Lewis Hamilton: Vettel, Alonso biggest threat

Dan Thomas catches up with Lewis Hamilton a day after his victory in Montreal



Source: ESPNUK

Räikkönen's car was fixed quickly

The hydraulics flaw in the differential of Kimi Räikkönen's E20 car, which disturbed his qualification performance, was fixed promptly.


- It wasn't a great problem, and the car was repaired by five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, Lotus team principal Eric Boullier told to Turun Sanomat.

Differential controls slipping of the tyres. Once it has broken down, the slip is not in balance, when the other half works differently than the other.

Räikkönen was praised by the team for his will to fight, but when Finnish driver fell marginally from Q3 stage, starting place is now the 12th, second lowest of the season.

- Differential was not working as it should. It made the qualification so difficult, when lap times are so close to each other. The car was ok, but due to the defect it was difficult to push hard enough. Certainly, time was lost, but it happens. However, I am confident that in the race all is okay, Räikkönen said.

- During the whole season we have in every track been stronger in the race than in qualification and practice. It will be a little warmer in the race than in qualification and it should fit to our car even better. Zero points has yet been lost, but not won either. We try to get a good start, avoid all the hassles at the first cornerss and then see what we can do.

Villeneuve's argument garbage

Jacques Villeneuve, who won the world championship in 1997 with Renault, blamed in Sky TV's interview Lotus' current drivers and profusely praised the car.

- If Lotus had in this car, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel, they would have won all races of the season, breezed Villeneuve.

Boullier snorted to the claim.

- Villeneuve talks to keep warm, what happens when no one else is interested in him anymore, Lotus team boss acknowledged.

Turun Sanomat, Montreal

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: reppo

Video: Press Conference after Canadian GP 2012 with Top 3 drivers

Canadian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton pays credit to his McLaren team who "never seem to give up" whilst thanking his fans for their positive messages of support.


Romain Grosjean reveals that his Lotus team had looked to complete a one-stop strategyanddescribes a "crazy" end to the race that saw him up to second.

Sergio Perez describes the great boost the third place gives his Sauber team after their bad luck of the final few races.


Source: NinetyBucks

Hamilton: I never had a doubt in my mind

Lewis Hamilton has hailed McLaren's efforts in Canada where he says the only minor pit stops errors were his own slow getaways

Hamilton became the seventh different driver to win a grand prix this season when he took the chequered flag at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday.

The McLaren driver finished ahead of Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez having overhauled Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to get into the lead.

And, as to be expected, it was all smiles from Hamilton in the post-race press conference where he praised McLaren's improved pit stops, revealing that the only time lost had been his own doing.

"I knew today would be a tough, tough race. I loved every single minute of it and I'm really very, very grateful," Hamilton said.

"I never had a doubt in my mind that there would not be a possibility to win.

"I was thinking they (Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso) were falling behind and I assumed they doing a one-stop so I decided to keep pushing.

"I had a couple of problems pulling away (from the pits) - it may have been my fault, I don't know.

"But otherwise the pit stops were great. Finally we got some good pit stops and of course we can keep on improving in every area."

Hamilton won the grand prix by 2.5s over Grosjean with Perez a further three off the pace. However, unlike the two behind him, Hamilton did not opt for a one-stop strategy, instead coming into the pits on two occasions.

His second stop, though, meant he was on fresher rubber when it came time to catch and overhaul Vettel and Alonso.

"I was not able to do one stop, I think I would have fallen back, so I think a two-stop was just right.

"Of course we were aware of that. We went into the race knowing we would be doing two stops and when the guys were behind me I had a feeling that Fernando would be doing one stop.

"I knew I had to make a gap while looking after the tyres, even though Fernando was picking his pace up. It was one of the best stints I had."

The 27-year-old's victory has put him at the top of the Drivers' Championship on 88 points, two ahead of Alonso with Vettel a further one point behind.

"It's still sinking in. It's been five years since I first won here but it feels just as good.

"I'm massively proud of the team for continuing to push.

"It feels great to finally be here on the top step. It feel like one of best races I've had for a very long time."

Source: Planet-F1

Canadian GP: Lucky Seven For Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton put in a masterclass display of speed to catch and overhaul two World Champs on his way to his third Canadian GP victory

In a race that was determined more by pit stops than on-track action, Sebastian Vettel lead from the start before dropping to third behind both Hamilton and Alonso after the first round of stops.

The second round, though, saw only Hamilton stop - and slowly. The McLaren driver, who had been leading Alonso by 2.6s when he came in, once again had issues as his right rear wheel man was slow to get the new rubber on.

Three laps later it became apparent that Ferrari would not be stopping Alonso, leaving the Spaniard to complete more than half the race on his soft tyres. That left him a sitting duck as Hamilton, on much fresher rubber, overtook first Vettel and then Alonso to lead the Canadian GP.

That prompted Red Bull to pit Vettel with seven laps to go, dropping him off the podium and putting Romain Grosjean up into third place. The Frenchman, who was one of the later stoppers in the first round, also had better tyres than Alonso and hunted the Spaniard down to finish second while Sergio Perez also overtook the Ferrari three laps from the end. Red Bull's decision to pit Vettel paid off as he too took a position off Alonso on the final lap.

Hamilton went on to win the grand prix by 2.5s over Grosjean with Perez completing the podium just ahead of Vettel. Alonso finished fourth, over 13s back.

Result

01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h32:29.586
02. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 2.513
03. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 5.260
04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 7.295
05. Alonso Ferrari + 13.411
06. Rosberg Mercedes + 13.842
07. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 15.085
08. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 15.567
09. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 24.432
10. Massa Ferrari + 25.272
11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 37.693
12. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 46.236
13. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 47.052
14. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:04.475
15. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1 lap
17. Senna Williams-Renault + 1 lap
18. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
19. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps

Did not Finish

Glock Marussia-Cosworth 57
Schumacher Mercedes 34
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 25
Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 23

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Hamilton edges Vettel in Montreal

Lewis Hamilton had the measure of his rivals in Friday's first practice in Montreal as the McLaren driver set the pace despite using the slower tyres...

With dark threatening clouds overhead, the Lotus drivers got proceedings underway as Kimi Raikkonen posted a 1:20.347, which is almost immediately topped by his team-mate Romain Grosjean. The duo traded blows for several laps before Nico Rosberg put an end to their intra-team tussle.

Lewis Hamilton was the next to lead the way as the McLaren driver posted a 1:16.080 while Kamui Kobayashi and Felipe Massa slotted in behind him.

Hamilton's time seemed to be unbeatable as his rivals tried but just couldn't match it. Sebastian Vettel came the closest, 0.063 down before Practice One was red flagged.

With 38 minutes left on the clock, Heikki Kovalainen sideswiped the wall at Turn 9. The impact, which was on the right side of his Caterham, left a significant amount of debris on the track. The Finn, though, was unhurt.

The session restarted roughly ten minutes later with Rosberg the first into the 1:15s. But his reign was short-lived as Hamilton posted a 1:15.564.

A near miss for Bruno Senna who was almost collected by a Red Bull as the Williams driver just didn't have the pace through the corner as Vettel came storming by. The Brazilian was seen waving his fist with the stewards announcing they will investigate the incident after practice.

The final five minutes saw several drivers swap to the red-ringed super soft Pirelli tyres. However, even though the Red Bull duo made the move neither Sebastian Vettel nor Mark Webber were able to challenge Hamilton with Vettel slotting into second place, 0.118s down.

The session ended with Hamilton first ahead of Vettel, Rosberg and Alonso.

Times

01 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:15.564 30 laps
02 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:15.682 0.118 29 laps
03 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.782 0.218 30 laps
04 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:15.842 0.278 34 laps
05 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:15.897 0.333 28 laps
06 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:15.986 0.422 29 laps
07 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:16.000 0.436 31 laps
08 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:16.249 0.685 32 laps
09 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:16.264 0.700 28 laps
10 Jenson Button McLaren 1:16.347 0.783 12 laps
11 Paul di Resta Force India 1:16.460 0.896 32 laps
12 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:16.619 1.055 17 laps
13 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:16.859 1.295 26 laps
14 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:16.890 1.326 36 laps
15 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:17.014 1.450 42 laps
16 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:17.352 1.788 28 laps
17 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:17.580 2.016 31 laps
18 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:17.935 2.371 23 laps
19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:18.177 2.613 16 laps
20 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:18.182 2.618 26 laps
21 Bruno Senna Williams 1:18.762 3.198 36 laps
22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:19.354 3.790 23 laps
23 Timo Glock Marussia 1:20.004 4.440 21 laps
24 Charles Pic Marussia 1:20.067 4.503 23 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - Press Conference at Canadian GP - Top three drivers

The top three finishers in an action-packed Canadian Grand Prix - Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber react to a sensational race.

Button won despite colliding with team-mate Lewis Hamilton early on and visiting the pit lane six times in a race that was held up for two hours after torrential rain



Source: Youtube

Seb: I was too conservative

Sebastian Vettel believes his decision to err on the side of caution cost him victory at the Canadian Grand Prix

The defending World Champion appeared to be on course for his sixth race win in seven races this season following a chaotic first 60 laps around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He opted to take his foot off the pedal after the final Safety Car returned to the pits and it cost him dearly as it allowed Jenson Button to close the gap.

With Button right on his tail, Vettel cracked under the pressure on the final lap and ran wide at the Turn 6/7 chicane which allowed the McLaren driver through to claim victory.

"Of course I'm disappointed, I think it was a very difficult race from start to finish and we led every single lap except the last one," Vettel said. "I think I was probably too conservative when I was in the lead after the last Safety Car, and I didn't open the gap enough.

"I was trying to hold the gap to the cars behind and then I saw Jenson coming through, I was pushing and I think it would have been enough until the end but obviously it was not because I made a mistake. It's clearly down to me, I locked up the rear a little bit. What you have to do then is open up the car going a bit straighter and when there's only one line, I ended up in the wet.

"It was quite easy then for him to pass, but I think it was a good day today. It was a difficult race, easy to do mistake and we've seen a lot of cars not finishing so it's good points. If you have got it in your hands and then you give it away it's not the sweetest feeling but, all in all, it was a good for us here."

Source: Planet-F1

Jense: Possibly my best race

Jenson Button has hailed his amazing Canadian Grand Prix win as possibly the best race of his Formula One career

The McLaren driver had an eventful afternoon at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and was forced to fight from the back of the grid to claim victory and deny Sebastian Vettel a fourth consecutive win this season.

The win seemed a million miles away for Button during the early exchanges after he made contact with team-mate Lewis Hamilton on lap eight and was slapped with a drive-through penalty a few laps later for speeding under the Safety Car. His drive-through penalty - which was one of six visits to the pits - saw him drop to the back of the grid.

However, Button managed to make his way through the pack and found himself P2 after overtaking Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber during the final 10 laps. The McLaren driver put in some blistering times in the final five laps of the race and Vettel eventually cracked under the pressure on the final lap, running wide and allowing Button to pip him to P1.

"I really don't know what to say, it's been a very emotional three hours, or however long it's been since the start," Button said during the post-race press conference.

"Obviously the incident with Lewis, I couldn't see anything when he was alongside me. I couldn't see anything in my mirrors, it was one of those things and I've apologised to him. From then on it was really a fight, I got a drive-through for speeding behind the Safety Car and then I had to find my way through about three times.

"Eventually on the last lap I was chasing down Seb, he ran a little bit wide onto the wet part of the circuit and I was able to take the opportunity and take the win. For me, it was a fantastic race and I think even if I hadn't won today I would have enjoyed this race immensely. But yeah, amazing win and possibly my best."

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh also heaped praise on Button after his win.

"We knew he had to put pressure on Sebastian, and Sebastian made a mistake," Whitmarsh told BBC. "From Jenson, that's the stuff of champions, that's the stuff of dreams."

Source: Planet-F1

Button Pips Vettel In Canadian GP Thriller

Jenson Button claimed his first victory of the season in Canada, beating Sebastian Vettel, who proved he is human

Button was a man on the move in the final ten laps of the grand prix, slicing his way through the field to move into second place behind Vettel.

Catching the German hand over fist, it came down to the final lap where, perhaps for the first time this season on a Sunday afternoon, Vettel made a mistake and ran wide. Button seized his opportunity to take the lead and brought his McLaren home in first place for the first time this season.

The Canadian GP was a race of numbers, not least the fact that the final lap took place as the two-hour time limit was reached. But in truth, Sunday's Canadian GP lasted a whopping four hours and four minutes.

The stewards were kept busy on Sunday with eight investigations, three of which belonged to Lewis Hamilton alone. He kicked off the argy-bargy as he tagged Mark Webber on Lap 5. Neither retired and both faced a stewards' investigation in which they were found not guilty.

Three laps later, Hamilton hit the wall on the main straight when he attempted to overtake his team-mate, resulting in a second stewards' investigation. The Brit's punishment, though, was far worse than a drive-through as he was forced to park his damaged McLaren on the side of the track.

Moments later, with the race behind the Safety Car for the second time, race control revealed that Hamilton was also under investigation for speeding behind the SC during its outing.

The other investigations belonged to Button, Jerome D'Ambrosio, Adrian Sutil, Fernando Alonso/Button, Nick Heidfeld/Paul di Resta, Nico Rosberg/Sutil, and Vitaly Petrov/Kamui Kobayashi.

There were also five Safety Cars with the race starting behind the SC, it re-emerging after Hamilton's crash, coming back out on Lap 20 for the rain and then putting in nine more laps when the race was restarted on lap 25 after a two-hour red-flag situation, again when Alonso crashed out after tagging Button on Lap 37 and it made its final appearance on Lap 57 so that marshals could clear the debris from Nick Heidfeld's shunt.

But at the end of it all, there was just one winner, Jenson Button.

Results
01. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h23:50.995
02. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.709
03. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 13.828
04. Schumacher Mercedes + 14.219
05. Petrov Renault + 20.395
06. Massa Ferrari + 33.225
07. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 33.270
08. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 35.964
09. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 45.100
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 47.000
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 50.400
12. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.600
13. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
17. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
18. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 3 laps

Did Not Finish
Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 62
Heidfeld Renault 57
Sutil Force India-Mercedes 50
Alonso Ferrari 44
Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 36
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 8

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - Interview with Lewis Hamilton after Canadian GP 2011

Lewis Hamilton reveals his McLaren team told him to retire from the Canadian GP after his collision with team-mate Jenson Button



Source: Youtube

Video: BBC F1 2011 - 7 Canadian GP - Ferrari's Fernando Alonso 'surprised' with front row start

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso says it is 'a nice surprise' to be starting on the front row of the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix



Source: YouTube

Video: BBC - Press Conference at Canadian GP - Qualifying: top three drivers

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa react to setting the three fastest times in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix



Source: Youtube

Vettel: It will be close on Sunday

Sebastian Vettel admits he's expecting a close fight in Montreal on Sunday where the weather could yet decide the outcome of the grand prix

Despite Red Bull admitting prior to the weekend that the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is "one of our two weakest circuits of the year", Vettel beat the Ferrari drivers to pole position.

The German put in a blistering 1:13.014 to edge Fernando Alonso by 0.185s.

But while Vettel's pole position advantage in previous races has been as much as almost a second over the best non-Red Bull driver, on Saturday there was less than a second between himself and the eighth-placed driver.

As such, the reigning World Champ concedes it won't be easy achieving his first Canadian GP victory, however, he's confident he has a car capable of doing so.

"I think we made up some ground from last year," Vettel said.

"We know this is not our strongest track, we love high-speed corners. But we had the fastest package today so we can be confident.

"The runs we had were very confident. Surely it is never easy and it will not be easy tomorrow, like in the last two races. We are ready to fight so we will see what happens tomorrow.

"At this stage everyone looks after themselves and in qualifying you know it is between you and your car. Tomorrow is a different ballpark.

"We have seen in the last two races in particular that it will be close, and we don't expect anything other than that. Tomorrow is a new day and a new adventure."

Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber finished in fourth place, 0.415s behind the reigning World Champion.

It is believed that the Aussie was running more downforce than Vettel as Red Bull sought to cover both set-ups should the forecast rain materialise on Sunday.

"We've gone for a set-up which covers both eventualities," team boss Christian Horner told the BBC.

"We didn't expect to get pole here, so it's a surprise to get it here at one of our weakest circuits. A fantastic performance from Seb."

Source: Planet-F1

Practice Three: Vettel edges Alonso at Canadian GP 2011

Sebastian Vettel put in a late charge on the super softs to take the P1 slot off Fernando Alonso in final practice

The battle at the front of the pack was between Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg for the first half of the session while the two Ferraris fought over third place.

With the super soft tyres bolted to his Ferrari, Fernando Alonso emerged as the leading contender, taking the P1 slot off Rosberg, who did a short two-lap run to set his best time.

But it seemed as if it was just a matter of time before Vettel would come out on top and when he switched to a qualifying-style run that's exactly what he did with a 1:13.381.

Alonso was second ahead of Rosberg and Felipe Massa.

Meanwhile, Pedro de la Rosa had a sad end to his first full practice session with Sauber as the Spaniard crashed in the final minute, causing significant damage to his C30.

Report: Track temperature was up to 26'C with a few dark clouds overhead as Timo Glock led the field out onto the circuit. Nico Rosberg was the first to set a time, the German posting a 1:16.977. He continued lapping, lowering the benchmark to a 1:15.034 before being joined by his team-mate Michael Schumacher, who was also on the yellow-banded soft tyres. Schumacher was six seconds short of his team-mate's time with Kamui Kobayashi, who crashed in Practice Two, slotting in between the Mercs.

Vitaly Petrov took second place behind Rosberg before he was dropped by his team-mate Nick Heidfeld. The Russian, though, overhauled Heidfeld on his next lap while Jenson Button claimed fifth place ahead of Pastor Maldonado. Button's next flying lap saw him improve to second place, 0.174s behind Rosberg. Sebastian Vettel went third quickest ahead of Felipe Massa.

Button continued lapping, taking the P1 slot with a 1:14.942. His reign was short-lived as Rosberg went fastest, then Vettel and then Rosberg again. Behind the leading duo the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa took turns in the P3 slot ahead of the McLarens of Button and Lewis Hamilton. The latter becoming the latest to take a trip across the grass at the Turn 3/4 chicane.

Mark Webber was the only driver not to set a time in the first half of practice as his mechanics worked furiously on his car. Reports say it was a KERS issue (again) for the Aussie.

Hamilton improved to fourth place before heading back into the pits while Schumacher completed a 12 lap run. However, the German was well off the pace, 6.096s down on his team-mate, hinting at a heavy fuel run. Rosberg, in contrast, did just two flying laps on his way to the P1 time. Schumacher ventured back out, immediately improving to seventh place. Rubens Barrichello joined the list of those who reckon their car is actually a lawnmower.

Alonso, out on the super softs, was quickest of all in the first sector, lost time in the second, and more in the third to remain P3 ahead of Massa. The Brazilian followed his team-mate out and took third place back before Alonso improved to second on his next lap but was ten-thousands of a second slower than Rosberg. Ie, they basically had the exact same time. Jaime Alguersuari tested his Toro Rosso's grass cutting techniques. Massa joined Alonso in the hunt for the P1 slot, 0.037s adrift of the Spaniard.

Alonso finally hit the front with a 1:13.701. He was soon demoted as Vettel, despite having to overtaking Rosberg out on track, hit the front with a 1:13.381. Schumacher also had some traffic and angrily waved his fist as he past a Hispania. And with the clock ticking down, Pedro de la Rosa, who is standing in for Sergio Perez, lost the back end of his Sauber out of Turn 3/4 and hit the barriers rear first before spinning across the track and hitting the barriers on the other side with the nose. The Spaniard was unhurt.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.381s 21 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m13.701s + 0.320 21 laps
03. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.919s + 0.538 29 laps
04. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m13.956s + 0.575 20 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.335s + 0.954 18 laps
06. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.469s + 1.088 16 laps
07. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.488s + 1.107 23 laps
08. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m14.917s + 1.536 23 laps
09. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m15.217s + 1.836 18 laps
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m15.243s + 1.862 17 laps
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m15.312s + 1.931 19 laps
12. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m15.350s + 1.969 22 laps
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.138s + 2.757 17 laps
14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.145s + 2.764 19 laps
15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.236s + 2.855 21 laps
16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.438s + 3.057 21 laps
17. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.706s + 3.325 22 laps
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m17.093s + 3.712 21 laps
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m17.523s + 4.142 24 laps
20. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m18.910s + 5.529 20 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.073s + 5.692 19 laps
22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.213s + 5.832 22 laps
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.475s + 7.094 19 laps
24. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault No time

Source: Planet-F1

Vettel: McLaren and Ferrari look strong

Sebastian Vettel: McLaren and Ferrari look strong here, although I haven't seen all the times from practice yet. For us, I'm happy with the car's balance and how it performs, so we will see. It's a special circuit here, it's quite rough with the kerbs and chicanes, but I like it

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel has declared himself happy with his car's balance and performance following practice today for the F1 2011 Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Vettel's weekend got off to a bad start when he shunted in the first session. However he bounced back in FP2 and eventually finished the day second overall on a 1 minute 15.476 second lap, three tenths off the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

“I had an incident this morning. I lost the rear, but by the time I hit the wall I had low speed, so the crash was quite mild. There wasn't much damage, so we could fix the car and get back out this afternoon,” said the reigning world champion.

“McLaren and Ferrari look strong here, although I haven't seen all the times from practice yet. For us, I'm happy with the car's balance and how it performs, so we will see.

“It's a special circuit here, it's quite rough with the kerbs and chicanes, but I like it. The target is to win, but it's a long weekend and a lot of things can happen. It's important to finish and do your best, whatever that is.”

Team-mate Mark Webber meanwhile was only 12th in FP1 and 8th in FP2. He didn't seem overly concerned though.

“We were a bit compromised with the red flags at the end of P2, so we could have had a smoother end to the final session, but it wasn't too bad,” he added. “We tried different fuel loads today and now we just need to chip away and get the car a bit quicker.”

Source: Crash.net

Practice Two: Alonso tops interrupted session at Canadian GP 2011

Fernando Alonso set the pace ahead of Sebastian Vettel as the drivers had to contend with a crash-interrupted practice in Canada

There were three accidents during the session. The first belonged to Adrian Sutil, who put his car into the wall exiting Turn 7. Moments later, Kamui Kobayashi brought out the red flags when he hit the at Turn 4.

The session was stopped for nine minutes while moments after the restart Jerome D'Ambrosio went off at the same spot as Kobayashi. His shunt also brought out the red flags.

The final ten minutes of the session saw Pedro de la Rosa put in his first laps in the Sauber C30. The McLaren tester will race for Sauber this weekend after Sergio Perez revealed he was not feeling 100 percent after Practice One.

Alonso emerged as the man to beat, clocking a 1:15.107 while Vettel came back from his Practice One woes to finish in second place, 0.369s off the pace.

Felipe Massa, finishing ahead of the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and Force India's Paul di Resta.

Report: The track temperature was sitting at 44'C as Friday's second practice got underway in Montreal. The drivers were quickly out and almost immediately put lap times on the board. Paul di Resta went quickest with a 1:20.038 ahead of Jaime Alguersuari and Kamui Kobayashi.

Nick Heidfeld was the next to lead the way, clocking a 1:17.499, slotting in ahead of Felipe Massa, Vitaly Petrov and Fernando Alonso. Mark Webber improved to third place. Fernando Alonso powered by Nico Rosberg on the track as he made his way up to the P1 slot. His reign was short-lived as Mark Webber went quickest before, seconds later, he was overhauled by Sebastian Vettel by 0.334s. The German was back in action after his team made some hasty repairs to his RB7.

Lewis Hamilton joined the Red Bulls at the front of the packing, taking third place and then second while his team-mate Jenson Button improved to third.

After the initial rush, many drivers headed back into their garages before re-emerging out on track, putting in long-run heavy-fueled runs. This meant almost no changes to the timesheets, although there were a few off-track excursions as they tried to find the perfect line and braking point.

Massa took second place behind Vettel with Alonso slotting into third. The two Ferrari drivers both within a quarter of a second off the Red Bull driver's time. Alonso went on to overhaul Vettel by 0.271s while Heidfeld claimed seventh place on the softer option Pirelli tyres.

Adrian Sutil became the first casualty of the session as he hit the wall exiting Turn 7. Yellow flags were out as the marshals moved his car out of the way. Kamui Kobayashi was the next man out, crashing just minutes after Sutil as he hit the wall on the way out of Turn 4. The Japanese driver's accident brought out the red flags for nine minutes.

Less than a minute after the session had resumed Jerome D'Ambrosio put his Virgin racer into the wall. Hamilton suffered a right rear puncture but did not appear to have hit a wall or barrier. And with that the session was red flagged again.

Pedro de la Rosa completed his first lap for Sauber, a 1:21.873, which was 6.6s off the pace. De la Rosa improved to 20th place but cut the chicane to get his time. Alonso was also using more of the track than expected, taking a trip over the grass at Turn 2.

The session ended with Alonso in the P1 slot with a 1:15.107, followed by Vettel and Massa.

Times
01. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m15.107s 34 laps
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m15.476s + 0.369 29 laps
03. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.601s + 0.494 33 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.977s + 0.870 26 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.989s + 0.882 25 laps
06. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m16.089s + 0.982 34 laps
07. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m16.102s + 0.995 28 laps
08. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m16.324s + 1.217 32 laps
09. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m16.422s + 1.315 32 laps
10. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.687s + 1.580 28 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m16.905s + 1.798 16 laps
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m16.941s + 1.834 39 laps
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.051s + 1.944 32 laps
14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.684s + 2.577 34 laps
15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.757s + 2.650 20 laps
16. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m18.470s + 3.363 33 laps
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m18.482s + 3.375 38 laps
18. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m18.536s + 3.429 14 laps
19. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m18.601s + 3.494 38 laps
20. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m19.209s + 4.102 28 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.810s + 4.703 25 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m20.284s + 5.177 31 laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.311s + 5.204 38 laps
24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.922s + 5.815 26 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Nico quickest, Champ in the walls at Canadian GP 2011

Nico Rosberg put his Merc GP's straight-line speed to good use, taking the P1 slot in Practice One while Seb Vettel put his RB7 into the Wall of Champs

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso set the early pace in Montreal on Friday morning, mixing it up with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

Felipe Massa also joined the tussle, while late-starter Vettel only ventured out after half the session was already over.

And, unfortunately for the Red Bull driver, what time he had left was cut short when he locked up into the final corner and slammed his RB7 into the Wall of Champions.

With the session back underway after six minutes, it was Alonso and the two McLaren drivers fighting for the P1 slot before Merc GP's Rosberg put in a late charge to beat them all.

Rosberg finished up with a 1:15.591, 0.548s up on Alonso while Schumacher was third fastest.

Report: Blue skies and sunshine greeted the drivers at the start of Friday morning's practice for the Canadian GP with the track temperature already up to 27'C as Heikki Kovalainen led out the drivers for their installation laps. Problems for Jarno Trulli with as the Team Lotus driver hit a bird on his installation lap. Not a pretty sight on his front wing.

Toro Rosso tester Daniel Ricciardo got proceedings underway with a 1:26.560. His reign was short-lived as Fernando Alonso took the P1 slot with a 1:19.981 and Michael Schumacher slotted into second place. Schumacher went on to overhaul Alonso with a 1:18.821 while Lewis Hamilton claimed third place.

The McLaren driver continued lapping, taking first place by almost half a second ahead of Schumacher. Jaime Alguersuari put his Toro Rosso into third place with Nico Hulkenberg taking fourth ahead of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg.

Alonso returned to the front with a 1:18.326 before being dropped by Rosberg and also by Webber, who was 0.029s off the P1 time. Hamilton improved to fourth. It was all-change, though, as Felipe Massa hit the front, the first driver into the 1:17s.

Sebastian Vettel finally hit the track for his first timed lap, taking 17th place. The reigning Champ continued lapping, improving to 10th place. Alguersuari was the latest to be caught out at Turn 8, however, it was Vettel who was well and truly caught out.

Out on the soft tyres, the reigning World Champ locked up his right front under braking for the chicane and hit, yip, the Wall of Champions! Vettel escaped unhurt from the accident but the same cannot be said of his car. His RB7 suffered serious damage to the front right.

The session was red flagged for six minutes with the drivers quickly out on track. Massa almost followed Vettel into a wall, although a different wall, the one just after the Turn 3/4 chicane. Paul di Resta almost binned it as well, forcing Trulli to take evasive action. Nick Heidfeld spun his Renault, although that's better than his team-mate Vitaly Petrov who had not even set a time with 20 minutes remaining.

Alonso took over at the front with two purple sector times. Hamilton ran off the track and Button climbed to third place behind the two Ferraris. Rosberg overhauled the Ferraris, a 1:16.002 for the Merc GP driver. Schumacher took third place, 0.983s behind his team-mate. Rosberg, meanwhile, reported to his team that he could feel something burning in the cockpit. That's never good.

Practice One ended with Rosberg in the P1 slot with a 1:15.591. Alonso and Schumacher were second and third ahead of Massa and the two McLarens.

Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.591s 32 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m16.139s + 0.548 27 laps
03. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m16.549s + 0.958 30 laps
04. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m16.658s + 1.067 26 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.676s + 1.085 20 laps
06. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.842s + 1.251 19 laps
07. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.990s + 1.399 28 laps
08. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.294s + 1.703 26 laps
09. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m17.445s + 1.854 28 laps
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.549s + 1.958 20 laps
11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.662s + 2.071 27 laps
12. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m17.820s + 2.229 30 laps
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.458s + 2.867 31 laps
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m18.506s + 2.915 15 laps
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.648s + 3.057 35 laps
16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m18.852s + 3.261 8 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m18.932s + 3.341 20 laps
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m19.274s + 3.683 29 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m19.422s + 3.831 30 laps
20. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m19.577s + 3.986 26 laps
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.838s + 4.247 31 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m19.960s + 4.369 23 laps
23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.520s + 4.929 21 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.839s + 5.248 27 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Canadian GP - Alonso: “I see a positive response in the factory”

After attending a Shell event in downtown Montreal, a city that always reserves a special welcome for the Prancing Horse team, Fernando Alonso met the media at the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro hospitality unit, backing onto the Olympic Rowing Basin at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

Looking at the coming weekend, the Spaniard clearly wants to wait until he has completed some laps before making predictions. “I don’t know how competitive we can be here and we must wait and see once we get out on track,” he began. “It should be a better track for us, in the same way that Monaco was, because when we run on the softer tyres it seems we perform a little better. Secondly, aerodynamics is less important here, because there are not many high speed corners and that helps as we know that, aerodynamically, we are a bit behind our rivals. Therefore, we can maybe expect to be a little bit closer here. However, we must not forget that Red Bull has been quick at all types of circuit and McLaren has been fast at tracks with opposing characteristics, like Barcelona and Monaco. I think we can be closer to them here and have a chance of fighting to be on the podium, but it will be very tough, as indeed it has been throughout the season so far.”

Pirelli might be bringing the same tyres here as they did in the Principality, but the track conditions are much tougher on rubber in Montreal. “I expect more difficulties than in Monaco as far as the tyres are concerned,” confirmed Fernando. “Already there, a one stop was not the fastest strategy, but it was the best one because it is impossible to overtake there. Here it is very easy to overtake and if you tried to adopt the strategy of running to the end, like Vettel did in Monaco, you would find yourself down in eighth place. Even two stops could be difficult here so I expect a good number of stops on Sunday.”

For the first time this season, the DRS (Downforce Reduction System) will be used at two points rather than just one around the track. “It will mean we can adopt a different approach for this race, in terms of the number of pit stops and doing an extra one is not a problem as you can overtake easily and making more pit stops will seem more realistic,” maintained the Ferrari man. “However, let’s not forget that there is rain forecast for Sunday, in which case use of DRS will not be allowed. In a dry race with double DRS, we will see a lot of overtaking which will be a good show for the fans. If it does rain, then because of our situation – we are a long way behind in the championship in terms of points and we are not yet quite as quick as our opponents – the wet for us is not such a problem, because at the moment, we would not win a straightforward race in the dry. So, any strange factors can maybe help us, but wet races are also a lottery in which you need to gamble and you need to win.” Finally, Alonso was asked if he could sense a benefit to the restructuring of the technical department, announced a fortnight ago in Monaco. “I see a positive response back in the factory and a good atmosphere within the team, where everyone is prepared to work hard to apply all the new methods involved in this change.”

Source: Ferrari.com

FIA clarifies rule for qualifying fuel stoppages

F1's governing body has issued a rule clarification after Lewis Hamilton was penalised and reprimanded for an incident at the end of qualifying in Montreal.

The McLaren pole sitter was fined $10,000 after driving too slowly on his Q3 in-lap and then stopping on the circuit, so that enough fuel was left in the tank for a sample to be tested by the FIA.

Not everyone was happy with the British team's actions.

"I don't know all the details so it's hard to comment," Mercedes team boss and FOTA technical chairman Ross Brawn is quoted as saying in Canada.

"But we must not come to a situation where cars run out of fuel after their last lap because they want to be running as light as possible."

According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, the situation was discussed on Sunday during a meeting of team bosses and the race director Charlie Whiting.

Whiting reportedly clarified that, in future, any car that runs out of fuel at the end of qualifying will be summoned to the stewards, risking penalties if the reason for the stoppage is not 'force majeure'.

Source: Motorsport