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2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Michael Douglas)

Bonjour Montreal. It’s a pleasure for me to be here and an honour to be able to introduce our podium winners. Lewis, incredible. We have to talk about the first turn. You had Sebastian coming in on your left, you had Nico touching wheels on the right. Tell us about that.
Lewis HAMILTON: It was horrible. Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to everybody who came out here today and made the atmosphere the way it is. Thank you everyone here. We come here every year and we have the best week. The city, they just put on such a great event. The ambiance, the atmosphere is better than ever. Today, I had another really bad start, I’m not quite sure why, I think probably I overheated my clutch. Sebastian and Nico got quite a good run down to Turn One, tyres are cold, big understeer, and I feel very grateful that me and Nico didn’t damage anything on our cars. And otherwise it was just trying to chase this guy down. He was so quick out there. The car felt fantastic and it was set up just right with great work from the engineers and mechanic. Hey man, I won my first grand prix here in 2007, so this just feels like such a blessing.

Congratulations Lewis, well done, fourth time?
LH: I think fifth time!

Yes, fifth time! Sebastian, nice to see you, wonderful, wonderful race. You had a phenomenal run earlier in the race, what were the issues later on?
Sebastian VETTEL: Lewis was a bit too quick! That was the issue. No, I think we had a great weekend. Obviously a fantastic start and then, yeah, lap one was a bit hairy, I just struggled to stop the car in the last corner. It was very windy today and maybe I struggled a bit with the wind from behind but I was pushing all race. I think we committed fairly early to a different strategy, which we were planning to come back. Obviously then Lewis had the chance to stay out and see what the tyres were doing and I think probably the tyres lasted a bit better than what we expected, so that made it quite tricky to refresh the tyres and close the gap but overall a great weekend for us. We struggled a little bit in the last couple of races and the beginning of the season and now to see that the car has performance and to unleash it, it was a really fun race, I really enjoyed it. I can only add on what Lewis said: thanks to the crowd, it’s great to come here. Friday, free practice, to have you guys here at the hairpin, all around the track, waving at us is making our job just much more pleasant, so this is a place we’ll have to come to forever I guess, so thank you very much.

Fantastic, a really, really wonderful run, congratulations. Mr Bottas, really nice to see you up here on the podium again. I think it was Mexico last see [the last time]. The season started a little slow but you’re coming on strong. How was the race for you today?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, I’m really pleased with today. As a team, it was really a strong one for us, really good strategy, really good pit stop; the time was perfect, the car felt really good today. I felt I was pretty on it today. So it’s great to be here. I really want to thank Williams, thank you guys; everybody made an amazing job. Thank you Montreal, you’ve been really good to me.

Congratulations. Lewis, that’s two wins in a row, so how does the rest of the year look to you, what do you think?
LH: We’re going to just take it one race at a time. There’s still work to do. We’re going to continue to improve this car. There’s a lot of race so we’re really just trying to stay… we need to try to keep on a roll if possible. There’s a long, long way to go. These guys are getting faster and faster at Ferrari and Red Bull, so collectively as a team we’re just going to keep our heads down and keep pushing. Honestly I’m just overwhelmed with today. I remember, what was it, ten years, nine years ago here, and it feels just as great [as it did] back then.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Lewis, 45th career victory and your fifth in Canada, as you were quick to point out on the podium. You obviously lost the start to Sebastian, but you go this win I guess, in a way again, because for the second race in a row you were able to do a very, very long final stint on the tyres. How much of that was data about what the tyres would do and how much was pure feel?
LH: Well, firstly, if I may, I want to… I never really dedicate wins to anyone but someone who really inspired me so much throughout my life, Muhammad Ali, and obviously he passed just recently, so I’d love to be able to dedicate this to him and his family. The last 15 laps, for some reason all I could think of was him and Rumble in the Jungle, it was really, really weird. I was driving and I was just thinking of him, and thinking maybe he would be watching the race, I don’t know. So, that’s to him and his family. Rest in peace.
In terms of the tyres: It was really feel. The team obviously told us what the tyres could do, how far they would go. I wasn’t really sure how far the ultrasoft would go. I had already seen graining earlier when I was behind Sebastian. So I was a little bit nervous about it, but it seemed to last, which was great. I could have kept going on the ultrasoft, which was interesting; I had a good pace. Then we swapped. It was a long stint on the information we got before that that tyre could last quite a long time and it was just a beauty. I didn’t have to push too much on the tyre at the beginning, just looking after them, but very conscious that this guy behind was pushing. I was really enjoying the race with him, you know, just battling times here and there. He was so quick and it’s great to see how quick they are and they are really giving us a run for our money, and I just happened to be on a one stop. But fantastic job by the team. I’m really overwhelmed to think just how difficult this season was before these last two races and I feel incredibly grateful and very blessed to have had these two great weekends. I’m just going to keep working hard, as you can see I’m super-focused. For me I felt that today was one of my best races for a while, maybe not as good as the last one, but still really happy with it. Onwards and upwards hopefully.

Very well done. Turning to you Sebastian, got the feeling before the race that Ferrari might be able to win this, had that amazing start, and then obviously you committed to that two-stopper with the pit stop on lap 17 under the VSC. Was that because the team thought you wouldn’t be able to do what Lewis did and do that one-stopper and in the final part of the race did you think that a 13-lap tyre offset to Lewis would be enough to challenge?
SV: Yeah, I think that was the plan, so obviously we committed fairly early. We were in the lead. As the second car in the row, which was Lewis in that case, obviously you have the chance to choose – if the car in front pits you might pit, if the car front stays out you might pit. We committed fairly early to that strategy and I think I was probably the right thing to do in terms of getting to the chequered flag the quickest way. But obviously we lost track position and we didn’t expect that the soft tyre that Lewis put on… first of all the ultrasoft and then the soft would last as long. Myself, I was also surprised to see how long the supersoft lasted and then the soft tyre lasted until the end. As Lewis said, we could have kept going. The degradation wasn’t maybe as high as we expected. That’s maybe where we lost the race. But I want to make one thing clear: I’m not a big fan of blaming anyone or anything. I think it was a great weekend for Ferrari. We’ve had a difficult start to the season because we were never really able to show the true performance of the car and this was maybe the first clean weekend if you look at Saturday and Sunday. And actually I enjoyed the race a lot. Didn’t get the result I was hoping for, especially after the start, but I was enjoying it a lot. The last 30 laps I was just flat out – maybe pushing a little bit too hard at times. It just felt great. That’s what racing should be about. The tyres were fairly consistent. I really enjoyed chasing him down but a couple of laps to go I realised that he was just a bit too quick or the tyres didn’t drop enough.

Q: Valterri,, podium here for the second year in a row in Montreal. Same strategy as Lewis that got you ahead of the two–stopping Red Bulls and Kimi Raikkonen; tell us about your drive today and also those strategy calls?
VB: Thank-you, yes. It feels really good to be here again. Montreal has been pretty to me and pretty good to us as a team. For sure it was always going to be one of the good tracks for our car but really pleased with what we have done. Of course, today didn’t come easily. I really needed to thank the team for the decisions they made to commit to the one stop and also the stop lap, it was perfect. This stop was again, massively quick as we’ve seen all season so really thankful for Williams, for today and for the whole weekend. We need more of these kind of results. We just need to keep trying but just very happy at the moment.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Lewis, what happened at the start, more of the same?
LH: Yeah, the start was… I don’t understand it. This time I really don’t understand because practices have been good, the formation lap was amazing, dropped the clutch and the thing pulled away perfectly. Yeah, I stopped, did the normal procedure, let the clutch out and it just didn’t go anywhere. I’m really lost as to know what… Obviously I had really good pace today and that really got in the way. Had it been a longer straight, I would have been a sitting duck. I don’t really know what to say about it. And into turn one, these tyres, these ultrasofts, he(Sebastian) was lightning on the first lap but me, I had no grip. I got to turn one and I had this understeer and I thought that it was going to continue for the rest of the lap. I think the guys behind me were also tiptoeing but very close, obviously, between me and Nico which wasn’t intentional. But fortunately none of our cars were damaged.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) And second question is – as Sebastian has said, the cars are pretty good as you’ve said as well, you had a good view of them in the early laps. What’s the power like on the straight, how quick were they on the straight compared with you now?
SV: Quite quick. I think we’re quite quick.
LH: These guys were pretty quick on the straight. I didn’t get quite close enough to really gauge just how quick they are but I think it looked pretty close, I have to say. I was so excited with wheel-to-wheel racing but then he pitted after the VSC and I’m like shoot, I was a bit annoyed. Still it was a good battle at the time.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Speedsport Magazine) Valterri, as you say, a good track for you and the team. However does it give you confidence that you can now start to challenge Red Bull or was it just track and strategy specific today?
VB: It definitely keeps confidence for us that we can do good things. For sure, it is one of the good ones, as a track for us but I think as a team we did such a good job with the strategy but the car was also good today at the beginning and end of the race when everyone was on the same tyres, I did feel that I could put pressure on Kimi in front and even the Red Bulls, so that was a good feeling and even though some of them were on two stop and we were still on one stop and we put pressure, so that was good. I think the next few races should be good. Lot of confidence now and this really makes a lot of good for the team, a result like this, a motivation boost for the next ones.

Q: (Ralf Bach – AutoBild Motorsport) Seb, my impression is that we already saw the race from today in Melbourne, didn’t we?
SV: I don’t think that’s true. I think Australia, you can argue with hindsight, we would do a different strategy. If it’s that straightforward and easy to know what it’s like, then everyone is doing the right thing. As it turned out, we committed fairly early, maybe we were also hoping that the virtual safety car gives us a bit of an advantage and makes the two stop favourable but I will always defend our strategies, what we committed to as a team. I think there were other people as well, favouring the two stop. With hindsight maybe they would do a different job but as I said, that’s a decision we take as a team. Kept in hindsight it’s always easy. Put yourselves in the shoes of those on the pit wall, to make that call is quite tricky and you have to be really quick. Strategy-wise I think we have a very very strong team. I wouldn’t favour anywhere near to criticise them because the guys are really on the money and very strong, reacting very well and if here and there we maybe don’t do the optimum, that’s part of the job but overall I think we end up doing better choices than other people.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, was the tyre management here more difficult than in Monte Carlo because at a certain stage we saw one big, black stripe on one of your front tyres. Was that graining?
LH: Honestly, as Sebastian said, the tyres were really good today, I have to say. I guess with the cooler temperatures graining wasn’t really an issue. I think if it was hot like it was in P2, I think, maybe a one-stop wouldn’t have been possible but yeah, there was a small bit of… on the Ultrasoft there was a little bit more graining but on the soft there was hardly any graining at all. It was like a small band on the front left tyre but otherwise they stayed very, very consistent. Being so cool I think you just had to try to keep the temperature in them more than anything. I was really actually, for once, happy with the performance of the tyre, to be honest. They did a good job.

Q: (Jimmy Gordon – AP) Lewis, we heard you talk about Ali. Can you tell us what it was about his life or his career that made such an impact on you?
LH: I think it’s the same for everyone really. I think he was just a unique, iconic individual who had a character unlike anyone else’s and everyone aspired to be like him. I wish I could have spoken with the charisma that he would have, or the comedic side that he would have, that confidence that he could carry into a fight and outwit and outsmart his opponents. And then for the things that he stood for. Even more importantly politically, I think believing in who you are and not letting anyone dictate who you have to be. I think as a kid, when I saw that, I think I was like: ‘this is the guy I want to be like’. In terms of an athlete I hope one day I can be like him. Coming from a family of similar background in a sense of ethnicity, it was someone to look up to. Obviously in Formula One there was no one of the same colour as us as a family, so it was another athlete for me to look up.

Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Seb. Seb, during this weekend we’ve seen one of the closest gaps between Ferrari and Mercedes. Are you confident you feel you can be even closer to a win in the next race?
SV: First of all, I hope that you write exactly that tomorrow: that we were closer than ever. So, I think sometimes it’s a bit surreal. We are an Italian team. I think Ferrari stands for great passion and a lot of values in Italy and sometimes it seems like the Italian press is our biggest opponent. So, maybe you can write something nice, which would be a nice message for all the people in Maranello that are really working their arse off day in, day out to make a strong Ferrari car. I’ve never had a doubt. I know this car is a big step up and I think we had a mixed-up start to the season which was difficult because we were never really in the position to show what the car can deliver. Especially because Saturdays here and there weren’t great. So, I think this weekend was just normal. We had a great Saturday and great pace today. Just look at the opening laps of the race. I was pulling away, pulling a gap to… maybe not so much to Lewis but to all the cars behind. So, it felt great and the car felt great all weekend. So, really happy and happy with the progress the team is making. Again, I ask you to be a bit patient, a bit more patient. The team is on a great path, things are improving and I think we’re seeing results quicker than anyone else so far in the history of F1. So, I think we’re on the right track, it’s a great team and I’m enjoying it a lot.

Q: (Bill Beacon – The Canadian Press) For Sebastian. Can you go over for us what you did off the start? Where you planning that ahead of time? And what exactly did you do to slip by everybody and get first place?
SV: I know it sounds silly saying it now but I sort-of had the gut feel that I will have a good start. Obviously it depends on what the other people are doing but I had the feel that, when the lights went on… [to Lewis] I didn’t know what you were doing but I knew there would be a good start. I had a good feeling the formation lap and I think I reacted well, as well – without giving myself too much credit. I just… I don’t know… I felt it would be a good start. It was, so I was very happy with that and just went for it. Had a big lead in the first lap which, nearly all of it I gave away in the last corner and then it was obviously it was a bit more tricky to keep Lewis out of the DRS until a couple of laps in – until just before the Virtual Safety Car actually. I was a bit distracted, we chatted about it, I have to mention it, I don’t know why but I have to, there were two seagulls. I think it was a couple that wanted to commit suicide. They were at the apex of Turn One. Lewis obviously didn’t care, so he made up quite a bit of time, about half a second, but I didn’t do that couple that favour to say goodbye for good, so by the time Lewis came around they just flew off. Wasn’t fair! I brake for animals, Lewis doesn’t but… yeah. Then the Virtual Safety Car came and freezes the gap at that point.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Following on from that Sebastian, I wonder what you felt about the grip level on the in-field of the chicane there? You went through it three or four times just to get it right. What was the racing line like through there? You were very quick the first time you went straight on.
SV: Very quick on the first lap. Braking very late. I think I was a bit caught out by the wind, to be honest. I shouldn’t have – I had all the information but I was struggling a bit. It was very gusty and, here and there, got caught out. So, I was trying everything all around the whole lap. I was getting close to the wall: exit of Four; exit of the last corner, exit of Nine as well. So really trying everything. Eventually in there too much, which obviously loses you more than a second. And then yeah, I think I was around four and a half seconds to Lewis and then back to five and a half. Didn’t do myself a favour but I had to try. For some reason yesterday I was very good friends with the last corner and today not so much. So, yeah, not great from my side obviously to miss the braking. Quite tricky with a bit of bottoming. Just locked it three times in total and didn’t make it.

June 13, 2016
Video: Of Seagulls and Racing Driver Excuses

Watch as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel crashes Lewis Bamilton’s interview live on air to discuss a pair of seagulls that were on the racing line into Turn 1.

The seagulls in question were in fact at Turn 1

June 13, 2016
Hamilton edges Rosberg by 0.062s for Canadian GP pole

Lewis Hamilton secured his fifth Canadian GP pole position in his career by 0.062s from his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton’s first Q3 run was massively imppressive and he posted a 1:12.812 – enough to secure the top qualifying spot. He was not able to improve on his second run but Rosberg messed up his lap into the first corner, locking up, drifting and losing just a little too much time.

Vettel popped himself up into third place with a late run for it and finished a tenth of a second behind Rosberg’s time.
Vettel felt that pole was possible for Ferrari today. “Going into qualifying I thought it was possible,” said Vettel.

“On my last lap I was very happy in general, though maybe a little bit greedy out of Turn 10, not greedy enough into Turn 6. But there wasn’t a lot to grab otherwise.

“I wanted to get below the 1:13 mark – I knew that it would be very close with Mercedes. I did that but missed out by one hundredth, so that little bit missing.”

“Overall I think we have a great car, we did a step, so I’m happy with how the weekend has turned out. I feel in general very comfortable and enjoyed qualifying,” he said.

Ferrari brought an upgraded turbocharger to the Canadian GP and Hamilton thinks the team can pose a challenge during Sunday’s race.

“Ferrari has obviously picked up the pace with their upgrades,” Hamilton said.

“This is a great track to test ultimate speed, so we’re excited to have a race with them.

“Their long runs looked very strong. I don’t know if they were stronger than ours – we’ll see tomorrow.”

Hamilton admitted he had lossed a bit of the advantage he had over his team mate during Friday practices but was elated to have secured his fifth pole in Montreal. “To be honest it doesn’t matter how far you are ahead, as long as you are ahead,” he said.

Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen lined up fourth and fifth with Kimi Raikkonen finishing only sixth fastest with his single Q3 effort. Raikkonen seemed less than impressed. “We improved the behaviour of the car, but still I found it hard to put a lap together,” he said.

Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa came in 7th and 8th for Williams with Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso completing the top 10.

Sergio Perez was 11th fastest for Force India, ahead of Jenson Button who lost his chance at Q3 with a lock up into L’Epingle and managed only 12 fastest.

Daniil Kvyat finshed 13th for Toro Rosso. He will however drop 3 places as a result of a penalty for his collision with Kevin Magnussen in Monaco.

Esteban Gutierrez inched his Haas ahead of Romain Grosjean by over 2 tenths to line up in 13th and 14th positions on the grid. Carlos Sainz Jr showed some very strong pace througout the race weekend so far but he clipped the wall on his way out of the final corner during his first attempt at getting through to Q3. He broke his suspension and retired from qualifying. He finished down in 16th place but will start ahead of Kvyat due to the Red Bull driver’s penalty.

Renault’s Joylon Palmer brushed his way against the wall on his wat out of the final chicane and finished 17th, ahead of Pascal Wehrlein . Ericsson and Nasr failed to get out of Q1 and Marcus will be dropping to the back of the grid due to his 3 place grid penalty for colliding with Nasr in Monaco.

Rio Haryanto got a listtle too close to the wall at Turn 4 and spun across the track – only just missing the barrier. This damaged his car though and he tried to limp back to the pits but crawled to a halt on the grass along the back straight.

Magnussen did not take part in qualifying following his crash in the final Canadian GP practice.

Final Canaddian GP Qualifying Classification :

June 11, 2016

Vettel Fastest In 3rd Practice in Canada

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished fastest in the third free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix.

In a session that ended a few minutes early after Kevin Magnussen crashed at the exit of Turn 7, Vettel finished fastest with a time of 1:13.919 on the ultra soft compound tyres.

Magnussen lost the rear of the car at the exit of Turn 7. He managed to catch the slide but ran out of space and road and ended up in the barrier. There is no confirmation from Renault what may have caused the crash as it looked to be at a relatively low speed. Renault now have the task of reparing the car before qualifying in a few hours time.

Second fastest was Max Verstappen in the Red Bull with a time of 1:14.158, 0.239s off Vettel’s time. Verstappen was, however, compromised a bit by spots of rain that started falling just as he started his flying lap on the ultra softs. Before his lap on the ultra softs he was 0.3s off Vettel’s time on the super soft compound tyres.

Rosberg was third fasetst for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton 5th fastest. Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari split the mercedes in 4th. Daniel Ricciardo ended his session 6th fastest just a little over half a second off the pace.

Carlos Sainz finished 7th fastest for Toro Rosso ahead of Fernando Alonso in the McLaren. Sergio Perez in the Force India finished 9th fasest with Felipe Massa in the Williams rounding out the top 10.

The cold ambient temperatures makes things quite tricky for qualifying later. Red Bull looked very competitive on the super softs in the cold conditions and they seem to be favoring the super softs. Mercedes are strong on the ultra softs and Ferrari are showing strong pace on the ultra softs as well. As we all know is that Mercedes and Red Bull tend to turn the engine up in Qualifying. Ferrari have been struggling to extract performance from their car during qualifying and are hoping that the are at least a little closer to the front row today.

It will be interesting to see what happens in qualifying.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Best Time	Gap	Laps
1	Sebstain Vettel	Ferrari	1:13.919	–	21
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:14.158	+0.239	19
3	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:14.316	+0.397	22
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:14.332	+0.413	21
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:14.334	+0.415	19
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:14.487	+0.568	22
7	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:14.655	+0.736	21
8	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:14.801	+0.882	19
9	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:14.886	+0.967	21
10	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:14.890	+0.971	18
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:14.918	+0.999	20
12	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:14.985	+1.066	20
13	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:15.023	+1.104	17
14	Daniel Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:15.199	+1.280	20
15	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	1:15.444	+1.252	16
16	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:15.656	+1.737	19
17	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:15.704	+1.758	14
18	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:16.078	+2.159	24
19	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:16.085	+2.166	17
20	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:16.326	+2.407	24
21	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor	1:16.622	+2.703	18
22	Rio Haryanto	Manor	1:16.901	+2.982	15

Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula One

June 11, 2016

Hamilton fastest for second Canadian GP practice session

Reining F1 champion Lewis Hamilton continued to show his muscle as he clocked the fastest time during the second practice session ahead of this weekend’s Canadian GP.

Team mate Nico Rosberg drifted in 0.526s behind with Sebastian Vettel splitting the Mercedes in his Ferrari.

Hamilton’s time of 1:14.212 on Pirelli’s Ultra Soft tyres was 0.272s ahead of Vettel – also on Ultra Softs – and saw the Brit take a clean sweep for the day.

While there is a more-or-less 0.7s difference in Super Soft and Ultra Soft times, the softest compound tyre did show some longevity – with Rosberg completing 29 laps on the purple rubber. This could well turn the Canadian GP into a one-stop race when paired with the soft tyres.

The Red Bull drivers came home fourth and fifth fastest with young Max Verstappen edging in 0.012s ahead of his team mate Daniel Ricciardo. Both drivers were almost a second down on Hamilton’s time.

Valterri Bottas and Jenson posted identical times for the 6th and 7th spots while Kimi Raikkonen brought his Ferrari home in a disappointing 8th place on the timesheets. Following the session, Raikkonen made no secret of his disappointment saying that they “struggled to make any sense of the car”.

Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Fernando Alonso finished the session 11th fastest on used ultra softs ahead of Sergio Perez.

Felipe Massa set the 13th fastest time ahead of Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean who was half a second adrift of the Russian’s time.

Renault’s Kevin Magnussen finished 16th and Sauber drivers Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson were 17th and 19th, with Haas’ Esteban Gutiérrez sandwiched between them.

Joylon Palmer finished 20th for Renault, with Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto completing the Canadian GP field for Manor – 0.4 seconds between the two. Haryanto’s time was 3.2 seconds behind Hamilton.

June 10, 2016
F1 2016: Free Practice Report Canadian Gp – Hamilton Leads

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has set the fastest time in the first free practice session ahead of the 2016 Canadian grand prix.

The first free practice session got underway in sunny conditions and a balmy track temperature of 21 degrees celsius. As teams slowly began to find their way around the famous circuit Gilles Villeneuve the Williams of Felipe Massa made heavy contract with the barrier at turn one. The Williams, stricken and heavily damaged at the rear, brought out the red flag for several minutes.

Several drivers opted for a run on the purple side-walled ultrasoft tyre but it delivered inconclusive results at this early stage of the weekend. With half an hour remaining Lewis Hamilton had set the quickest time on the red supersoft tyre, a 1:14:980. Teammate Rosberg wasn’t far off at this stage in second place with a gap of 0.182.

Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto showed well in the Manor by running ahead of teammate Wehrlein, Renault’s Magnussen and Palmer and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson for the majority of the session. Haryanto eventually finished the session 18th overall.

At the end of the 90 minute session Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time overall with a 1:14:775 ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Final Free Practice 1 Standings

June 10, 2016
2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS – Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber), Sergio PEREZ (Force India), Felipe MASSA (Williams), Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing), Jenson BUTTON (McLaren), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Daniel, let’s start with you, our 2014 Canadian Grand Prix winner of course. You didn’t want to hear what the team had to say after the last race in Monaco, so how have the conversations gone since, around strategy decisions, the pit stop issue and how have you personally got over the disappointment?
Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, I gave it a few days to cool off. I definitely felt after the race that I wasn’t in a place, probably no one was in a place to try to resolve what happened. For me it just get away for a few days and then address what happened once we’d cooled and settled. So I spoke to various people in the team and they basically explained what happened at the time and the situation. It was obviously important to hear the explanation but I think more important how to move on from it and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again. They’d done a lot of things since then back at the factory and they have set up some new parameters and things that will happen during pit stops and before pit stops to make sure that these things don’t happen again and to make sure that tyres are ready and that various compounds are ready at once. So, yeah, obviously from my said now I’ve moved on. It’s obviously good that they’ve… I knew they were going to take it seriously because it was obviously a big disappointment for all of us, but I’ve been assured that if we’re in that position again then it won’t happen, so that was obviously what I needed and what I wanted to hear.

With the Renault engine upgrade, which seems to be pretty valid there, as well as the nature of the Red Bull chassis and of this circuit layout here in Montreal, is there a realistic expectation that you can bounce back with this weekend with a win?
DR: In my mind there is. That would obviously be a lovely way to bounce back. Let’s see, I think realistically Mercedes are still going to be, as expected, the ones to beat. I expect that we can be the next best, or I hope we can be the next best. But it’s hard, you know, Ferrari have been there and surprised us sometime and then been less surprising on other occasions. You never know, but I do believe we’ll be the next ones in line behind Mercedes and how far we’re behind Mercedes I’m not sure but hopefully close enough to again put some pressure on them and grab a win.

Marcus, coming to you, a little bit of ice hockey this week with Valtteri Bottas. Who’s the more aggressive on the ice, you or him?
Marcus ERICSSON: Most aggressive? I don’t know, but obviously Sweden and Finland have a big rivalry in ice hockey and it was a fun event and he was very good on the ice I have to say.

Speaking of aggression, there was a self-destructive situation between you two Sauber drivers in Monaco. Do you and the team just have to accept that as Sauber isn’t really racing any other team you’re going to be racing each other like this week in week out?
ME: No, it shouldn’t be like that of course. Now it happened in Monaco and we all spoke about it and discussed it and we cleared the air about it. We had different opinions but it’s all done and settled now and we are looking forward to Montreal together as a team.

Thanks. Felipe coming to you, you’re scored points in four of the last five Canadian Grands Prix, you’re the only driver this season to have scored points in every round and you’ve been ahead of your team-mate 60% of the time. How satisfied can you be with that?
Felipe MASSA: Well, satisfied, when you score one point, is not really the right answer. I really hope we can score more than what we’re doing. You always want more. It’s on the consistent side in terms of scoring points but we need to work to get a little bit more than one point like we did in Monaco and getting closer to the top five at every race, that’s what we want to do, that’s what we’re working for and I really hope that we can carry on scoring a good amount of points at every race.

Williams has owned third place for the past few seasons but that looks to have slipped to fourth this season, and Force India in the last month or so have been coming for you as well. What’s holding you back?
FM: Well, I think that Red Bull is definitely the team that has grown most and as everybody could see, they even won races this year and they were fighting to win even the last race, so I think with the other teams we are fighting a good way. Definitely Monaco was not the best track for us but I’m really looking forward to being competitive back here and even in the next races and be back on this important fight to maybe even fight for the third, which would be not so easy, but to keep our fourth position also I think we can do and we’re fighting for that.

Thank you for that. Kimi, coming to you, three podiums from the opening six rounds is your best start to the season since 2013, but do you and the team feel that you have fallen behind Red Bull rather than closed on Mercedes?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: I wouldn’t say it like that. We know what we’ve done, we’re definitely more strong in the car and other areas than we were last year. Maybe the results haven’t showed it exactly, but it’s not been the easiest start for us as a team, but we know that as long as we do our stuff and keep working it will pay off. As I say, it’s not been what we’re looking for exactly, but the package has improved and we’re working on that all the time. We know our weaknesses and where we have to improve. Obviously you always look for better results and wins, putting the two cars up there, but so far it’s been a bit tricky this start of the year, but we are more or less there, so we keep doing the same things.

A significant update to the car is a pretty traditional thing for Ferrari in Montreal, so the turbo update you have this weekend has been long awaited. Will this now allow you to fully exploit the power unit?
KR: We fully exploit it all the time. This is a step forward. How much, time will tell. It’s a new part and we would never put any new parts on the car if we didn’t think it improves, but is it going to be what kind of step? I don’t expect any miracles suddenly but it’s the right direction and it’s something that’s been for a while that we’ve been waiting to have it. It’s more like any other new parts we bring, it’s not suddenly something magic, so it’s a very normal work in progress for us as a team, as Ferrari, and it’s going in the right direction all the time.

Thank you for that. Jenson, coming to you, a former winner of this race, the epic wet race of 2011, two other podiums here in Montreal in 15 appearances at this track. Tell us what makes this place special for you, and what’s the best way to drive it?
Jenson BUTTON: Wow, what makes it special? I think it’s always your history that makes a place special, isn’t it. First time to every circuit, it’s nice, but it’s the history and your experiences there that makes a place special. 2011 was very special. You know me, I’m a trouper, and it’s about fighting through and never giving up. So, it’s always those special experiences that make an event for me.

And the best way to drive it? The best way to be quick here?
JB: To be fair, you need a car that is efficient. You need a car that’s good on braking. I suppose every circuit is the same, but those are specifically important areas/. It’s having confidence to use the kerbs here, carry speed and when the weather is like this, making the right calls.

A bit like Felipe, it’s not been big points, but you have scored in the last three races, from a fairly consistent P12, P13 on the grid. Where is the step coming from to get into Q3 and challenge for he bigger points?
JB: For big points, I think it’s going to be a while before we’re actually going competitive enough to fight for big points, but we are making good progress. People would think that this isn’t a circuit that would suit our car, but it’s going to be alright. We’ve come here with some upgrades, which should help us. It’s not big but it should help us. We are very efficient in terms of our car. I know that Exxon Mobil had been working very hard with Honda with fuel. We have an upgrade here, which should help in that areas, so, yeah, we’re positive.

Q: Sergio, coming to you, fantastic podium last time out in Monaco. Your sixth in Formula One. You scored one here back in 2012. Is there a sense of optimism that you can continue this strong run?
Sergio PÉREZ: Well, Monaco was a very special race under certain conditions and to get into the points , everything worked perfectly for us: with the strategy; with all the calls that we did in Monaco. So it was a race under very special conditions. We are expecting something similar here for Sunday but you never know. I really hope we can carry the form, y’know? Probably podiums is not the realistic word for us at the moment but certainly continue the progress and keep scoring points and aim to beat Williams, which is the team ahead of us, which is going to be difficult but I think we are making good progress and we are getting better and better every race.

Q: With 100 grands prix on the board in what’s been essentially a career of two parts, where do you go from here? Do you sense that there is a chance to move back to a top team?
SP: You never know. To be honest I’m not really obsessed with that. If that happened that would be a great opportunity to me and I really hope in the near future I can have the opportunity to be in a car that can give me the opportunity to win. But right now all I can do is to focus on this weekend, do my best for this one and then after this one think about Baku and whatever. The most important thing for me is to focus on the present and try to keep doing the job that I’ve been doing so far.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Daniel, I’m interested to know in the debrief whether or not, in the context of other dramas we’ve had at Monaco over the years, drivers missing the red light for scrutineering, Lewis’ obvious problem last year with the call, whether or not Monaco itself is a function of the issue that happened, because of the tightness of the garage, the general confusion of Monte Carlo, or if it was something that could have happened anywhere?
DR: I think… yeah, the nature of the pits and everything in Monaco, it does make it harder to move around. The garage is small. Whether it would have been a different story at another track, I’m not sure. I think it came down to a late call, a late change of heart. Basically after the team saw what tyres Lewis had put on, they decided to change their decision. Let’s say we were always intending on using one compound and once they saw Lewis change, or go to the UltraSoft – I think the team probably expected him to use a SuperSoft – then it got them thinking and then it was all a bit last-minute. So, whether a last-minute call, say at Barcelona, would have allowed that to happen a bit more fluently, I’m not sure. Yeah, I think the call was just a bit rushed and with Monaco being what it is, it was probably just a bit chaotic for the circumstances. I think it all probably added up: small garage; the intensity of the whole weekend and that track and what it does probably didn’t help. Yeah.

Q: (Andrea Cremonese – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Daniel and one for Kimi. For Daniel, is about the ambition of this season. After the win of your team-mate in Barcelona, the pole position and nearly victory in Monaco, if you wish that the car is going well here, you can think even to fight for the Championship this year? And for Kimi, we would like to know about your future, if you have a deadline with Ferrari to decide what happens next year?
DR: Yeah, coming into the season, didn’t expect to be… probably didn’t expect to be third in the Championship but after so many races in, and yeah, we’ve seen no points in Russia and could have got more in China without the puncture, and the last two races, we could be very close to probably… yeah… we’d be very close to the front of the Championship right now. So, you know, I’m still not looking at that yet. I would love to be in a position in a few races time and say yeah, we can fight for a title this year. I think that would be a pretty nice, unexpected fight and story for F1. I think this race will be pretty telling. If we can be competitive here, you never know. It’s still a long-shot, for sure, but if we can be competitive then sure I believe in myself that I can fight and do what I’ve got to do to put myself in a position come the end of the year. So, fingers crossed we can… Barcelona and Monaco isn’t… wasn’t a one-off. I hope we can fight again for the rest of the season. And I believe we can: whether it’s a win or a podium… to be continued.

Kimi, second question was to you, is there is a deadline in terms of your future with Ferrari?
KR: I don’t know anything more. You guys seem to be knowing a lot every week, this and that. It’s not in my decision in the end. I always said I’m happy to be here, I hope I will be here for helping Ferrari get where we want to get as a team. What happens in the future, we will see.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Daniel, first Spain then Monaco. How much have these two events damaged your relationship with the team – have you forgiven the team absolutely and totally for these two incidents?
DR: Yeah, obviously, as I said after Monaco I was happy to keep some distance for a few days. For myself as well, it probably wasn’t healthy to just address it straight away. But yeah, for sure, for a few days I was upset I guess, and obviously ruing some missed opportunities – but it’s one of those things: it happens; it’s unfortunate it happened back-to-back. That, how do I say, expanded the feelings and the emotion a lot more. But yeah, I’ve moved on. I’ve still obviously got a lot of faith in the team and I don’t doubt things with them moving forwards. For me it’s obviously really important this weekend to execute a perfect weekend from my side and from the team’s side and get back on track. Because obviously we’ve shown we have a good car, we’ve got good material. It’s just trying really to maximize it. The last four weekends I’ve left Sunday feeling I should have got more. So yeah, this weekend it’s just to try leaving on Sunday knowing that we’ve maximized everything from both sides.

Q: (Jérôme Bourret – L’Equipe) Braking is of course something crucial here. Could you please tell us something about how difficult it is to find the right braking lap after lap during the race – and how demanding it is from a physical point of view?
JB: I think the race is fine in terms of braking. I think with the way that the cars are these days it does make it a little bit trickier with the deployment that we have that is obviously different to qualifying – well it is for us, I don’t know if it is for everybody else – and also there will be fuel saving here so – and again I don’t know if it is for everyone else – but that does change your braking. It changes the brake temperatures, obviously. So you have to be very careful of that and it’s studied throughout the race. But for me the more difficult time to get your braking right is qualifying. Because you’re right on the edge: it’s bumpy; easy to lock wheels – but you’ve got to have that confidence in the car to brake as late as you can because there’s a lot of lap-time there.

Felipe, what’s your perspective on this? You’re obviously running a Mercedes engine, will you be fuel-saving on Sunday? And your thoughts on the braking.
FM: For sure it’s a track that you need to have a good… brakes need to work well so it’s easy to get… we saw in the past many teams struggling with overheating problems in the braking. We need to be careful, try to use everything in the proper way to have no problems. Actually in all these two and a half years that I’m here with Williams, we never had a problem on the brakes so I don’t really see we can have any problem during the race. I think the fuel consumption can be an issue for everybody here, so we need to wait and see how it’s going to be tomorrow and the numbers and prepare the race in the proper way.

Sergio, anything to add?
SP: Yeah, I think Montréal is very hard on braking, especially in the race if you are in the traffic and it’s hot on Sunday – which doesn’t look like. It can be really demanding on the brakes with the brakes overheating. And, as Jenson said, we’re going to be fuel-saving, all of us, on Sunday if it’s a straightforward race. That makes it a bit easier in a way, on the brakes, but it can always be quite tricky. I think the most challenging day for the brakes is Saturday. Saturday in qualifying you really have to be on the edge and there’s a lot of time to be gained under braking. So you have to have the confidence to approach it well.

Q: (Alexander Govorov – Championnat.com) Felipe, the last couple of years in Montreal Williams was very strong, but you’re struggling on slow tracks. Do you see the race in Montreal as an opportunity to be back in the top six and maybe fight for the podium?
FM: Yeah, definitely. I really hope we can be competitive on this track, not just this track but maybe Baku can be a positive track for us, Austria, so I’m really looking forward that this next race can be a circuit that we can be strong on, maybe fighting for the top five, maybe a podium because that’s what we want and we will try.

Q: (Leigh Diffey – NBC Sports) Jenson, there’s an abundance of information for us all to look at to see how things have improved, whether that’s lap time or your qualifying spots or race results, but what are the immeasurable things that have changed within the team? Has there been a shift in morale or a change of tone in conversation? Just take us inside the team.
JB: Yeah, from the outside, you always ask the questions: where is it, when are you going to be competitive? And then you get… every time I speak to the press it’s how about now? How about now? How about now? How about now? It’s unbelievable, the pressure from the outside but from the inside we know where we are, we know we’re improving and I think the atmosphere in the team is very good. Fernando and myself are both very experienced, I think we bring a lot to the team in terms of our experience and direction and there is a lot in the pipeline. It’s always very difficult because we’re in a season where we want to get the result we can, as everyone does, and I think it’s the same for everyone. With a regulation change next year, it changes everything, in terms of how much effort is put into that single season. But I’m happy with the progress that’s being made there is a good feeling. We feel that a lot of the time we are getting the maximum out of the car which is the main thing right now and yeah, we’re still quite a way off the pace but it will come, it is just a matter of time but it always takes a lot longer than you want.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Daniel, sorry to harp on about this but how did the reconciliation come about? Did you make the ‘phone call, did they call you, did you just arrive at the factory or how did that happen?
DR: It was all over the ‘phone. I let it cool a couple of days and then I spoke to Christian, I spoke to my engineer and obviously Christian just explained… obviously apologised on everyone’s behalf and just explained what went down and the reasons why there was confusion and why obviously the tyres weren’t ready and this and that. So that was really the ‘phone call with Christian and then I spoke to Simon, my engineer, that was later in the week, after they’d got a chance to spend some days in the factory and basically just to hear what they’d put in place. And also I questioned… because everyone highlighted the second pit stop which was where effectively we lost the race but I questioned the first pit stop as well because that was the one… already when I came out behind Lewis, I was like ‘well, we’ve put ourselves in a race now with Lewis which we didn’t have to be in so…’ I just wanted to make sure that the first pit stop was being addressed as heavily as the second one and then Simon obviously explained that they were not looking into that but acknowledging that that was also, I would say, a mistake. So yeah, it was just to get some clarity on everything. Yes, there’s going to be some new software they’ve now put in for strategy and some live stuff during the race that can obviously make us more prepared, and if there are some late calls again, to make sure that everything’s put in place. Yes, obviously I had plenty of questions to ask but they answered them with confidence and that’s all I needed to hear.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Sergio, it wasn’t that long ago that you were certainly heading for a podium if not a win here. Big shunt with Felipe but I noticed you and Felipe are now big mates at the back there, chatting away, having a laugh. I wonder when you come back here whether you think about that and how that incident in your mind has been resolved, whether you think it was 50-50 now?
SP: I still think it was his fault. But I got the penalty though. Well, it was a long story after that.
FM: Very long.
SP: But yeah, that day I was so close to win the race, actually. I remember Rosberg had an issue in the last laps and I was getting really close to him but then I had an issue as well with the brakes actually, my brakes were quite overheated, I had a problem with the BBW(brake by wire) so that was hurting my brake balance a lot, I was losing a lot of lap time with the brakes and I lost the place to Daniel and he went on and won the race. But in general that day was an extremely good race for me and we found ourselves in a position that we were not expecting to. Unfortunately, on the last lap, it all went to bad with a crash but it was a really good race and we were close to win that day.
FM: My thoughts? So we crashed, it was really bad for both of us and I hope this thing doesn’t happen any more. But I was not penalised!

Q: (Robby Pacicco – Popular Hispanics) Felipe, last year you had a little intruder on the track while you were racing. Did you adjust your race strategy for another groundhog this year?
FM: Here is a place that you can maybe see that. I hope they stay safe in their place. It can maybe happen but it must be really dangerous what happens to us or to the race. It was fun actually.

Q: (Leigh Diffey – NBC Sports) Kimi, there’s been a lot of discussion about braking today. For the last two years in a row, going up into the hairpin, exiting the hairpin, you’ve spun in exactly the same manner and you even said on the radio to the team last year ‘that was the same as last year.’ Have you guys got to the bottom of what that was and how that happened two years in a row at the same corner?
KR: I’m pretty sure we have but hopefully I’m not wrong on Sunday but it’s quite frustrating in a way the last couple of years but we knew the issues and we took care of it in our mind but actually it never happened in any other thing. The first year it happened in practice but last year, because we knew what the problems( were) then kind of tried to even force it in practice and nothing happened but then in the race (it happened) again. I will make sure this year it’s not going to happen hopefully. I think we’ve learned now since that.

June 10, 2016

Broadcast Times for the 2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix

The Formula One circus heads to Montreal Canada for the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Heading into this weekend Ferrari find themselves on the back foot. Red Bull’s performance in the Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix have made them sit up and take notice and are now fighting to stay ahead of them and fighting to close the gap to Mercedes. One could argue that Red Bull were lucky in Spain and that in Monaco the track suited their car which was down on power. Canada should be the true test of the pace of the Red Bulls and their engine upgrades.

Ferrari are bringing an updated turbo and compressor to their cars. This upgrade will improve the turbo reliability which allowed Ferrari to make the change without spending any tokens. Changes to the compressor were performance upgrades and Ferrari was required to spend two tokens on this upgrade. The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is quite power hungry with the long straights where drivers are at full throttle for 59% of the time.

Honda have brought updated turbo’s to Canada which both McLaren drivers will use this weekend. This update used up two tokens and is aimed more at power harvesting than performance. This should make McLaren more competitive on the straights as power sensitive circuits seemed to be their Achilles heel.

F1 is set for a major shake up after the announcement that Heineken will become a global partner. They’ve secured branding rights for a few races and will have a significant presence at a few other races. Heineken are big on social media at digital media and can leverage the experience they’ve gained from the Uefa Champions League and the Rugby World cup into F1.

We are in quite an exciting time it can just get better for the fans from here.

	CDT	GMT	GMT+2	Local
Free Practice 1	Friday 09:00	Friday 14:00	Friday 16:00	Friday 10:00
Free Practice 2	Friday 13:00	Friday 18:00	Friday 20:00	Friday 14:00
Free Practice 3	Saturday 09:00	Saturday 14:00	Saturday 16:00	Saturday 10:00
Qualifying	Saturday 12:00	Saturday 17:00	Saturday 19:00	Saturday 13:00
Race	Sunday 13:00	Sunday 18:00	Sunday 20:00	Sunday 14:00

June 10, 2016

Heineken Announces Multi-Year Global F1 Sponsorship Deal

Brewing giant Heineken has confirmed a multi year global partnership with Formula One Managemen which will start this year at the Italian Grand Prix.

The sponsorship deal, according to motorsport.com, is said to be worth more than $250 Milliam over seven years. The deal gives Heineken the title partner honors for three Grands Prix in 2017. In addition to the title sponsor rights, it will also have significant track branding at few other races on the F1 calendar. Part of the deal gives Heineken exclusive pouring, activation and access rights to most of the F1 races on the calendar.

Heineken has made it clear that none of their branding will be visible on any of the cars.

Heineken will have title sponsor rights at this years Formula 1 Grand Premio Heineken D’Italia 2016.

Heineken has enjoyed much success in the Uefa Champions League and the Rugby World Cup with its fan engagement and social media presence. They’re hoping to bring their experience to F1. They will launch a global “Open Your World” manifesto as well as a “If You Drive, Never Dink” campaign. Their activations will include circuit branding, TV commercials, live fan experiences, digital activations, dedicated PR initiatives and point of sale activations. David Coulthard and Sir Jackie Stewart have been chosen as ambassadors for the respective campaigns.

“Formula One is bigger than a race. It is a global event,” said Gianluca Di Tondo the Senior Director Global Heineken Brand

“F1 represents a unique opportunity for Heineken to engage with existing and potential consumers in important growth markets,” he added.

“F1 delivers in three specific areas; strong commercial opportunities; expansion of our responsible drinking platform in new and innovative ways; and enabling skill transfers between F1 and our employees.

“This partnership complements our existing global platforms, enabling us to reach F1’s huge spectator numbers and 400 million unique television viewers every year.”

Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of the Formula One group, said; “Heineken is a premium international brand with a super reputation for first class marketing. I am very pleased to welcome them to the Formula One family and look forward to the scale and quality of their activation at and away from F1 Events.

“We are both in the innovation and enjoyment business and I hope that this is the start of a long and special relationship. When I have a beer, I have always been happy with a Heineken”.

Di Tondo has big plans to take F1 to more fans around the world. He wants to increase F1’s presence in social media. Speaking to motorsport.com after the announcement he says that F1 should not be about the 2 hours of the race. “It is the 72 hours that turns cities in to playgrounds,” he says. He talks about opening up the otherwise closed off world of F1 to the fans and make them feel part of the action, part of the teams.

Di Tondo acknowledges that all of this wont happen overnight. It will take months of relationship building to come to a point where Ecclestone feels comfortable enough to share more access with fans.

The changes will, however, filter through over the months and F1 will return to the fans. All that’s left to do now is to stock up on some Heineken before every race.

June 9, 2016
Weather Forecast for the 2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix

The Formula 1 circus heads to Montreal, Canada to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for Round 7 of the Formula 1 World Championship for the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix.

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit has been hosting F1 since 1978. There were occasions that the race was not held or moved to another circuit but it has been the home of the Canadian Grand Prix. Built on the Île Notre-Dame, the 4.361 km, 14 corner circuit is one of the driver favorites. With little run off and barriers close to the track it is unforgiving in certain places. Like any circuit it becomes trickier when it’s wet.

Pirelli have nominated the ultra soft, super soft and soft compound tyres for this weekend. The Renault and Haas drivers have chosen not to take the super softs as part of their 13 set allocation to Canada. They will contest the weekend with softs and ultra soft tyres. Other drivers have some kind of a balance between the tyre choices. Mercedes have gone with 8 sets of the ultra soft while Haas have gone with 10 of the ultra soft and 3 of the soft compound. Ferrari have a more balanced selection compared to Mercedes and Red Bull have gone with 7 ultra soft, 2 super soft and 4 soft. If the weather holds up on Sunday, we’re in for quite a strategic race.

The circuit is a semi permanent facility which means the grip around the circuit varies. The stop-start nature of the circuit means that tyre wear will not be high and teams may just get through the race on a one stop strategy. Overtaking, while not impossible, can be challenging at times. The popular overtaking spots are at Turn 10 before the hairpin, Turn 13 before the Wall off Champions and into Turn 1 and Turn 2.

Initial forecasts for the weekend predicted rain for race day and there was a possibility that there would be rain for the start of the race. Forecasts are now predicting that the rain will ease up before the start of the race while a 25% chance remains for the rest of the race. The weather on Friday and Saturday will be partly cloudy and mild.

June 9, 2016