Fernando Alonso won the Canadian Grand Prix today followed by Shell V-Power fuelled Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen.
Despite an admittedly tough weekend for the Ferrari team, on race day both drivers skilfully played the cards they'd been dealt – Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa, who finished fifth, took 12 FIA World Championship points for the team.
Renault held off the competition in Saturday qualifying, taking the front row of the grid. Fisichella was just short of his team-mate Fernando Alonso's time, with the 2006 championship leader achieving his fifth consecutive pole position. It was a disappointing session for the Ferrari drivers; Schumacher and Massa would be starting the race in fifth and tenth place, respectively.
The opening lap of the Canadian Grand Prix did not fail to disappoint in terms of on-track action.
Fisichella jumped the start – an act for which he would later be punished with a drive-through penalty. On the same lap, a tussle for position between Nico Rosberg and Juan Pablo Montoya resulted in Rosberg's Williams hitting the barrier. The two Midlands also collided. Both incidents required the services of the safety car, thereby denying the leaders the possibility to storm ahead and enabling those still on track to bunch up and prepare for the restart.
It was a tricky start for Michael Schumacher. A long stint behind Jarno Trulli proved costly to his progress. While held up behind the Toyota driver, Schumacher was losing significant time to his rivals.
Yet regular displays of strong pace and skilful driving saw him move confidently up the field. With 17 laps remaining, Raikkonen, who was in second place in front of Michael Schumacher, suffered complications during his second pit-stop. This enabled Schumacher to close the gap and fight for the 8 points.
70 laps on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve soon took their toll on the drivers.
As the race proceeded the track surface grew ever more hazardous with a build-up of 'marbles' and the sight of cars losing control became commonplace. Jacques Villeneuve hit the track wall hard with 11 laps left, bringing the safety car out once again. The significant lead which Alonso had created was cut down radically, as the cars were forced to group together.
Photo Action from the raceRaikkonen – another casualty of the track conditions – lost control and went wide at the hairpin with just one lap to go. This allowed Schumacher to seize the opportunity to overtake him for second place. He would cross the Montreal finish line just behind Alonso.
Felipe Massa put in a solid drive. Having started in tenth position, it was not long before he was up with the front runners, putting himself forward as a podium contender. Massa was carrying a heavy load of Shell V-Power fuel. This powered his Ferrari up into the points with a one-stop strategy.
'Obviously at a circuit like this in Montreal, the brakes and gearboxes are made to work very hard and were running at very hot temperatures today. We introduced a new gearbox oil here for Ferrari and in these kind of racing conditions it's crucial to performance – so it's a maiden Grand Prix for this Shell Spirax gearbox oil package and we're delighted with it.' Lisa Lilley, Shell Formula One Project Manager.
The result means that Scuderia Ferrari maintains second place in the FIA Formula One Constructors' Championship with 87 points to Renault's 121. Michael Schumacher now has 59 points, retaining second place in the Drivers' Championship.
Teams now head to Indianapolis in the United States, for the tenth round of the season on 2 July.
