Round 8 Canadian GP

frostie500

The Canadian Grand Prix returns to the Formula 1 calendar this weekend with the return of the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve. Montreal has a rich tradition of F1 and the races hosted here have tended to be some of each season's best.

The Circuit

The circuit has a well earned reputation as a car breaker and when you look at the layout of the circuit is quite easy to see why-high speed straights leading into slow first and second gear corners. Brakes and gearboxes take a pounding and failures are common, a classic example being Heinz-Harold Frentzen's Jordan failing on the second last lap of the '99 race that led to that Grand Prix ended behind the safety car with double world champion Mika Hakkinen leading the field over the line in his McLaren.

Recent Canadian Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver in the history of this race with seven victories but it is unlikely that we will be seeing number eight this weekend with the Mercedes slower than the pace of the leading Red Bull and McLaren teams. As it is Mercedes have moved ahead of Ferrari in recent races.

The Italian team is the most successful team in the history of this race with thirteen race wins but the red cars are clearly lacking right now. Felipe Massa signed a new two year contract with Ferrari and he will look to maintain the form he showed in Turkey, where he out qualified teammate Alonso, but he will need to buck the trend of his past results here if he is to beat his teammate again. Alonso is a past winner here while Massa has never stood on the podium here and has a best finish of two fifth places combined with a disqualification in 2007 for failing to stop at the red light in pitlane.

During the next years Grand Prix a somewhat similar incident occurred with the red light at the end of pitlane switched on and Raikonnen sitting at the end of pitlane waiting to reenter the race only for Lewis Hamilton to drive straight into the back of the then reigning world champion's Ferrari.

In 2007 as a rookie Hamilton claimed his first career win in Canada and then backed it up with a win at Indy the week after. The Englishman showed that he was sure to be a championship contender as he dominated a race blighted by safety cars, the most significant of these was as a result of a massive shunt involving BMW's Robert Kubica. The Polish driver crashed at the hairpin and was forced to sit out the next race which led to the arrival on the Formula 1 grid of a certain Sebastian Vettel.

Kubica returned to the scene of the biggest accident of his career in 2008 to deliver BMW their one and only Grand Prix win as a full works Formula 1 team. He led home his teammate Nick Heidfeld after his team gave him the benefit of a stronger strategy relative to his teammate.

The win placed Kubica firmly into championship contention and the Pole spoke after the race of a need to continue to press hard and win more races that season to challenge for the title right until the end of the season. Of course with hindsight we know that BMW did not take his advice but with the form that Kubica finds himself in right now it is quite clear that Renault would not make the mistake maintain his current form.

Apart from the recent races there have been numerous talking points and interesting events throughout past runnings of this race, one of the most memorable was in 1991 when Nigel Mansell waved to the crowd on the last lap and his Williams ground to a halt leaving a bemused Englishman to stand trackside and watch Piquet take the chequered flag.

Weather for this weekend

The weather for this weekend is quite promising with temperatures expected to be in the range of 20 and 24 degrees with no rain forecast on Friday or Saturday. Raceday though has thunderstorms forecast but these are set to arrive after the flag has dropped. Rain has played a part in some Canadian Grand Prix but the safety car has been much more prevalent in the past and it is this that we should expect to see on Sunday rather than rain.

Grim.

monster weekend of motorsport incoming cant wait

awesome post as always frostie

amacachi

I've been looking around for a map of the old layout of the circuit but no luck, anyone got one?

I wonder if we'll see a bit of a shuffle this weekend, different kind of track to the last couple.

frostie500

amacachi wrote: »

I've been looking around for a map of the old layout of the circuit but no luck, anyone got one?

I wonder if we'll see a bit of a shuffle this weekend, different kind of track to the last couple.

Which years layout? I can scan you an image of it and mail it onto you

amacachi

frostie500 wrote: »

Which years layout? I can scan you an image of it and mail it onto you

1986 I think it was. Think the pits were just after the hairpin but watching the classic stuff on BBC it seems the Casino straight wasn't really there.

frostie500

This the circuit layout used from 79 until 88.

amacachi

Found a similar one elsewhere, just doesn't look right without the stupidly long straight. :pac:

Anyway, anyone looking past the RBs and Maccas this weekend?

frostie500

amacachi wrote: »

anyone looking past the RBs and Maccas this weekend?

Not for pole! The races here have tended to have frequent safety cars-one year they might as well have had it on a fuel strategy-so the field tends to stay compacted but even so Red Bull and McLaren will still be comfortably ahead.

I think Renault will be best of the rest, they have shown that they have a car that is very good on low traction surfaces and while they will be behind in terms of top speed Merc will be just as hampered and Ferrari clearly need some new parts(not sure what they are bringing to Montreal)

amacachi

frostie500 wrote: »

Not for pole! The races here have tended to have frequent safety cars-one year they might as well have had it on a fuel strategy-so the field tends to stay compacted but even so Red Bull and McLaren will still be comfortably ahead.

I think Renault will be best of the rest, they have shown that they have a car that is very good on low traction surfaces and while they will be behind in terms of top speed Merc will be just as hampered and Ferrari clearly need some new parts(not sure what they are bringing to Montreal)

Can see Kubica getting on the podium if he keeps his nose clean in the race.
99% sure Ferrari have no big updates coming til Valencia, which is odd, thought anything would be worth a try.

lord lucan

amacachi wrote: »

Anyway, anyone looking past the RBs and Maccas this weekend?

Still not convinced of the RB's reliability and i think this weekend will test it severely. While we haven't seen races full of overtaking so far this season,i've found myself strangely excited after each F1 weekend about the next one. Roll on Canada and the drama that awaits.:)

Vegeta

Wonder what odds you'd get on at least one of the Red Bull cars suffering brake failure?

McLaren are noticeably quicker in a straight line than Red Bull so should make it interesting at the front.

Cant wait

Brilliant post as always frostie

djimi

Cant wait for this race. Easily one of the top 3 tracks on the F1 calendar and I cant believe they were dumb enough to drop it in the first place.

PJTierney

What time on BBC1?

recyclebin

Practice 1 FRI 15:00
Practice 2 FRI 19:00
Practice 3 SAT 15:00
Qualifying SAT 18:00
Race SUN 17:00

Canada is usually a good race to watch especially with the wall of champions leading onto the pit straight. I was there in 2006 and brought home some "marbles" as a souvenir. The track usually breaks up in places so i guess it will get a few mentions again this year.

frostie500

Vegeta wrote: »

McLaren are noticeably quicker in a straight line than Red Bull so should make it interesting at the front

I'm interested in seeing how Red Bulls blown rear wing will work here. They clearly need to close the gap to the McLaren's on top speed and they'll have to run it here. In Turkey they said that they didnt notice any real difference in speeds so they clearly needed to do a bit of re-working but you'd have to fancy Adrian Newey to get it right.

amacachi

Ye should all throw everything you own on Vettel to win, I've just backed him not to finish. :pac:

TMC_Ledge

frostie500 wrote: »

Not for pole! The races here have tended to have frequent safety cars-one year they might as well have had it on a fuel strategy-so the field tends to stay compacted but even so Red Bull and McLaren will still be comfortably ahead.

I think Renault will be best of the rest, they have shown that they have a car that is very good on low traction surfaces and while they will be behind in terms of top speed Merc will be just as hampered and Ferrari clearly need some new parts(not sure what they are bringing to Montreal)

agree renault will be good, but ferrari wud also like these conditions, no?
hoping that their not just gonna fall away like its looking at the moment..

Ghost Train

I always liked the Canada race, glad its back

frostie500

TMC_Ledge wrote: »

agree renault will be good, but ferrari wud also like these conditions, no?
hoping that their not just gonna fall away like its looking at the moment..

They were very good in Bahrain but off the pace in Melbourne and Monaco(obviously we didnt see Alonso's true pace there) and will be helped by their blown rear wing giving a good top speed but its tough to see them challenging in my view

gerbear1

Nice post frostie, you the big dawg!!!

Darwin

Ghost Train wrote: »

I always liked the Canada race, glad its back

100% agree with that - some truly memorable races there over the years.

vectra

Ha, The old boy is giving the youngsters a run for their money
Schumi 2nd in P1 :cool:

Oblomov

1 1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:18.127 23
2 3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:18.285 0.158 19
3 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:18.352 0.225 19
4 4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:18.356 0.229 23
5 5 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:18.549 0.422 27
6 11 Robert Kubica Renault 1:18.662 0.535 19
7 8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:18.726 0.599 21
8 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:19.097 0.970 25
9 10 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:19.282 1.155 31
10 9 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:19.313 1.186 19
11 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:19.373 1.246 12
12 7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:19.511 1.384 21
13 12 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:19.549 1.422 24
14 6 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:19.609 1.482 26
15 23 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:20.186 2.059 33
16 16 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:20.320 2.193 27
17 22 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:20.584 2.457 21
18 17 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:20.823 2.696 28
19 19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:21.869 3.742 24
20 20 Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:21.977 3.850 27
21 18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:22.543 4.416 12
22 21 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:22.701 4.574 28
23 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:22.713 4.586 20
24 25 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth No time 4

Oblomov

Mercedes engines and F-ducts on Friday led the pace during opening practice for the Canadian grand prix.

As expected at the unique Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, it was the most powerful engine allied with the down force-stalling 'F-duct' technology that looks the ideal package.

The four Mercedes-powered McLarens and Mercedes cars monopolised the top four positions at the end of the morning 90-minute session, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel just fifth.

"It is a circuit that should play to the advantage of the Mercedes-powered teams and the teams with the F-duct -- and we have neither!" laughed team boss Christian Horner.

Mercedes, whose Michael Schumacher ran McLaren's Jenson Button close for the fastest morning lap time, is believed to be running a more refined version of its F-duct system this weekend.

"When it works properly it is a very, very powerful tool -- and we are persevering with it," said team boss Ross Brawn.

Grim.

is that Brian Vickers in the redbull garage?

Frank Bullitt

Alonso not looking too bad,he can look after his tires well,loving seeing Schumi up there as well,think he could be strong on Sunday.

amacachi

Grim. wrote: »

is that Brian Vickers in the redbull garage?

Wasn't watching it but it wouldn't surprise me if he was, only a quick helicopter flight to Michigan.

TheChrisD

amacachi wrote: »

Wasn't watching it but it wouldn't surprise me if he was, only a quick helicopter flight to Michigan.

Even though he's not actually racing at Michigan...?

Oblomov

Practice Two,

1 germany Sebastian Vettel 5 Red Bull-Renault 1:16.877
2 spain Fernando Alonso 8 Ferrari 1:16.963
3 germany Nico Rosberg 4 Mercedes GP 1:17.151
4 australia Mark Webber 6 Red Bull-Renault 1:17.273
5 brazil Felipe Massa 7 Ferrari 1:17.401
6 germany Adrian Sutil 14 Force India-Mercedes 1:17.415
7 great britain Lewis Hamilton 2 McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.522
8 poland Robert Kubica 11 Renault 1:17.529
9 germany Michael Schumacher 3 Mercedes GP 1:17.688
10 italy Vitantonio Liuzzi 15 Force India-Mercedes 1:17.903
11 great britain Jenson Button 1 McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.961
12 brazil Rubens Barrichello 9 Williams-Cosworth 1:18.385
13 germany Nico Hulkenberg 10 Williams-Cosworth 1:18.447
14 russia Vitaly Petrov 12 Renault 1:18.582
15 spain Pedro de la Rosa 22 BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:18.658
16 japan Kamui Kobayashi 23 BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.142
17 switzerland Sebastien Buemi 16 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:19.168
18 spain Jaime Alguersuari 17 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:19.274
19 finland Heikki Kovalainen 19 Lotus-Cosworth 1:19.969
20 india Karun Chandhok 20 Hispania-Cosworth 1:20.879
21 brazil Bruno Senna 21 Hispania-Cosworth 1:21.097
22 italy Jarno Trulli 18 Lotus-Cosworth 1:21.346
23 germany Timo Glock 24 Virgin-Cosworth 1:21.488
24 brazil Lucas di Grassi 25

amacachi

TheChrisD wrote: »

Even though he's not actually racing at Michigan...?

I didn't get that memo. :pac:

Beekay

Qualifiing is on BBC2 tonight at 7.20, seems to have changed from what the BBC website says.

deadbloke

Beekay wrote: »

Qualifiing is on BBC2 tonight at 7.20, seems to have changed from what the BBC website says.

If anything I thought it'd be the World Cup that interrupted this weekends F1, but it's the GAA... BBC2 NI Schedule. Always good to have the Red Button!

amacachi

Beekay wrote: »

Qualifiing is on BBC2 tonight at 7.20, seems to have changed from what the BBC website says.

That's delayed coverage on BBC NI. Have to hit the red button on BBC for it like I would assume.

TheChrisD

amacachi wrote: »

I didn't get that memo. :pac:

He's out indefinitely after his blood clots issue before Dover!

BoardsRanger

Quali is on at 5 on BBC 2 England. Check to see if you have it on sky under services and "other channels". If you dont- google how to get it.

amacachi

TheChrisD wrote: »

He's out indefinitely after his blood clots issue before Dover!

Aye, I checked it before my last post. Funny enough I noticed he wasn't about a few races back but completely forgot since.

amacachi

Four people go faster than the current fastest time, bringing it down by 0.8 seconds and that **** Legard didn't even seem to notice. ¬_¬

Ghost Train

amacachi wrote: »

Four people go faster than the current fastest time, bringing it down by 0.8 seconds and that **** Legard didn't even seem to notice. ¬_¬

The 5 live commentry has less engine and car noise which is a pity

Ghost Train

Massa a bit off the pace, wonder did hitting the wall in free practice effect him

sauber not that far ahead of the new teams with kobiashi

amacachi

Lotus looking to have improved again this weekend.

Even apart from the engine noise I like Brundle. I also like to be able to switch channels quickly, but I'm tempted to forgo that luxury soon. Everytime the ****er asks Brundle a question he then adds at least 2 more sentences before letting Brundle answer.

Ghost Train

Some fast times now, kubica looking fast

rosberg all over that last chicane

frostie500

amacachi wrote: »

Lotus looking to have improved again this weekend.

Yeah they are really showing that the new teams can do a decent job, they have consistently closed the gap to the mid field and in all fairness it isnt too much of a stretch to think they could get into a few Q2's this year

amacachi wrote: »

Even apart from the engine noise I like Brundle. I also like to be able to switch channels quickly, but I'm tempted to forgo that luxury soon. Everytime the ****er asks Brundle a question he then adds at least 2 more sentences before letting Brundle answer.

Apart from adding two sentences he always seems to want to prove Brundle wrong. James Allen may not have been a great commentator but at least the dynamic between him and Brundle was a lot more cohesive. Leggard seems to constantly want to prove that he isnt a weak link in the partnership by upstaging his partner but he consistently comes across as desperate to show what he knows, which has tended to show that he isnt upto scratch

Ghost Train

Good job for force india, Schumacher is a surprise to be out, slower than the williams

amacachi

Aye, Kovalainen was only 0.6 away from getting into Q2.


Schumacher out in Q2, big surprise.

frostie500

Great lap from Hamilton but Webber and Vettel did amazing jobs on the hard compound and will be tough to beat tomorrow with the advantage the hard compund has over the soft in long stints.

Looking at how Vettel struggled in Q3 you'd have to say Webber has his car/tyre sorted very well so I'd say he'll be very tough to beat

Ghost Train

Wow, super session

great job for Hamilton to get first non redbull pole

the fuel thing is interesting though

and the tires might be an issue for them

Ghost Train

Getting the soft tyres out of the way with an early pitstop could be a good move if there is a safety car later in the race

Oblomov

Quali


1 Great Britain L Hamilton McLaren
2 Australia M Webber Red Bull
3 Germany S Vettel Red Bull
4 Spain F Alonso Ferrari
5 Great Britain J Button McLaren
6 Italy V Liuzzi Force India
7 Brazil F Massa Ferrari
8 Poland R Kubica Renault
9 Germany A Sutil Force India
10 Germany N Rosberg Mercedes
11 Brazil R Barrichello Williams
12 Germany N Hulkenberg Williams
13 Germany M Schumacher Mercedes
14 Russia V Petrov Renault
15 Switzerland S Buemi Toro Rosso
16 Spain J Alguersuari Toro Rosso
17 Spain P de la Rosa BMW Sauber
18 Japan K Kobayashi BMW Sauber
19 Finland H Kovalainen Lotus
20 Italy J Trulli Lotus
21 Germany T Glock Virgin
22 Brazil B Senna Hispania
23 Brazil L di Grassi Virgin
24 India K Chandhok Hispania

frostie500

Ghost Train wrote: »

Getting the soft tyres out of the way with an early pitstop could be a good move if there is a safety car later in the race

He'll have to keep track position though to make the strategy work though, if he comes out of the pits and is stuck behind a Renault or Force India he could be in trouble.

Having the leaders on different strategies sets up a great race!

Oblomov

the fuel thing is interesting though

Instead of running the system dry, switched off to leave sufficient for a fuel sample and testing... no sample could have seen him moved down the grid....shrewd move.

amacachi

****ed off when it was over, what happened with the fuel?