Imagine a race filled with torrential rain, multiple crashes, a lengthy pause, and a wild finish with a winner emerging from the back of the pack. The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, won by Jenson Button, will forever be remembered as one of the most bizarre and longest-lasting races in Formula 1 history.
‘We can get him, we can win this race, Jenson’. It’s lap 68 of 70 when McLaren engineer Dave Robson encourages Button one last time over the radio. The British driver has been rapidly closing in on leader Sebastian Vettel for several laps. The German driver watches in his Red Bull’s mirrors as the McLaren car grows larger and larger.
Could Button actually win the Canadian Grand Prix? It certainly seems possible. And this is for a driver who spent a significant portion of the race in last place, made six pit stops, had two collisions with other drivers, and was fifteen seconds behind leader Vettel with just fifteen laps to go.
Button’s Greatest Race Ever
“And yet it happened,” Button said years later, still in disbelief. In his 2019 book How to be an F1 driver, he describes the race as his ‘greatest race’. And it was indeed grand. It was captivating. Almost incomprehensible. In short, words fall short to describe it.
Let’s go back to earlier that day, June 12, 2011. It’s Sunday morning when Button contemplates a rain race in Montreal. Starting from the 7th position, he wonders if the rain might offer an opportunity to reach the podium. A victory? No, he thinks, that’s a bridge too far.
Unforgettable Canadian GP
The Canadian Grand Prix that day ultimately took 4 hours, 4 minutes, and 39 seconds. The race, including a two-hour rain break, goes down in history as the longest ever in Formula 1. But it is also remembered for the memorable performance of Button, especially because of how he won.
Flat Tire
A few laps after the start behind the safety car, Button and teammate Lewis Hamilton collide on the straight. This marks the end of the race for the latter, while Button makes his first pit stop due to a flat tire. Not much later, he has to pit again: this time for a drive-through penalty.
By lap 19, a third visit follows, pit stop number two is needed for rain tires. Five laps later, the race is halted and resumed after a long interruption. In lap 35, Button in the backfield switches back to the intermediates. Immediately after the third pit stop, the fourth quickly follows: there is contact with Fernando Alonso and again there is a flat tire for Button slowly returning to the pits.
‘Unbelievable’
That he then re-enters the track last is no surprise. But then the great catch-up race begins. He zooms past Liuzzi, Kartikeyhan, Trulli, D’Ambrosio, Glock, De La Rosa, and Buemi. The Brit then pushes through to the sub-top and makes a sixth visit to the pits in lap 51 (for those who lost count: five stops, one drive-through). On treadless tires, he hunts for the podium.
Button has already passed Michael Schumacher (Mercedes, fourth) and Mark Webber (Red Bull, third) on the drying track when in lap 68 of 70 the earlier mentioned encouragement from engineer Robson follows. Under pressure from Button, Vettel buckles in the very last lap: he misses his braking point at the second chicane. The Brit overtakes him and wins. “I led for half a lap. Unbelievable.”
Luck? “A bit,” Button will say later. But reward for hard work? That too.
