TECHNICAL ANALYSIS // JUNE 12, 2011
THE 4-HOUR MARATHON: BUTTON’S IMPOSSIBLE WIN
The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was a race that defied every law of probability. In a contest that lasted a record-breaking 4 hours, 4 minutes, and 39 seconds due to torrential rain and red flags, Jenson Button produced a drive that remains the ultimate testament to F1 endurance.
From Last to First: The Six-Stop Strategy
Button’s race was a series of disasters that would have forced any other driver to retire. His afternoon included:
- Intra-Team Collision: A Lap 7 clash with his McLaren teammate, Lewis Hamilton, which ended Hamilton’s race and left Button at the back of the pack.
- The Puncture & Penalty: A collision with Fernando Alonso resulted in a puncture and a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the Safety Car.
- The Pit Lane Carousel: Button visited the pits a total of six times—switching between extreme wets, intermediates, and slicks as the Montreal weather fluctuated wildly.
On Lap 37, after his collision with Alonso, Button was running in 21st and dead last.
The Final Charge
As the track finally began to dry in the closing stages, Button’s mastery of changeable conditions—often called his “Jenson Weather” specialty—came to the forefront. He began carving through the field with relentless pace, picking off rivals one by one. By the final lap, he had hunted down the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel.
Under immense pressure from the McLaren in his mirrors, Vettel made a rare error, sliding wide into the damp patch at Turn 6. Button swept past to take the lead with only half a lap remaining, securing a victory that the telemetry had deemed impossible just an hour earlier.