted: 06/09/08

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BMW Sauber’s 2008 target was to score their first Grand Prix win and on Sunday in Montreal they achieved it in style, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld recording an emphatic one-two victory for the German-Swiss team. The result, which also saw Red Bull back on the podium, came at the end of an afternoon packed with incidents, most notably Lewis Hamilton’s pit-lane blunder, which put both his McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari out of the race…

Robert Kubica took his and the BMW Sauber team's first Formula One victory in a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashed out in the pits. Kubica survived an intervention by the safety car and a crumbling track that provoked errors from several drivers.

Hamilton's chances were dashed when he crashed into the back of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn waited on a red light at the end of the pit lane. Nick Heidfeld completed a BMW one-two with Red Bull's David Coulthard third. It was the 37-year-old Scot's best result since he finished third in the Monaco Grand Prix two years ago.

The Toyota of Timo Glock was fourth, ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa. The Brazilian passed the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli two laps from the end when the Italian was delayed when his team-mate an error in front of him.

Rubens Barrichello's Honda was seventh - the Brazilian had been running fourth, holding off the Toyotas, when he made an error and slid wide on the slippery track with 10 laps remaining.
Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel took the final points place, holding off Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren in the closing laps.

"I never struggled so much, I was pushing so much to do it and I managed to do it so it was a great race," said Kubica. "The last laps were very, very difficult. The team was telling me to stay calm and not push too much but I wasn't pushing for 10 or 15 laps, it was just amazing. It's very fantastic to win my first race for BMW Sauber, which I joined from the beginning. We grew up together."

Hamilton looked to have the race in the bag until the intervention by the safety car.