F1: Montreal mayhem upends championship

Adrian Sutil's Kingfisher car sat alongside the track, straddling the white line, with its front left wheel on fire. After two laps, the safety car came out and Button, in breach of the regulations, pulled into the pits for a stop that cost him a drive through pit lane. Not that it cost him a lot because he had started from the pit lane after a disastrous qualifying in which his gearbox left him more than 10 seconds off the pace.

As the pit lane opened, Hamilton - who had in the first 14 laps built up a lead of almost seven seconds - came in, followed by Kubica and Raikkonen. Then it all went horribly wrong.

Hamilton's garage is at the opposite end of the pit lane from Ferrari and BMW. Kubica and Raikkonen started down the pit lane and raced side by side. Hamilton followed them down the pit lane and as they approached the end, the light turned red as the rest of the field snaked around past the pit-lane exit behind the safety car. Both Kubica and Raikkonen stopped on the line. Hamilton, watching the two cars racing, saw the two cars brake hard and tried to brake and swerve but ran - hard - into the back of Raikkonen knocking them both out.

Kubica escaped without damage and slipped back into the race well back - but the first of the cars that had stopped. Ferrari were in a tizz: they had called both cars in. Massa crept down the pit lane slowing down other cars, trying not to arrive until Raikkonen had left. Raikkonen left at a sprint to try to get ahead of Kubica whose box is nearer the pit entrance and was therefore already at speed when he passed the Ferrari pit. In their confusion, Ferrari failed to refuel Massa who had to come in a lap later for a second stop. That ensured that neither Ferrari would finish well.

But that wasn't now it panned out. Kubica drove a stunning series of laps to build sufficient lead that he was ahead of his team mate by enough time to make an additional stop. Kubica finished first - his first F1 win and the first for BMW since it bought control of the Sauber team. The good news for them didn't finish there: Heidfeld was second - not just a first win but a first one-two. And right behind them, in his first podium finish for more than two years, David Coulthard had a race with no bad luck and proved he and his Red Bull can deliver. All three took their places on merit.

However, it was Button and Massa that delivered much. At one point Button having started last from the pit lane, and having served the penalty from his unauthorised stop, was just 2.88 seconds behind the one stopping Barrichello who had started ninth and who had led the race for several laps - a rare thing to say about a Honda. Rubino finished 7th and Button 11th.

Massa, at one point down to a lowly 17 out of 19 runners, stormed through the field to finish a very creditable fifth.

The end result was that Kubica now leads the drivers' championship with 42 points. Massa has climbed to third with 38 points - the same as Hamilton but Hamilton has won more races this year.

After the race, the stewards examined the pit lane collision. Hamilton - and Rosberg who ran into the back of the by-then stationary Hamilton - were both penalised 10 places for the French GP. McLaren say that the penalty was "harsh but fair" and that Hamilton caused an avoidable accident. They have apologised to Kimi and Ferrari. Hamilton, as he got out of the car, immediately tried to apologies, through tears, to Kimi whose body language was somewhat unforgiving, to say the least.

But there is an argument that Kimi should not have been alongside Kubica in the pit lane - that racing in the pit lane is both dangerous and against the regulations. But that conduct appears to have been overlooked by the stewards.