Watched my first ever ‘historic’ F1 race today: the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, in anticipation of quali today.

spoiler

I am disappointed to say that I didn’t feel it lived up to its reputation. Everything seemed reasonably uneventful before the red flag and a very large amount of the race was behind the safety car. I didn’t get the impression there was ever a moment of ‘different teams; different strategies; how is this going to play out?’. Maybe there would have been, if it were not for the red flag.

Undoubtedly the final 20 laps were exciting. Heidfeld (IIRC) running over his own front-wing. Schumacher’s double over-take of Kobiyashi and Massa. The three-way battle of Schumacher, Webber, and Button. Webber’s final lap off. Massa beating Kobiyashi at the death.

It was undoubtedly a good race but without having lived the era, maybe I am missing the context to really, truly appreciate it. Button being from last to first with six pit stops feels more like a fun trivia fact than a titanic achievement, given all the disruption.

I’d be interested in the views of other fans. Has anyone else re-watched it and been underwhelmed? If I watched it will full knowledge of where the sport and the competitors were at the time, would I have enjoyed it more?