Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Alonso joked saying that: ' if tomorrow in the football he conquers Spain, it is possible that he does not find anybody in the pit stops, because almost they all are Italian '.
Alonso's good humor.

Pastor tickled nerves!!!!!!

Here's the result of the Qulification :

1. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing : 1:13.784 -
2. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren : 1:14.087 + 0.303
3. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari : 1:14.151 + 0.367
4. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing : 1:14.346 + 0.562
5. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP : 1:14.411 + 0.627
6. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 1:14.465 + 0.681
7. Romain Grosjean : Lotus : 1:14.645 + 0.861
8. Paul di Resta : Force India : 1:14.705 + 0.921
9. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP : 1:14.812 + 1.028
10. Jenson Button : McLaren : 1:15.182 + 1.398

Q2
11. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber : 1:14.688 + 0.904
12. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus : 1:14.734 + 0.950
13. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India : 1:14.748 + 0.964
14. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso : 1:15.078 + 1.294
15. Sergio Perez : Sauber : 1:15.156 + 1.372
16. Bruno Senna : Williams : 1:15.170 + 1.386
17. Pastor Maldonado : Williams : 1:15.231 + 1.447

Q1
18. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham : 1:16.263 -
19. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham : 1:16.482 + 2.698
20. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso : 1:16.602 + 2.818
21. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT F1 Team : 1:17.492 + 3.708
22. Timo Glock : Marussia F1 Team : 1:17.901 + 4.117
23. Charles Pic : Marussia F1 Team : 1:18.255 + 4.471
24. Narain Karthikeyan : HRT F1 Team : 1:18.330 + 4.546

Rain : no

Comment of the qualification :
Sebastian Vettel grabbed his second pole position of the 2012 Formula 1 season with a comfortable 0.3-second margin in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying. The Red Bull driver's cushion was surprisingly ample given that just 0.8s had covered 17 cars in Q1 and the whole Q2 field had been within a second.
Vettel started Q3 on provisional pole with a 1m13.905s and was not headed thereafter, as he improved to 1m13.784s on his second run to put himself further out of reach.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton will join Vettel on the front row, having grabbed second from Fernando Alonso's Ferrari with his second Q3 attempt. Alonso looked like a pole threat until a disappointing final sector on his best lap left him to settle for third. Mark Webber completes the top four in the second Red Bull, followed by Nico Rosberg in the leading Mercedes - four places ahead of team-mate Michael Schumacher - and Felipe Massa's Ferrari in sixth.
Romain Grosjean reached Q3 for Lotus and claimed seventh but his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen did not make it into the pole shoot-out, only managing 12th in Q2.
Force India's Paul di Resta made his second Q3 appearance of the year and earned eighth on the grid.
Jenson Button avoided a third consecutive Q2 elimination, but only just. The McLaren driver sat 10th at the end of the second segment and looked in grave danger of being edged out by Pastor Maldonado, only for the Spanish GP winner to spin his Williams into the wall at the final chicane, leaving him 17th. Button will start 10th, having spoiled one set of super softs by locking up. The second Williams of Bruno Senna was only one place ahead of Maldonado in 16th. Also out in Q2 were both Saubers - with Kamui Kobayashi just 0.008s shy of a Q3 spot in 11th and Sergio Perez back in 15th - the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo.
After his morning practice crash, Ricciardo's team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne's underwhelming Saturday continued as a mistake on his best lap saw the Frenchman exiting qualifying in Q1 for the fourth time in his first seven grands prix. Not only was he knocked out, but Vergne was outqualified by both Caterhams and will start 20th.
In another Q1 surprise, Pedro de la Rosa put his HRT 21st on the grid, beating both Marussias.


Tomorrow ( sunday) at 20.00u CET wil be the race !

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

....come on .....didn'd they ( Mercedes GP Team ) see that Schumi was just in time over the finish to do a last flying lap ....he was fasted in the 1st sector...but they told Schumi to abort his lap because he was too late over the finish line to start his lap ......realy ......come on ......why ...why...why ...is there going sooo much wrong again this season for Schumi

And another driver against the Wall of Champions .....this time ....Maldonado !!! So both drivers of the Williams Teams has hit this Wall ....yesterday Senna...today Maldonado ....only today it's more dramatic than yesterday ....because it's qualifying !!!!!!
And now the final part of the qualification !!!!

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

The times of the 3rd free practice session :

1. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull-Renault : 1m14.442 laps 22
2. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari : 1m14.448s + 0.006 laps 17
3. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren-Mercedes : 1m14.712s + 0.270 laps 19
4. Mark Webber : Red Bull-Renault : 1m14.724s + 0.282 laps 21
5. Pastor Maldonado : Williams-Renault : 1m14.755s + 0.313 laps 22
6. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 1m14.767s + 0.325 laps 21
7. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes : 1m14.796s + 0.354 laps 19
8. Romain Grosjean : Lotus-Renault : 1m14.873s + 0.431 laps 20
9. Kimi Raikkonen : Lotus-Renault : 1m14.977s + 0.535 laps 21
10. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India-Mercedes : 1m14.992s + 0.550 laps 22
11. Paul di Resta : Force India-Mercedes : 1m15.067s + 0.625 laps 19
12. Sergio Perez : Sauber-Ferrari : 1m15.112s + 0.670 laps 21
13. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber-Ferrari : 1m15.126s + 0.684 laps 24
14. Bruno Senna : Williams-Renault : 1m15.237s + 0.795 laps 22
15. Jenson Button : McLaren-Mercedes : 1m15.327s + 0.885 laps 22
16. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso-Ferrari : 1m15.498s + 1.056 laps 19
17. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham-Renault : 1m16.268s + 1.826 laps 24
18. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham-Renault : 1m16.545s + 2.103 laps 20
19. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT-Cosworth : 1m17.705s + 3.263 laps 21
20. Timo Glock : Marussia-Cosworth : 1m17.974s + 3.532 laps 23
21. Narain Karthikeyan : HRT-Cosworth : 1m18.189s + 3.747 laps 21
22. Charles Pic : Marussia-Cosworth : 1m18.684s + 4.242 laps 23
23. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso-Ferrari : no time : laps 3
24. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes : no time : laps 1

Comment of the 3rd practice session :
Sebastian Vettel edged out Fernando Alonso to set the fastest time in a very close final Canadian Grand Prix practice session in Montreal. ust 0.006 seconds split Vettel's Red Bull and Alonso's Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton taking third for McLaren, and Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Pastor Maldonado (Williams) completing the top five.
The session had seen plenty of activity at the top of the timesheets even before the late switches to super soft tyres. Jenson Button's McLaren emerged ahead once the early runs had been completed, but he was soon usurped by Vettel, who set benchmarks of first 1m15.440s then 1m15.022s to sit in first place at the mid-way point.
Alonso beat him soon afterwards, clocking a 1m14.737s despite locking up into the final chicane, although the Ferrari's time in front was very short-lived as Hamilton went 0.025s quicker mere seconds later.
Continuing the close action, when Vettel reclaimed the top spot with 16 minutes to go, his 1m14.711s was just 0.001s faster than the McLaren.
As more and more drivers moved onto super softs, Alonso was the first to really exploit their potential with a 1m14.448s nine minutes from the chequered flag.
That held up until Vettel came through a scant 0.006s faster six minutes later. The German turned traffic into an advantage as he grabbed a tow from Michael Schumacher's Mercedes. Vettel then went quicker still in the first two sectors on his final lap before lost time in the final part of the lap, although his existing 1m14.442s was sufficient to secure first position.
Two drivers will go into qualifying with no Saturday running at all. Nico Rosberg's Mercedes cut out and parked on track on a very early installation lap, while Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne ended up parked in the Turn 2 tyres after making a mess of Turn 1 on his first flying lap.
There may be issues for Kimi Raikkonen as well, with the Lotus driver under investigation for making a last-minute swerve into the pitlane after a mistake at the final chicane.
Just 1.056s covered the top 16 cars, as the Montreal times remained typically close. Behind the leaders, Felipe Massa maintained his encouraging form for Ferrari in sixth, followed by Schumacher, Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Raikkonen, and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. Jenson Button was only 15th for McLaren and expressed concern about brake balance issues over the radio.

90 minutes to go before the qualifying begins !!!!

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

The times of todays 2nd practice session :

1 Lewis Hamilton : McLaren-Mercedes : 1’15.259 laps 43
2 Fernando Alonso : Ferrari : 1’15.313 + 0.054 laps 36
3 Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 1’15.410 + 0.151 laps 39
4 Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull : 1’15.531 + 0.272 laps 44
5 Paul di Resta : Force India : 1’15.544 + 0.285 laps 32
6 Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber : 1’15.651 + 0.392 laps 37
7 Michael Schumacher : Mercedes : 1’15.697 + 0.438 laps 32
8 Nico Hulkenberg : Force India : 1’15.799 + 0.540 laps 39
9 Jenson Button : McLaren : 1’15.812 + 0.553 laps 14
10 Nico Rosberg : Mercedes : 1’15.878 + 0.619 laps 40
11 Sergio Perez : Sauber :1’15.898 + 0.639 laps 38
12 Mark Webber : Red Bull : 1’15.907 + 0.648 laps 41
13 Pastor Maldonado : Williams :1’15.987 + 0.728 laps 39
14 Romain Grosjean : Lotus : 1’16.360 + 1.101 laps 29
15 Kimi Raikkonen : Lotus : 1’16.562 + 1.303 laps 33
16 Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham : 1’16.981 + 1.722 laps 24
17 Bruno Senna : Williams : 1’17.022 + 1.763 laps 22
18 Vitaly Petrov : Caterham : 1’17.075 + 1.816 laps 41
19 Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso :1’17.124 + 1.865 laps 41
20 Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso : 1’17.716 + 2.457 laps 34
21 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1’18.908 + 3.649 laps 27
22 Timo Glock : Marussia : 1’19.084 + 3.825 laps 40
23 Narain Karthikeyan : HRT :1’19.378 + 4.119 laps 21
24 Charles Pic : Marussia :1’19.902 + 4.643 laps 18

Comment of 2nd session :

Lewis Hamilton carried on where he left off in the second practice session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The McLaren driver headed the times at the end of the session, followed by the two Ferraris.
Hamilton was comfortably quickest in the opening part of the session, running on soft tyres and gradually lowering his best time. He only found a slight improvement when he switched to the super-soft tyres, lowering his best to a 1’15.259.
Fernando Alonso was second-quickest despite spinning at turn nine early in the session. Sebastian Vettel was fourth following a reprimand for his contact with Senna in the first session.
The teams began the session eagerly, the weather radars telling them to expect rain halfway through. But, as in the last race, the forecasts proved pessimistic, and the tracks remained dry throughout.
Paul di Resta, fifth, was another driver who had an off-track moment, spinning at turn one when he locked his brakes.
For the second session in a row a crash brought out the red flags. This time the culprit was Bruno Senna, who hit the ‘Wall of Champions’ at the exit of the final turn. The Williams driver lost control of his car in the first part of the chicane. As he tried to straighten it up the rear end snapped away and he went into the wall backwards. Senna admitted afterwards he had been “frustrated” by getting into traffic on his lap. The session restarted with just under half an hour remaining. Heikki Kovalainen, who crashed in the first practice session, was able to return to the track in his repaired Caterham.
But Jenson Button spent most of the session in the pits as a continuation of his problems from first practice necessitated a gearbox change. There was less than 20 minutes left on the clock when he finally joined the session.
Button did a 14-lap run at the end of the session, moving up to ninth place. The top 13 were covered by less than three-quarters of a second.

Tomorrow saturday at 16.00u till 17.00u CET will be the 3rd practice session ,followed at 19.00u Cet with the qualification !

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2012
practice 2

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.259 43
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:15.313 0.054 36
3 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:15.410 0.151 39
4 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:15.531 0.272 44
5 11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:15.544 0.285 32
6 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.651 0.392 37
7 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:15.697 0.438 32
8 12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:15.799 0.540 39
9 3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.812 0.553 14
10 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.878 0.619 40
11 15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.898 0.639 38
12 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:15.907 0.648 41
13 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:15.987 0.728 39
14 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:16.360 1.101 29
15 9 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 1:16.562 1.303 33
16 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1:16.981 1.722 24
17 19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1:17.022 1.763 22
18 21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1:17.075 1.816 41
19 17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:17.124 1.865 41
20 16 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:17.716 2.457 34
21 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1:18.908 3.649 27
22 24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1:19.084 3.825 40
23 23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:19.378 4.119 21
24 25 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1:19.902 4.643 18

Comment of the 1st practice session :

Lewis Hamilton was fastest for McLaren in the opening free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
A two-time winner at Montreal, the Briton edged out Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull by just over a tenth of a second, with Nico Rosberg's Mercedes third. It was Lotus duo Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean exchanged the top spot initially, before Rosberg and Hamilton made it their own private battle for the rest of the session. First Rosberg put in a 1m16.837s 20 minutes in to depose Raikkonen, then Hamilton replied with a 1m16.080s seven minutes later.
The McLaren would stay in front for almost the rest of the session - deposed only for mere moments with 20 minutes to go when Rosberg did a 1m15.782s that Hamilton instantly answered with a 1m15.564s.
Rosberg was among several drivers who then tried super soft tyres in the closing stages, as with rain forecast for the afternoon, Mercedes, Red Bull, Lotus, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and the HRTs all chose to try the softer rubber earlier than usual. But the Mercedes did not go any quicker than it had on softs, so Hamilton retained first position, and Rosberg found himself pushed down to third right at the end when Vettel squeezed into second place on super softs.
Vettel may have to take a trip to the stewards' office between sessions, as he is under investigation for an incident where he took a shortcut over the final chicane to pass Bruno Senna's Williams and ensure clear track for the start of a flying lap.
Fernando Alonso was the quickest Ferrari driver in fourth, with team-mate Felipe Massa 12th as the pair evaluated different exhaust layouts. Mark Webber completed the top five in the second Red Bull, following by Hulkenberg's Force India, the Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez, and Michael Schumacher's Mercedes.
Jenson Button was 10th despite his McLaren only managing 12 laps before it was sidelined in the garage with an oil leak.
Thirteen minutes of running were lost just after the mid-way point when Heikki Kovalainen put his Caterham into the wall on the exit of the Turn 8/9 chicane, doing substantial damage to the car's right-hand side. Kovalainen emerged unscathed. The rest of the field confined themselves to minor trips over the grass and asphalt run-offs.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

2nd session Red Flagged because Bruno Senna has hit the Wall of Champions !!!!! ( the 1st driver for this weekend !)

The Williams car is Heavy Heavy damaged...he just had a brand new rear wing for testing it ..and now toooooooootaly distroyd !!!!

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2012
practice 1 results

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.564 30
2 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:15.682 0.118 29
3 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.782 0.218 30
4 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:15.842 0.278 34
5 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:15.897 0.333 28
6 12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:15.986 0.422 29
7 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.000 0.436 31
8 15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.249 0.685 32
9 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:16.264 0.700 28
10 3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.347 0.783 12
11 11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:16.460 0.896 32
12 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:16.619 1.055 17
13 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:16.859 1.295 26
14 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:16.890 1.326 36
15 9 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 1:17.014 1.450 42
16 17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:17.352 1.788 28
17 16 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:17.580 2.016 31
18 21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1:17.935 2.371 23
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1:18.177 2.613 16
20 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1:18.182 2.618 26
21 19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1:18.762 3.198 36
22 23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:19.354 3.790 23
23 24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1:20.004 4.440 21
24 25 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1:20.067 4.503 23

Ferrari with yellow back wing 1st practice.

PS: Now it's white only for installation lap used.

The Times For This weekend F1 :

Friday :
1st free practice session : 16:00 - 17:30 CET
2nd free practice session : 20:00 - 21:30 CET

Saturday :
3rd free practice session : 16:00 - 17:00 CET
Qualification : 19.00- 20.00 CET

Sunday :
Race : 20.00 CET

Wet start to Canada weekend but dry race expected
Conditions for the first day of practice at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve may remind drivers of the heavy rain during last year’s F1 race. The 2011 Grand Prix was stopped for two hours as a downpour fell on the Montreal track.
A low-pressure weather system lying to the south-east of Montreal is producing cool conditions in the area at the moment. Thunderstorms are expected on Friday afternoon which could coincide with the second practice session at 2pm.
Lighter rain is forecast on Saturday, which could make for an interesting qualifying session. But conditions for the race are expected to be much better.
Expect to see more sunshine and higher temperatures on Sunday, rising from around 20 to 25C.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve –Montreal – Canada
This circuit is located on the île Notre-Dame, a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River. It is a stop-start circuit with a combination of slow corners and chicanes linked by long straights. This is one of my favorite tracks. The others are: Melbourne, Monaco, Silverstone, Spa (the best), Monza, Suzuka. and Interlagos.
The inaugural race on Montréal was held in 1978 and was the first F1 victory of Villeneuve. In 1981 was the last time Gilles raced on this circuit. Driving in the rain, he damaged the front wing of his Ferrari which obscured most of his vision. He kept on driving for several laps until the wing completely broke away. Despite his Ferrari 126C was undriveable he finished third under the checkered flag.(look at the video). The Circuit was renamed in honour of the popular Canadian driver following his death in 1982. Last year there was one of the longest race in F1 history, with a two-hour suspension due to heavy rain, and another record: the Safety Car was sent out on the track six times.
In this season, due to strict rules and new bans, the cars are very similar, so the gap between the teams is very close. In this way tyres are more and more importants. So many times is better save the tyres, rather than pushing to go faster and taking the risk of a high degradation. But were teams and Federation to ask Pirelli to produce tyres which degrade after a few laps to make the races more spectacular. The supplier Pirelli has done what his customers have asked. Surely they would be able to produce tyres that hold out for the whole GP(300 km), but without pit stop, no strategy and in this way the races would become boring for many viewers.
DRS: only one zone, however there are good chance to overtake on this track.
Like at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago Pirelli tires will be soft (prime, yellow) and supersoft (option, red). Brake demand: very high. Downforce Level: medium-low. Tyre wear: medium-high. probably there will be many pit stops.
Podium 2010: Hamilton – Button – Alonso – fastest lap on race: Kubica – pole position : Hamilton 1'15''105
Podium 2011: Button – Vettel – Webber – fastest lap on race: Button – pole position : Vettel 1'13'014
Montreal GP: victories for current pilots: Schumacher(7) Hamilton (2), Alonso, Raikkonen and Button (1).
Vettel: best finish 2°place; Webber: best finish 3°place; Rosberg: never on podium.
Montreal GP: pole position for current pilots: Schumacher(6), Hamilton (3), Alonso Vettel, and Button (1)
Podiums: Schumacher 12 times on this circuit.

Newsflash :

Protest threat causes Canadian GP pit walk cancellation :
Montréal, Sunday, June 3, 2012 – With regret, the Grand Prix du Canada announces today the cancellation of the popular ‘’Open Doors’’ day, originally scheduled for the morning of Thursday, June 7. Following a serious examination of the situation, made necessary by public disruption threats and the difficulty to measure their precise validity, the organizers came to the conclusion that it is necessary to restrain the access to Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and precisely the F1 pit lane, on the day preceding the first sessions on track.

‘’Having to cancel our ‘Open Doors’ day make us extremely sad. We wish to express our sincere apologies to the F1 fans and, among them, a good share of our spectators who appreciate this annual gathering with the Word Championship teams, declared François Dumontier, President & CEO of Octane Racing Group Inc. and President of the Grand Prix du Canada. When we finally made the decision, we weren’t exactly happy, being fully aware that this activity is an important part of the appeal and the tradition of true friendliness at our event.

Nevertheless, one of our primary obligations is to ensure the comfort and the security of the participants and the spectators, something we will do as we open the turnstiles Friday morning, and again during the whole weekend. Considering the various disruption threats made public recently, the free admission and the naturally openness character of the ‘Open Doors’ day, revealed some risks that we could not neglect. Under these circumstances, cancelling the ‘Open Doors’ day was the only action we could take. Unfortunately, for the fans and our spectators, it was impossible to escape from such responsibility’’, concluded Dumontier.


Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News Round Up of the complete week Part 2 :

No protest against Mark Webber's Monaco Grand Prix win :
Mark Webber's victory in the Monaco Grand Prix was unchallenged on Sunday night, despite speculation over a potential protest from rival teams about the legality of his car. It is understood that Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are unhappy that holes in the floor in front of the rear wheels of the RB8 do not comply with the regulations.
Other teams that are running such 'holes' have been forced to include slots that run out to the edge of the floor to ensure that they are openings - and not fully enclosed. There was talk after the race that either McLaren or Ferrari were going to protest the result, but in the end neither team elected to take such action.
The official results were duly published at 6.45pm confirming Mark Webber's victory, and there was no subsequent challenge from any competitor about it. However, both McLaren and Ferrari said afterwards that they were keen to get clarification on the matter before the next race in Canada.
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "I heard about that [the hole issue] in terms of discussion about this type of thing, and for sure we need a clarification on this point. That is all I can say tonight."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said he was happy to follow the FIA's lead on the matter.
"It is not for me to comment on someone else's car, it is for the FIA to make that decision," he explained.
When asked if he expected the matter to be sorted out before the next race, he said: "Yes. I think it will be sorted out shortly."
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner insisted that his team had had full approval from the FIA on its design being legal.
"I would be disappointed if there would be a protest, it would not be particularly sporting," he said.
"We are totally happy that our car fully complies with the regulations. We have obviously consulted with the FIA over it - we have had their opinion in writing confirming the interpretation, so it would be disappointing if there was a protest. But we are entirely happy that the car completely complies."

FIA plans to resolve Red Bull car's floor row over next few days :
The FIA is planning to resolve the row over the controversial holes in the floor of the Red Bull RB8 over the next few days, says a FIA spokesman. After Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren expressed some doubts about the legality of the holes ahead of the rear wheels of the Red Bull, there was some consideration given to a post-race protest over the matter. In the end, it was felt that it would be better to sort out the issue before the Canadian Grand Prix, rather than damage the sport with the prospect of the results of the Monaco Grand Prix being overturned.
The discussions will take place over the next 48 hours on the matter, and the FIA has confirmed it hopes to issue a clarification on the matter this week. A spokesman for the FIA said: "Red Bull have not been asked to change anything yet. However, there is a difference of opinion over interpretation of a regulation, which we intend to clarify our position on during the next days."
The dispute over the holes relates to the fact that those on the Red Bull do not feature small slots to the edge of the floor, like those that are on the Ferrari.
By having this slot, which the FIA says can be so small that even a sheet of paper would not fit through, the holes are no longer enclosed and become openings.
The FIA spokesman added about the governing body's position: "We think there are arguments on both sides so a position will have to be taken."

Perez needs more experience, says Montezemolo :
Mexican Sergio Perez needs to gain more experience before any move to Ferrari can become a realistic proposition, says the Italian Formula One team's president Luca di Montezemolo .Speaking on the sidelines of an FT luxury conference, Montezemolo said it was too early for any decision on the future of Ferrari's under-performing Brazilian Felipe Massa and spoke out also against any expansion of the calendar beyond the current 20 races. We never take a decision before the second half of the season," he said of Massa, who has scored just 10 points from six races while Spanish team mate Fernando Alonso is leading the championship with 76.
Perez, who drives for Ferrari-powered Sauber and finished a close second to Alonso in Malaysia in March, is already part of Ferrari's young driver programme and has been seen as a possible replacement for Massa despite being in only his second full season in the sport. Montezemolo played down the 22-year-old's immediate prospects.
"No. Perez is a good driver but to drive a Ferrari you need more experience," he said. "I think he is one of the potential best young drivers for the future but before putting a young driver in a Ferrari I need more experience and more results."
Montezemolo said Massa, who has been at Ferrari since 2006 and was runner-up in the championship in 2008 before suffering a near-fatal head injury in 2009, had yet to be ruled out of the picture. His contract expires at the end of the year. "I'm sure that, because we are improving our car, the car will be less difficult to drive," he said.
"And I expect from Felipe better performances as I have already seen in Monte Carlo, because in Monte Carlo he was among the five quickest drivers on the track and in the qualifiers.
"So I hope he will continue like this. At the moment we are not taking any decision yet for the future, because it is too early."
Next week's Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal will be the seventh round of what is now a 20-race championship.
A research note this week from UBS, one of the joint global co-ordinators of Formula One's now stalled $3 billion planned IPO in Singapore, spoke of an expectation that the number of races would rise to 22 by 2015.
A first Russian Grand Prix is already scheduled for Sochi in 2014 while a new race in New Jersey, with the New York skyline as a backdrop, is due next year. France is also eager to return, but in alternation with Belgium.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Reuters this week that he was also in talks for an eventual Mexican Grand Prix while a return to Argentina has also been mooted. Montezemolo declared any expansion beyond 20 would not be a good idea, however.
"There are too many so we have to discuss about it. I will be totally against the possibility to increase the number of races," he said. "Twenty is the super maximum possibility. I will not be prepared to accept more than 20."

Fernando Alonso backs Felipe Massa to come good :
Fernando Alonso has promised Felipe Massa his full support for the remainder of the season as he is convinced the Brazilian is capable of fighting for wins .After a wretched start to the campaign, scoring just two points from the opening five races, Massa finally proved his worth to Ferrari in Monaco at the weekend.
After qualifying in the top 10 for the first time this year, and even threatening to start ahead of Alonso, Massa went on to finish sixth, three places behind the title-leading Spaniard.
Although Massa currently trails Alonso in the standings by 66 points, and is undoubtedly the number two driver at Ferrari, the latter still firmly believes in his team-mate.
"It's hard to think Felipe won't win many points in the second part of the season, that he won't make podiums or fight for wins. He's got the talent for it," said Alonso.
"It's been an unfortunate start to the season because of a number of things - bad luck, a slower adaptation than before to the tyres...Felipe's results weren't normal.
"He's got all my support, and all the support of the team to change the situation around.
"Or to change his results because many times in practice or qualifying we're very close. but then in the race, because of the start or he got hit, he would be towards the back early on.
"In Monaco it looks like his results changed, so we hope that from here on it will all go well for him."
Alonso, meanwhile, believes next weekend's Canadian Grand Prix will prove to be a more reliable benchmark of where Ferrari stand in the pecking order. The 31-year-old's championship lead is in a car many feel is far from the best in the field, and given the topsy-turvy nature of F1 this season he has arguably lucked into his success.
Alonso said: "In Canada we want to confirm our improvement and be competitive in a more 'normal' circuit because Monaco is unique due to its characteristics and Barcelona has very quick corners.
"Canada and Valencia are going to be two very important tests for us to see if we can really put both Ferraris in Q3, like we did in Monaco, and opt to be in the top places.
"We're taking some upgrades to Canada, a race both on and off the track because all the big teams are going to bring new parts so let's see whose works best. "We've tried to extract the most of what we had and our rivals have let their guards down".
"This year two or three tenths (of a second) makes you lose or gain five or six places, because everything is very close."

Rosberg reckons Mercedes set to be strong in the remaining races of the season :
Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes can look forward to the remainder of the campaign with some good optimism after his second place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix. Despite struggles in the first two races of the campaign, Rosberg has been the highest scoring driver in the last four grands prix. That has lifted confidence for the team ahead of venues like Canada and Valencia that should perfectly suit the W03.
"It is great to see how we are improving as a team, getting stronger and stronger," Rosberg said in his official video diary.
"In the last four races I am the one who has scored the most points, which really shows that we are quite consistent. That is why the future can look good for us in the next upcoming races." Rosberg believes that Mercedes had the best car in Monaco, but the nature of the track meant it was not possible to overtake race winner Mark Webber to make the most of that potential. Even so, Rosberg is pleased with the fact that he is just 17 points off the world championship lead after six races.
"Points wise we are looking good in the championship," he said. "I am really looking forward to Canada because a) I think we have a really good car for there and b) now my father cannot give me advice any more on F1 as I [will] have more experience than him, as I have done just as many races as him in his career."
Canada will be Rosberg's 115th grand prix start, with his father Keke starting in 114 races during his Formula 1 career.

Formula 1 teams in new push to bring costs down :
Formula 1 teams are to meet the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone to embark on a fresh push to bring costs down in the sport.
On the back of dialogue between the teams and the FIA about the possibility of the governing body getting more involved in budget control, FIA president Jean Todt has arranged a get together at the Sporting d'Hiver club to move the debate along. It is understood that a range of topics have been put on the agenda, including the FIA policing the Resource Restriction Agreement, changes to F1's testing format, the 2014 engine rules and new cheaper regulations.
F1 team figures are hopeful that the discussions that will involve every team principal will be positive, and that any agreement coming out of the meeting can then be put through the appropriate channels to be drafted in to regulations.
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "The meeting is related to see if we can find altogether some measures that will reduce the costs in F1. That is the purpose.
"It is just a meeting where we should discuss if we can find consensus in a lot of things that have been proposed and discussed with the FIA in the past weeks.
"This meeting is to see what is the status of the teams and the FIA, to understand if everyone is clear and to see if we can try and save money for the future of F1."
Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug told : "I think it is vital for F1 generally speaking to balance things out, even now.
"It is not a secret that with the new [commercial] arrangements that the top teams are better off, and what we want to have in F1 are competitive midfield teams that can spring surprises.
"It is an ideal situation right now - not for us, as I could live with domination - but at the end of the day if you dominate everything then it is very clear that after a while you do not get the right amount of spectators."
Despite concern from some teams about a dramatic rise in the cost of customer engines for 2014, manufacturers are wary of delaying the introduction of the V6 rules as that would not save any costs for them.
Haug explained: "It is just a question of money. We have a parallel programme and two engine programmes, and you need to get rid of one programme.
"You cannot subsidise it all the time, and one fact is clear: after we have started now, doing it later costs more money. Ferrari, Renault and ourselves, plus PURE, will spend more money if we need to develop longer."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh thought it was vital, however, that teams did not face a dramatic rise in engine costs for 2014.
"There is no one to my knowledge who has quoted prices, but I suspect the majority of the grid would not be able to afford $20-25 million," he said "So I think we have to work hard with the FIA and the manufacturers.
"We have to respect the fact that the manufacturers are spending a lot of money in developing these new packages. But that is something a lot of teams did not ask for, and it will not be possible to spend that amount of money on power train.
"The FIA and the teams have to get together to make sure that there is a smooth transition from the current regulations to the new ones, and we have a sustainable business opportunity later."

Red Bull told RB8 floor holes must be removed :
FIA forces Red Bull to redesign car before Canadian Grand Prix .Red Bull will have to revise the design of their car before next weekend's Canadian Grand Prix after the FIA said that the controversial holes in the rear floor of their RB8 could not be employed. The team have been using the holes, which sit just in front of the rear wheels and are used to channel air underneath the car, since the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Sebastian Vettel won. However neither his, nor Mark Webber's victory at Monaco last week, will be affected by the decision.
The issue of the design's legality had been raised unofficially during the Monaco Grand Prix but the FIA technical delegate, Charlie Whiting, had declared it within the rules. An official protest was considered by teams including McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes after the race but it is understood it was deferred to avoid negative publicity for the sport at one of its most high-profile events and a clarification of the rule was requested instead.
The Red Bull manager, Christian Horner, was confident only hours before the clarification was issued, saying: "The rules are written in such a way that they are open to interpretation and our interpretation of that particular rule was accepted." He added: "We were always confident that our car complied fully with the regulations."
However, the FIA statement, which referred to "discussions in Monaco, during which it became clear that certain misunderstandings existed", was unequivocal, stating, in reference to the location, that "fully enclosed holes may not be located there".
The aerodynamic feature, pushing air to the underfloor of the car and toward the diffuser, is designed to improve downforce. That there is an advantage to be gained in this area seems clear, since both Ferrari and Sauber have similar holes in the same position but featuring a small gap in the edge of the floor that allows them to be defined as "slots". That is a redesign and redefinition that Red Bull may look to pursue in a bid to regain the lost grip in the short time before the race in Montreal.

Red Bull forced to remove floor holes for Canada:
As expected the FIA has clamped down on the controversial Red Bull floor by clarifying its position and stating that the holes in front of the RB8’s rear wheels are not permitted.
The ruling, given via the traditional route of a Technical Directive sent to all the teams, applies from Canada onwards. It does not affect past results, which is normal when such clarifications occur.
Other teams had expressed their opposition to RBR’s interpretation of the rules applying to ‘surfaces lying on the step plane’, and the FIA came to its conclusion after reviewing that input – along with Red Bull’s opinion.
Ferrari and McLaren had considered a protest in Monaco but chose not to make one after the race, on the basis that they assumed that the FIA would come to such a conclusion.
Red Bull’s view was that in effect there was a grey area in the rules which did not specify that holes were banned in that particular place. However, the FIA now says “we disagree with this view and consider it implicit that fully enclosed holes may not be located there.”
Although the consensus was that the RBR holes did not necessarily provide a significant performance advantage the concern was that it could have led to developments that had a greater impact.
This writer has seen a copy of TD/013-12, the text of which reads as follows: “Following on from a number of discussions in Monaco, during which it became clear that certain misunderstandings existed, we feel it would be helpful to make our position clear with respect to the presence of a fully enclosed hole in any surface lying on the step plane.
“It has been argued that, as it is not explicitly stated that fully enclosed holes cannot be located in a surface lying on the step plane rearward of a line 450mm forward of the rear face of the cockpit template, then they may be located in such areas. We disagree with this view and consider it implicit that fully enclosed holes may not be located there.
“If they were permitted the opening part of the second paragraph of Article 3.12.5 (which was added to the regulations at the same time as Articles 3.12.9 and 3.12.10 for 2011) would be superfluous.
“Furthermore, locating a fully enclosed hole partly or wholly within the 50mm band which is exempt from the requirements of Article 3.12.10 along the outer edges of the surfaces lying on the step plane does not exempt it from the requirements of Article 3.12.5, those parts lying outboard of Y650 are still parts of the surfaces lying on the step plane.”

Sebastian Vettel insists he is perfectly happy at Red Bull amid Ferrari rumours :
World champion Sebastian Vettel says he finds it hard to imagine life outside of Red Bull Racing, and insists he does not want to be anywhere else. The two-time champion has a contract with the Milton Keynes-based squad until the end of the 2014 season, but the German has again been linked with a move to the Ferrari team.
Vettel, however, says he feels perfectly happy at Red Bull, with which he has won his two titles.
"I've been wearing a Red Bull helmet for almost my entire career. It is difficult to imagine another kind of life if you are so used to it," Vettel told AUTOSPORT when asked about his plans after 2014.
"It would be like when you turn 18, 19 and move out of your family's home. I am very happy where I am right now and I don't want to move on to anywhere else."
Vettel, who dominated the 2011 season with 11 wins and 17 podiums, is currently in second place in the standings, having won just one race this year. The German says consistency - and not only wins - will be very important this year given how tight the fight at the top is.
"People only remember our wins, but they forget a bit how tight it often was," he said. "Yes, we won some races in which we did not have the strongest package.
"This year there are much more candidates to win races than before. Therefore it gets more essential to collect as many points as possible in every race." With six different winners in the first six races of the season, Vettel believes it is vital to get everything right during the weekends in order to be fighting for victory.
"From the first day of winter testing on I had confidence in our car. We have not got out the most of the potential though we make steadily progress. And troubles with tyres concern almost everyone, not us alone. It simply depends on who will be doing the better job." And the world champion reckons the unpredictability of this year's races is translating into a good show for the fans, despite some criticism about the racing being artificial.
"If you look back ten years, there was heavy criticism of a boring F1 because of Michael (Schumacher) winning all the time. Now we hear F1 is unpredictable and a lottery.
"You cannot satisfy all people every time, but I think we have a good show, a lot of overtaking, good action now. There is more tension - for people who watch and for us inside the cars. I think I like the way it goes, however, we have to be careful not to create something artificially."

Formula 1 team bosses reject criticism of 2012 season's unpredictability :
Formula 1 team principals are adamant that the unpredictable nature of this season is not a turn-off for fans.
Mark Webber became the sixth different victor of 2012 in the Monaco Grand Prix, and there have been criticisms from some quarters that F1 risks losing credibility if the races are too random.
But McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh and Red Bull's Christian Horner insist that there is nothing for the sport to worry about, even though it is making it much harder for their teams to win races.
Whitmarsh said: "If people now say randomness is unattractive, then that is a 180 [degree change] from what people felt a few years ago when it was very predictable.
"On balance I am sure that people want a lack of predictability. You want to go to each event not knowing who is going to win. You want to go through the course of the weekend not sure what is going to happen in each session, and you want to go through the race not knowing what is going to happen. Every one of our races this year has been tremendously exciting."
When asked if he felt the races were too random this year, he said: "I don't think so. I think it is an enthralling sport at the moment. A few years ago weren't people saying 'aren't these processional races and aren't they so predictable?' Well, we certainly don't have a predictable season. I think an unpredictable race and an unpredictable season is what a lot of fans want."
Horner added: "I think it is remarkable that there have been so many winners. The tyres are a factor and the fact that there are so many strong drivers as well is also a crucial factor.
"Red Bull has become the first team to win two races this year, which is an achievement. F1 is different this year primarily because of teams trying to get on top of the variances in the tyre compounds."
Although the team principals are happy, not all drivers are satisfied by the fact that form seems to fluctuate so much.
Jenson Button, who started the season strongly but has had poor results in the last three races, said: "Clearly everyone is excited about so many different winners, which initially was great for the fans and great for the sport.
"But there will come a time when the fans will say, 'So anyone can win a grand prix, everyone can lose a grand prix like that?' I think they're finding it a little bit strange now.
"I don't know, but hopefully a pattern will emerge after the next couple of races and we'll understand the teams and drivers we need to beat to win the championship."

Hamilton sure Ferrari will give Alonso a car to stay in the championship fight :
Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari will be able to give Fernando Alonso a car capable of keeping him in the fight for the world championship to the end of the season. The Maranello squad started the 2012 campaign aware that its car did not have the pace to match those of its main rivals after a difficult winter of testing.
Despite that, Alonso managed to win the Malaysian Grand Prix and now leads the championship after the first six races of the year. The Spaniard is three points ahead of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.
Alonso has proved to be the most consistent driver so far, as only he and Hamilton have scored points in every race.
"I'm sure that Ferrari, being the competitive team that they are and with the experience that they have, will be very strong throughout the year," said Hamilton.
"We are probably one of the main teams that are able to recover from a poor start and they have done the same thing. I think that they are going to be competitive throughout the year."
Hamilton also hinted that Alonso will only become harder to beat once he and Ferrari get on top of the F2012 as the season goes on.
"I think once he has the car - which he has done in some of the races - he will be extremely quick and difficult to beat," said Hamilton.
"Of course he is a two-time world champion and he's achieved an incredible amount in his career and he's ahead of me in the world championship at the moment. But I want to switch that around by the end of the season and I'm sure we'll have a great battle until the end of the year."

Jenson Button says critics of Michael Schumacher should understand the demands of becoming competitive again :
Jenson Button believes that Michael Schumacher's critics need to understand that it can take time to regain competitiveness in Formula 1. The Briton also reckons people should not forget what the seven-time champion has achieved during his grand prix career. Schumacher, 43, returned to the sport at the start of the 2010 season after an absence of three years and struggled to repeat the kind of form that took him to a record 91 grand prix wins.
The German has received some criticism this year after having scored just two points to his team-mate Nico Rosberg's 59, which include one win in China.
The 43-year-old Mercedes driver, however, showed he still has what it takes during last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, where he was quickest in qualifying. He lost pole position because of a penalty imposed for an incident in the previous race in Spain.
"Michael's come in for a lot of criticism over the last couple of years since he's been back," said Button. "I think we all forget what he achieved in his previous career, if you want to call it that.
"Sometimes it takes time to feel comfortable with a car and comfortable with the people you're working with. But I think he put a great lap together, didn't make any mistakes and he obviously deserved it very much.
"I'm sure when he got out of the car he was very happy, but also disappointed that he was put back to sixth [on the grid] at a place like Monaco."
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh also praised Schumacher's performance in Monaco, but admitted his team will not be "misty-eyed" when it comes to trying to beat him.
"Michael's been a great driver. We like beating him, not him beating us. We're not going to be so misty-eyed. I think you've got to give credit where credit's due. Not always in the spirit that we enjoyed.
"But he did a great job of putting that lap together. Credit to him, but whether he had a penalty or didn't have a penalty, we'd still want to beat him next day."

Jenson Button makes qualifying better his priority for Canadian Grand Prix :
Jenson Button says his focus for the Canadian Grand Prix will be on improving his qualifying form following a series of difficult races. The McLaren driver has started the last two grands prix from 10th and 12th positions as he has struggled to get the balance of his car right. Button has scored just two points in the last three events.
The Briton, the winner in Canada last year, says he is aiming to fix his qualifying problems this weekend as his main priority. "Obviously, returning to Montreal will be an extremely proud and happy moment for me," said Button in a team preview. "This weekend, though, it's going to be important to get a handle on the car in qualifying.
"At the last two races, Q2 hasn't gone my way, so, no matter what pace you have in the race, you're still compromised on Sunday afternoon, particularly as the pack is so tightly bunched at the moment.
"My aim for the weekend will be to have a stronger qualifying performance and to be able to build on that in the race."
Team-mate Lewis Hamilton is also hoping for a change of luck in Montreal, the 2008 world champion still seeking his first victory in 2012.
"I know that the results we all want will soon come to us: I am doing everything I can to extract every tenth from the car, and I know that the guys at the track and the men and women back at MTC are doing everything they can to give me a car that's worthy of winning," he said.
"We are still very much in the hunt for this world championship and I'm looking forward to bringing that fight to Montreal, which is one of my favourite races of the season."

Raikkonen sure his time will come despite disappointing Monaco Grand Prix :
Kimi Raikkonen is staying calm about Lotus's form despite a disappointing Monaco Grand Prix, the Finn convinced that his day will come. Raikkonen had to settle for a distant ninth place in Monte Carlo, his worse result in three races after having finished on the podium in the previous two events. The Lotus driver believes that the bad result in Monaco is not a sign that his team is losing momentum, and he is confident strong results are still on the cards.
He conceded, however, that the team will have to get everything perfect during a weekend in order to win a race.
"One race doesn't change the fact that we have been pretty strong everywhere - even at Monaco during most of the weekend," said Raikkonen. "Monaco is completely different from any other track and I don't think we should worry too much about the fact that it wasn't our best weekend.
"We've been quick everywhere and we've been on the podium. It's difficult to get everything exactly right at the right time, which is what you have to do to win a grand prix.
"I've won races with other teams and I have a good feeling that Lotus are capable of strong results. Our day will come."
Raikkonen said the fact that Lotus can score points on a bad weekend like Monaco shows the team is still a force to be reckoned with. "That's racing. Ninth was the best we could do on the day. I didn't start in a great position and I had some difficulties during the race so it wasn't the easiest weekend, but at least we got a couple of points. It's better than nothing but not exactly what we wanted.
"If we can have a bad race like that and still take two points it's not the end of the world. Picking up points like this when we're not at our best could make a big difference at the end of the season." The Finn believes his car should be strong in next week's Canadian Grand Prix, although he concedes it is still too early to make predictions.
"We've been competitive in most places and we expect the same there, but like always it's easier to say after the first day of running..." Raikkonen missed most of first practice in Monaco because a steering set-up the team tried did not work as expected, and the Finn reverted to the original version, which he says he is happy with.
"We tried something different for the special challenge of Monaco and it didn't work for me. It's impossible to test how something will work at Monaco without going to Monaco.
"We're not allowed open testing and the roads would be too busy for a Formula 1 car anyway. I'm happy with the basic set-up, though it's still an area I'm working on with the team."

One DRS zone instead of two at Canadian Grand Prix :
The double DRS zone used in last year’s Canadian Grand Prix will be replaced with a single DRS zone for this year’s race.
Ahead of this year’s race Lewis Hamilton said: “With KERS hybrid and DRS in the mix, it should be an exciting grand prix – although, interestingly, we’re reverting to a shorter, single DRS zone after the double zone last year.”
Last year’s DRS zones for the race were situated on the start/finish straight and the straight leading towards the final chicane. They shared a single activation point at the exit of the hairpin. In the race some drivers were able to complete a pass in the first DRS zone, then pull further ahead of their pursuer in the second zone.
Twin DRS zones were used in the Australian Grand Prix this year, where one had been used the year before.
Hamilton expects McLaren to be competitive at next week’s race: “The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a fantastic track – it’s super-fast in places, which means it requires finesse and precision, but you can also end up racing wheel-to-wheel with people at 200mph too, which is an incredible sensation.
“However, you still want a car with decent low-speed traction – all those long drags are usually preceded by tight hairpins, so it’s important that you can get the power down efficiently if you’re to pull a good lap time together.”
He added: “On paper, I think our car will be well-suited to the combination: we showed in Spain that we’re very good in high-speed corners, but we were also quick in the final sector, which is slower and more technical.
“Of course, it’s still difficult to accurately predict the outcome, so I’ll be focusing on another clean weekend where I can score more consistent world championship points.”

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi