Hamilton wins in Canada, Kubica breaks leg

F1 Grand Prix, GP Canada, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Lewis Hamilton has won his first Formula One Grand Prix in an incredibly hectic race. Nick Heidfeld is second while a surprising Wurz is third. Kovalainen, the much troubled driver of Renault came in in fourth place. Robert Kubica made a horrible crash halfway through the race but proved how strong the cars are. He was unconscious after the crash but is ok. The Pole broke a leg and will be out for several Grand Prix.

Under sunny skies and ahead of the start of the Grand Prix, Albers is set to start from the pitlane after last minute problems for his Spyker. Heikki Kovalainen will start from the back after his dismal qualifying session and the decision of his team to fit a new Renault engine into his Renault R27.

When the lights go out, Alonso and Heidfeld started very well but it was Alonso who charged both men in the first corner. Unfortunately for the Champion, he missed his braking and went through the grass. He popped up back on track just ahead of Hamilton. Alonso at the time was not up to speed and picked up the race in 3rd place behind Hamilton and Heidfeld. Kimi Raikkonen meanwhile slightly touched his teammate's rear wheel. Raikkonen lost a few elements of his car but could continue without problems.

Mark Webber made a rather bad start and got cought behind Kubica. When attempting an overtake in the first corner of lap 3, he overcooked it and spun off. Webber could rejoin the track just behind his teammate. The Australian must be on a lower fuel load since he was passed by one lap later and could win a place one lap later when passed Barrichello.

Jenson Button had a technical problem at the start and had to retire. With 61 laps to go, there was a collision between Scott Speed and Alexander Wurz. The Toro Rosso driver had to retire as his steering column broke during the incident. The rear wing end plate of the FW29 was broken, but Wurz was able to continue the race.

In lap 18, Fernando Alonso made an error in the first corner and Felipe Massa was able to ovrtake him. Alonso does not look to be comfortable in his car after committing several errors and after dropping to 4th place also being slower than 5th-placed Rosberg.

In lap 20, Heidfeld is the first to dive into the pitlane and is followed one lap later by Hamilton. As expected during qualifying, Alonso is a bit heavier on fuel than his teammate.

2 laps later the safetycar is on the track after both Spyker cars hit the wall. Sutil sees his race end after leaving his car on track. Alonso and Rosberg consequently enter the pitlane to refuel their cars at a time when it is prohibited. Both are punished with a 10 second stop and go penalty several laps later.

Unfortunately, one lap after the safetycar enters, Robert Kubica gets in trouble when approaching the hairpin at the back of the circuit. His car lifts up at the front and flies into the barriers violently. Several tumblings later, his car comes to a stop with debris all over the track. Fortunately, the monocoque remains intact but the hit to the concrete wall on the inside of the corner and the next crash on the outside barrier knocked him unconscious. Let's just hope everything is well with the pole and he will be able to return to racing without problems.

In lap 34 Alonso and Rosberg complete their 10 stop penalties just after the safety car entered the pitlane. Three laps further down the race, Rosberg and Trulli both spin side by side in the first corner without hitting each other. Rosberg tried to overtake the grip lacking Toyota but may have tried too hard. Alonso is 17 after his penalty and starts to overtake the cars ahead of him, approximately one in each lap.

Lap 38 David Coulthard enters the pitlane to end his race. His car is apparently suffering technical problems.

After everyone managed to make their stops, there are 27 laps to go. Hamilton is in the lead, ahead of Heidfeld, Webber, Massa, Fisichella, Sato, Raikkonen and Alonso who moved up to 8th after driving 7 stunning laps. At that time he is constantly more than 1 second faster than Kimi and sets a string of fastest laps.

After 48 laps, Heidfeld enters the pitlane and is fitted with the soft tyre compound. One lap further Hamilton is in too.

And it's not even the end of the action. Albers misses a chicane just before the point where Kubica came into trouble. The Spyker loses its front wing and the race for Albers is finished. Again, this brings out another safety car.

Moments later the FIA announces that Fisichella and Massa are black flagged for exiting the pitlane with the red lights on. The event happened during the first safety car procedure when both men simply drove past Kubica who was rightfully waiting at the end of the pitlane.

20 laps from the end the safety car is again in until in that same lap Liuzzi hits the wall at the final corner. In order to clear his car from the track, the safety car is again out. Alonso meanwhile overtook Raikkonen in the pitlane but when attempting to pass Trulli in corner 1, he again misses his braking point and loses 3 places. Alonso is obviously having a very mixed race with great performances altered with dismal braking, especially in that first corner.

Then, with 12 laps to go and still with the safety car on track, Trulli hits the tyre barriers after coming out of the pitlane. This puts Alonso back in the points.

Yet again, the safety car leaves the track with only 11 laps to go. 3 laps later Barrichello enter the pitlane and clearly throws away his 3rd place.

With only 4 laps to go, Sato passes Ralf Schumacher and moves up to 7th place, once again an incredible success for Super Aguri after their 8th place in Spain. Sato even strolls onto Alonso and manages to pass him too. It is unclear what is happening with the McLaren of Alonso but he is unable to match any car's pace. In fact, Wurz is at the end the fastest man on track.

Hamilton hereby savours his first race win in Formula One and firmly takes charge of the championship.