It is always nice when fate decides to favor the good guys for a change - and in Canada that is exactly what happened. Lewis Hamilton did BMW the favor of taking out himself and Ferrari's main challenger, Kimi Raikkonen, at the end of the pitlane, leaving Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld as the most likely winners. The BMW team have shown real quality this season, the car not quite as quick as Ferrari's and McLaren's, but they have stuck to their task and added to their point score regularly.
Robert Kubica
It was fitting, too, that Robert should have been the winner of this, BMW's first victory, as he has been consistently quick and reliable from the first race this season. Nick has struggled, reportedly with getting tires up to temperature in qualifying, but this race may be the beginning of better days for him - he qualified high enough to be a factor this time.
What struck me after the race was how popular a win it was; the closest to that feeling of universal approval was Kimi's championship win in Brazil last year. Perhaps we all enjoy seeing monopolies broken by the most deserving. The next test for BMW will be what follows: will they now live up to the expectations that will be generated by this first win? Naturally, I think they will.
Today is a day for celebration, however. Say what you will about that man Hamilton but he always delivers surprises, doesn't he? And I don't mind admitting that he should have won, his superiority on this circuit being so obvious. BMW were going to get a victory sooner or later, however, and they earned this one by being there when it mattered.
If there is any slight regret in the day, it must be that man Nick Heidfeld. He has worked so hard over the years for teams that were not winning, kept BMW close to the top two teams in 2007, and now, just as they attain the goal, the spoils slip from his grasp. As quick as Kubica is proving to be, Nick is still just as good, perhaps better, betrayed only by a driving style that makes it so hard to warm the tires quickly.
For Heidfeld is a racer, the great overtaker and one of the hardest to pass. His fastest lap in Canada was quicker than Kubica's and his determined defense of his position against Alonso was a joy to behold. If he and the team can sort out his qualifying, he will stay with those currently contesting the championship. He did a good job today and, for a while, looked as if he would win.
One has to be happy for David Coulthard, too. I don't quite know how he managed to sneak into third spot but he showed that he is not quite ready to bow out of the sport yet. If this is his last year in F1, it is only fitting that he should have a podium to remember it by.
And I will say a word for Felipe Massa, too. Everything was against him in this race, a poor qualifying session, having to deal with traffic and more Ferrari mistakes, but he kept at it and took his opportunities when they came. He earned his four points today.
Otherwise, the race was a lottery, the crumbling surface changing the characteristics of some corners every lap. Those who survived must thank fate as well as their own skills. As Mark Webber said ruefully before the race, "entertaining for the spectators..."