Through the past 12 months there have been 10 grands prix at which a home representative (or two/three) has participated. 13 drivers have flown the flag on home soil but of those entrants seven have ended in retirement, and another two have been the final classified runner – just three have scored points, and no-one has triumphed.
Lance Stroll retired at the Canadian Grand Prix following contact with Brendon Hartley while at the following race in France Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon terminally clashed – also on the first lap – with the third entrant, Romain Grosjean, sustaining a time penalty that scuppered his top 10 hopes.
Lewis Hamilton did finish on the podium at Silverstone – but it came after he was spun to last on the opening lap in the wake of a poor getaway, and ended his streak of four straight home wins.
Hamilton’s woe, though, was nothing in comparison to Sebastian Vettel’s malaise at Hockenheim. Vettel was on course for a first Hockenheim win in Formula 1 until he skated into the gravel at SachsKurve when the rain came; home blushes were spared by Nico Hulkenberg, who placed fifth.
Stoffel Vandoorne’s miserable McLaren tenure didn’t improve after the summer break in Belgium as he finished as the final classified runner in 15th, with Sergey Sirotkin also bringing up the rear when Formula 1 rolled into Sochi a month later.
A brake failure put Sergio Perez out of the Mexican Grand Prix while the other two native Spanish speakers – Carlos Sainz Jr. and Fernando Alonso – also had an early bath.
Daniel Ricciardo opened the 2019 campaign on home ground but his competitive Renault debut lasted mere metres after he blundered across a bump on the start/finish straight.
Sainz Jr. was at least able to take eighth at the Spanish Grand Prix last month, continuing his fine record at Barcelona, which may be the last given the event’s uncertainty.
Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was knocked out of Q1 in Monaco after Ferrari’s strategic blunder and retired from the race in the wake of damaging the SF90’s floor courtesy of a puncture. It marked Leclerc’s fourth retirement from four starts in the Principality, stretching back to his 2017 F2 debut.
So for any Canadians cheering on Stroll in Montreal: Good luck…
