Tag: mclaren

F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Review – Bedlam In Baku

If you had been given absolute free reign to dream up the most dramatic script for a Formula 1 race the chances are you still wouldn’t have come up with what transpired in the 51 laps of the 2017 Baku grand prix.

From the first corner on lap one to the crossing of the finish line there was action and drama and tension stamped on every lap of the race which featured three safety-car periods and red flag stoppage. While Hamilton led cleanly away pole his teammate Valterri Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen clashed into turn two. Raikkonen with significant damage the floor of his car somehow maintained a place in the top ten while Bottas’ puncture dropped him a lap down.

Hamilton led Sebastian Vettel by roughly three seconds until lap 13 when the first safety car was deployed to recover the stricken Toro Rosso of Dannil Kvyat. Racing resumed on lap 16 but an overzealous Esteban Ocon attempt to overtake his Force India teammate Sergio Perez ended in a shower of carbon fiber and the deployment of a second safety-car period.

The Pirelli tyres, supersoft and soft, available for this weekend, proved a step too hard as nearly the entire field of drivers struggled with warming the tyres to their optimal working range. A tyre not within this critical working range produces little to no grip and leaves drivers vulnerable. It’s for this reason that Hamilton complained that the Safety car was not going fast enough. Nevertheless, Hamilton bunched up the field into turn 16 which must’ve caught Vettel by surprise as he hit the rear of the Mercedes. The Ferrari driver then pulled alongside Hamilton and turned his Ferrari into the side of the Mercedes. It was an outrageously disappointing, irresponsible and daft reaction from Vettel which earned him a ten second stop/go penalty. While some might like to think Vettel’s actions are defensible consider the fact that, post-race, he could not defend his actions.

So much carbon fiber lay strewn across the racetrack that the race was red-flagged on lap 22 in order to clear it away. While Raikkonen had retired with additional rear-wing damage a lap earlier the Ferrari mechanics had somehow managed to change an entire floor and a rear-wing endplate to get Raikkonen back in the race. Similarly, Force India made running repairs to Perez’s car and he too was back in the race. Unfortunately, the pair would ultimately retire from the race.

The race resumed after a 23 minutes stoppage with Hamilton in the lead and Vettel behind. Through the chaos and carnage Williams’ Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa had emerged in third and fourth. Daniel Ricciardo, who had earlier been 17^th in the Red Bull after an early stop, was not in fifth for long as he pulled off an exquisite move to pass both the Williams’ into turn one on the restart. Felipe Massa would soon after retire with a broken rear-damper.

The drama was still far from over however as the headrest on Hamilton’s leading Mercedes had not been attached correctly. He tried in vain to push it back into place before the FIA directed the Mercedes team to stop and fit a new headrest. It dropped Hamilton to eighth and promoted Vettel into the lead of the race but the Ferrari driver still needed to serve the ten second stop/go penalty. He served the penalty on lap 33 and emerged in seventh ahead of Hamilton.

Now it was Daniel Ricciardo in the lead with Lance Stroll in second and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen in third. Magnussen could mount much of a fight for the position though and was quickly shuffled back by Ocon before himself falling victim to a recovering Bottas. Vettel and Hamilton would also pass Ocon and Magnussen.

Bottas’ significantly superior pace to the Williams of Stroll proved just enough as he snatched second place, on the line, by one tenth of a second. As if to prove how crazy the Baku grand prix was Fernando Alonso was running in fifth at one stage and with a bit more grunt from the Honda could justifiably have won the race.

As it were Ricciardo took his first win since Malaysia 2016 ahead of Bottas and Stroll who, at 18, has become the youngest rookie, to score a podium finish. Astoundingly, Vettel emerged in fourth and extended his championship lead to 14 points over Hamilton who eventually finished fifth. Esteban Ocon salvaged sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen in seventh and Carlos Sainz in eighth. Fernando Alonso finally opened McLaren’s points account with ninth as Pascal Wehrlein in the Sauber finished tenth.

The Baku grand prix was undoubtedly the race of the season so far as nearly the entire field ran into some sort of trouble. Roll on Austria.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

June 26, 2017
2017 Azerbaijan GP: Friday Press Conference – Part 1

PART ONE: TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault), Eric BOULLIER (McLaren), Robert FERNLEY (Force India)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Eric, if I could start with you, we saw another engine failure for Fernando Alonso this afternoon… you’re shaking your head.

Eric BOULLIER: Yes, it wasn’t an engine failure. It was a gearbox failure.

Q: A gearbox failure, but regarding that thorny subject of Honda. The regularity of the criticism from McLaren senior management suggests that the situation is now irretrievable. Is there anything that can be done to repair the relationship?

EB: Well, first of all, your question is a suggestion, as you said, which is not exactly the truth or the case. Both organisations are working very, very hard to get to where we want to be. The level of friction, let’s say, if there is any, is a little bit exacerbated by the media. It is true that we have to deliver what we need to do, we have to be where we want to be but both organisations are working hard to deliver and I don’t think there is such a drama like in your questions.

Q: But Eric, both you and Zak Brown have said it’s not good enough what Honda are doing. So what have Honda got to do to satisfy you, McLaren?

EB: Well, we have to compete these guys, not to be in the back of the grid. As a partner we expect obviously a certain level of performance, not commitment, because they have that in terms of resources, it’s just a level of performance and today we need another step, a big step.

Q: And have Honda given any indication as to when the next big step will come?

EB: Yes, they have some plan and obviously they will be able to respect them.

Q: OK, let’s talk drivers then. How does the state of flux, if I can call it that, leave you regarding driver for 2018?

EB: Well, we don’t have any contract with Fernando. Fernando has been very clear. He likes the team, he would like to stay with us, but we need to be competitive. So there is also… say, after summer he will take his decision, so we know the agenda, the calendar for us, what we have to do and Alonso knows what he has to do as well.

And Stoffel?

EB: Stoffel is a long-term contract with McLaren, so there is not any concern for the future.

Q: Final question for now. How do you assess the performance of the car this weekend in Baku?

EB: Well, the global performance is very easy, you just see the lap time. We are very slow this weekend; we were expecting to be slow. Then, if you want to be more in detail, we all have GPS traces of each, this is shared data between all the teams so then you can work more about where you need to improve your car in terms of performance.

Q: Bob, that accident involving Sergio Perez in that first practice session: what are the ramifications of that crash, is there much damage to the car?

Robert FERNLEY: The damage wasn’t quite as bad as we thought. The credit goes to the team really for that. They were very well prepared and we were able to effect what were considerable repairs in a very short period of time, so a more than credible effort by the team.

Q: Let’s cast our minds two weeks, to the Canadian Grand Prix. Quite a lot of controversy after the race regarding team orders, so can you give us your version of events about those closing laps in Montreal?

RF: Well, we don’t run team orders to race, which we did. If you look at the difference in tyre performance it’s very, very small. If you at Checo’s history of being able to pass other drivers, it’s incredibly high, and he felt he had the3 opportunity to do so. From our side, there was a suggestion to let us have a turnaround, but he felt quite confident and we were happy to back that and support that, and we will continue to do so.

Q: Was there a feeling in the team afterwards that somehow Sergio was wrong?

RF: No, I don’t think so. You can speculate many, many things in terms of what ifs, and hindsight is wonderful, but in reality we were dealing with a Red Bull and we mustn’t underestimate it. A Force India trying to pass a Red Bull isn’t the easiest of things. And we had Ferraris coming back and whether we had pitted or not pitted there is a second a lap difference on optimum, optimum. I think we did the best we could and I have had no recriminations from the team whatsoever and we will continue to follow that path and evaluate things on a race-by-race basis.

Q: Vijay Mallya said after the race that there would be some new rules of engagement from Baku onwards. What are those rules?

RF: No I don’t think he said that. He said he would look at the rules of engagement and we discussed it at the management meetings, which we normally do, and what I am telling you now I think are Vijay’s sentiments entirely.

Q: Cyril, let’s also start with the on-track action as well. We saw an accident involving Jolyon Palmer today. What is the situation with Jolyon regarding his future? What does he have to do to keep his seat at Renault?

Cyril ABITEBOUL: I think it’s a bit unfair to link today and the future. Today we saw a lot of drivers going a bit outside of the track – a lot, and I mean a lot. Clearly, indeed, Jo has been one of those at a Turn that unfortunately doesn’t forgive, unlike other turns. Which means there is a bit of damage on the car but it’s not huge. Not really different to what Checo did this morning. If you want to link that to the bigger picture for Jo, our situation is very clear: he has a contract with us; we are completely committed to helping him get through the period, which is a tough period, that’s obvious. He has no ultimatum, but having said that he has to deliver, like every single member of the team. But I think what will help him is that frankly we take him out of the spotlight under which he is constantly, in particular in starting the first day, Friday, and all the media focus, all the media attention, is not necessarily helping. Obviously you have to do what you have to do, and ask the questions, which you feel are the right ones. But that doesn’t help. That’s part of the job, part of the pressure that every Formula One driver has to go through. He has to live with that. We are trying our best to protect him but at the same time to do the best as a team to explain to him what we are expecting and we had that type of conversation with him yesterday – go through the metrics and try to define the targets short to medium terms so that he can improve. So that’s the situation really.

Q: And can you just clarify the situation with Robert Kubica. He tested with the team just prior to the Canadian Grand Prix. Why did the test come about and is he going to be testing in FP1 ahead of the Italian Grand Prix?

CA: Easy answer on the last one – no, absolutely not. I don’t know where this is coming from and I can completely wipe that one out. Also I would to make it clear that I guess the questions are unconnected – the question regarding Jo and the question regarding Robert. Robert has been a family member of the Enstone team, and Eric on my right knows what I mean. He has been very close and very loyal. The team in Enstone, which is a very small group of people, actually have been very loyal to a number of drivers. In particular Robert made a huge impression on people who’ve been around, Alan Permane, Bob Bell, Ricardo on the Viry side. People feel very loyal and feel they owe something to Robert for making something big in their life and there was this opportunity that we give to him, that we could afford to him to drive again, because it was actually a marketing event that got cancelled, so we had a car available at the track and we offered that opportunity to him. Robert is going through some form of programme to try to understand what he can do. He has been driving a number of cars, Formula E, GP3, F2, LMP2, you name it, so I think he wants to understand what he can do as part of his sort of rehabilitation programme. We’ll see. There is nothing else that is planned for the time being, apart from a marketing event at Goodwood, where he will be driving the same car, E20, in front of Lord March’s house.

Q: Just looking at performance, you said recently there are no magic bullets in Formula One. How should we translate that comment?

CA: Yeah, I think I was trying to make reference and clarify as situation regarding engine upgrades and actually it’s not so easy to be clear in that respect. Just to make it clear, I think there was some speculation, some expectation that we do on the engine side this year the same thing that we did last year, with a major upgrade that was very visible to everyone, particular our customers and I think there was this sort of expectation that we were about to do the same. No, unfortunately it’s not happening. But I’m not saying that because it’s not happening that there won’t be any improvement. There is improvement. For instance, this weekend, we have two tenths of an upgrade in the engine. We were not expecting to make huge publicity on that but I feel that I have to make that clarification. And that upgrade is coming despite the fact that we are not changing the engine. That’s why it’s important to disconnect the different aspects. It would be the same thing on the chassis side. We are having a sort of arms race. All teams are bringing big upgrades, we are doing the same but same thing as on the engine, there won’t be a golden bullet.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Bob, can I just ask quick question about the accident this morning for Sergio. We saw the week come off but it certainly didn’t look like the tether failed because it didn’t look like that was involved in that – so can you just explain what happened with the wheel coming off?

RF: It’s not something we’ve seen before. As you rightly say, the entire wheel came off the hub. We need to look into it to see. The tethers were fine. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen that. In fact Eric and I were talking about it coming up – he hadn’t seen anything like it either. We’ll just have to have a look at what that is and make sure if there needs to be any changes across the board for Formula One.

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Eric, quick question about Stoffel’s season so far. Obviously, it’s not been an ideal season for him – it’s always tough being up against Fernando – but can you talk us through his season and what has been his struggles and what he’s going through?

EB: First of all, he’s had a lot of issues with his cars since the beginning of the season. Not only the engine but also the car. A lot of little glitches y’know that stop him, let’s say, doing complete runs during free practices and various qualifyings. I think his confidence level then went a little bit lower – that’s why a couple of times in qualifying he was not ready to deliver on the first lap and that cost him actually a Q2 because there was a yellow flag or something else. I think it’s just for him to find his place in the team to make sure he can voice his needs to setup the car the way he likes to drive it. Formula One is also a bit different when you talk about driving style so you need to maybe both need to move toward each other. We are now since a couple of races addressing this seriously with a working group around him – his engineers first but some others, trying to address this and get his confidence back.

Q: (Gunel Safarova – BBC Azerbaijan) So you say today three accidents happened. It’s interesting, why do you think these accidents happened so much. At the moment there is speculation this road in Baku is very dangerous and it has very dangerous turns. Do you think it’s because of this?

CA: We’ve seen a lot of accidents and also our drivers escaping from accidents. Frankly I think we should put a bit more walls to create a bit more penalty and incentivise the drives to stay on track. I think there is a combination. I understand that it is not easy on some corners actually to see with the sun in the drivers’ eyes, struggling to see the apex. That’s one, another thing to take into consideration, without wanting to start a debate, it’s maybe the grip from tyres which is maybe not where it should be for a track like that and the sort of braking energy that you need to dissipate. So that might be an explanation – maybe more than last year in particular with the shift in compounds that we’ve seen this season. That might be one explanation also.

Eric or Bob, do you have anything to add?

EB: Cyril answered mostly. The only reason why you have got these cars going into the escape road is just because of the grip and the braking energy. Track is also very green today, obviously a lot of dust everywhere, so this is even more difficult to generate some energy in the tyres.

Q: Bob, Pérez, why did he crash, what did he say when he got back to the garage?

RF: I don’t think it was anything to do with them. He was trying to find the limit and found it! I agree with Eric and Cyril. It’s about tyres – and obviously the track was green. Tyres are probably a little bit hard compound. And maybe next year we’ll start going softer.

June 23, 2017
F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp First Free Practice Report – Verstappen Quickest

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the timing sheets in the first free practice session ahead of Sunday’s Baku grand prix.

The 90 minute session got underway in glorious sunshine in the city of Baku. However, the second longest circuit on the grid proved quite slippery and dusty as several drivers endured spins and running wide at various parts on the circuit.

While Verstappen’s 1:44:410, on SuperSoft tyres, was quickest enough for P1 it was his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, also on the SuperSoft compound, who set the 2nd quickest time overall. The first of the Ferrari’s was third in the form of Sebastian Vettel who set a 1:44:967. The first of the Mercedes was Lewis Hamilton who set the 5th quickest time for the session.

There was a lengthy red flag period towards the end of the session at the Force India of Sergio Perez bounced off the wall at Turn 8 after clipping the entry curb. The damage sustained looked quite significant as both the front-right and left-rear corners of the car were torn off. It remains to be seen if the Mexican will make it out at the start of the second free practice later this afternoon.

June 23, 2017
Grid Drops Expected for McLaren Duo

Both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne are expected to take massive grid penalties going into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.

Honda plans to fit an updated MGU-H to both their cars and would mean that both drivers take on new turbochargers. Both drivers will incur a 15-place grid penalty for the new turbo since it’s the 6th new turbo of the season.

Vandoorne will suffer the brunt of the penalties. Honda say that they will replace his power unit except for the control electronics and energy store after the second practice session. A further PU change is planned which will mean Vandoorne will take another 15-place grid penalty for a 7th MGU-H.

Alonso will take his 4th, and final allocated engine for the season after his DNF in Canada.

When asked if the changes will bring about some much needed reliability to the PU Vandoorne could say for certain.

“Difficult to say, to be honest,” said Vandoorne to journalist at the Thursday Press Conference.

“I think it’s probably more a question for Honda. I don’t think there’s many new introductions this weekend, so I don’t think it will be too different.”

While he was unable to say if reliability would improve, Vandoorne knew coming into the weekend that Alonso and himself would incur penalties this weekend.

“We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which isn’t ideal, but it’s the situation we’re in, so we’ll try our best, focus maybe a bit more on race runs, and hopefully we can play a bit during the race,” Vandoorne added.

June 22, 2017
2017 Azerbaijan GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

PART ONE: DRIVERS – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Stoffel VANDOORNE (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Kimi, if we can start with you. We’re back at a street track this weekend. You took pole position in Monaco a couple of races ago — how confident are you of a repeat here?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Unfortunately it doesn’t give you any guarantees. It’s in the past, and a completely different circuit. Not really any similarities than Monaco, but nevertheless I think we have a good car everywhere. We’ll see how it goes, we can only give our best. Hopefully we’ll be at the front again; we’ll see what happens.

Q: Pirelli are turning up this weekend with slightly harder tyre compounds than in Monaco. How do you think that’s going to affect the battle between Ferrari and Mercedes?

KR: I don’t know. It’s been close, more or less every race this year. Obviously, like I said, the circuits are so much different and it’s not a big surprise that the tyres are slightly different here. I don’t know. I’m not really interested in guessing what will happen, but I guess it’s going to be close like it’s been at other races; I’m surprised if it’s only one team is way ahead of another.

Q: You don’t want to guess what’s going to happen this weekend, but after the technical problems you had in Canada last time out, do you feel you’re due a lucky break here?

KR: No, not really! It’s not something you can count on it. I’ve had some not so good luck for quite a few times, but it’s an unfortunate thing to happen, something completely new that we never found out and it’s fixed now. Things usually go wrong when it’s the worst time it could happen, but at least we managed to finish the race and at least score some points. Obviously it was far from ideal, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Q: Thank you Kimi, good luck this weekend. Stoffel, if we could come on to you now. This is your first time in Baku. Can you give us some insight into how you prepare for a track you’ve never races at? Is it more time on the simulator? Has Fernando given you any tips?

Stoffel VANDOORNE: Definitely spend some time in the simulator, like I do before every grand prix. A lot of laps in there. At least our simulator is reliable, so I managed to do a fair amount of laps there! And then also last year; I watched a lot of the races that happened here, GP2, Formula One as well. Some stuff on onboard videos. That’s about everything I did.

Q: Is Fernando generous with his advice?

SV: So far I’ve not had a chance to chat to him, but I’m sure I will do over the weekend.

Q: You were quiet outspoken about the car’s performance in Canada — fuel saving, you referred to being ‘a sitting duck’ on the straights. Given the nature of this track layout, what are your expectations coming into this weekend?

SV: It is a street circuit as well, but like Kimi said it’s very different to a circuit like Monaco — here we reach very very high top speeds, I think similar to Canada. I don’t think we have high hopes, but we’ll try our best from our side. We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which isn’t ideal, but it’s the situation we’re in, so we’ll try our best, focus maybe a bit more on race runs, and hopefully we can play a bit during the race.

Q: Just to be clear on that, we knew about Fernando’s penalty coming into this weekend. Have you had penalties as well?

SV: Yeah, I will have a penalty as well. We’re probably competing to start at the back of the grid.

Q: Good luck this weekend. Daniil, thank you for waiting. Coming on to you, you had a very frustrating race in Canada. Having had time to reflect on what happened, what’s your version of events?

Daniil KVYAT: It was a frustrating race; it brought us zero points. It all started on the formation lap when we couldn’t get away, so we lost a lot of time. Then, trying to recover positions I was already side by side with the cars I had to overtake … had to take the start from the grid, and we got a penalty for that — two, actually — and then, of course we couldn’t with the pit stop, yeah… It was all a bit of a spiral: when it starts to go bad, it goes bad. We did 55 laps on one set and we were on course for a point, but still???

Q: Let’s hope you have better luck this weekend. Talking specifically about Baku, you qualified sixth here last year. Are you confident of being a Q3 contender again in 2017?

DK: I think, once again, last year there are two different stories. Of course we had a good qualy last year, but quite different, you know, circumstances, cars, even though conditions will be similar. Car has been similarly competitive between most of the tracks, so hopefully we’ll be in a similar place to usual. Also here, this is one of the longest straights of the championship; it’s still not our favourite part of the track, but we’ll try to minimise the laptime loss through there and try to be competitive in the other parts of the track and try to really be strong.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: Simon Lazenby (Sky Sports) Question to Stoffel. Stoffel, we’ve heard your management, senior management, teammate be very outspoken about the relationship with Honda just now. Perhaps it was the first time in Canada we heard you reiterating the woes. It’s obviously making your first full season in the sport very difficult. Which direction would you like to see McLaren take with any future engine partner?

SV: To be honest, it’s not up to me to take such a decision. Yes, it’s been a difficult start to the season; it’s definitely not an ideal situation for everyone. We’d like to be fighting much higher up the grid, but as McLaren we’re trying to put McLaren’s interest at the top, and that’s what’s the most important for us now. We need to fight back, and I’m pretty sure the team is moving in the right direction. Hopefully at some point we will be competitive again, and hopefully that is sooner rather than later.

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Question for Kimi, the situation in the championship between Mercedes and Ferrari is obviously pretty tough; it’s very tight at the moment. Are you in a position where you have to play a support role to Sebastian now in the way that in the past things have happened when you’ve been at Ferrari? Obviously Felipe helped you a bit in 2007, you returned the favour in 2008. Are you in that position now of having to help Sebastian?

KR: I think we have very clear roles in the team — what we’re allowed, what we’re not allowed, and what the team wants us to do. You know, it goes by those rules and, I don’t know. I don’t know if I have any interest of, to do, to tell what we talk inside the team in here. I think Maurizio has said something and nothing has changed and we know exactly when things will go either way. That’s fine, that’s how it’s always been, at least in the teams where I’ve been. When I don’t have a chance mathematically anymore to fight for the championship, for sure I will help him. I have no issues with that, I never had in the past. I think it’s just a very easy decision for all of us, at least in our team, and obviously the first thing is to try to make sure that we can be on the top with Ferrari. That’s the most important thing. And then obviously if Seb can win, then fine. If I don’t have any chance then that’s how it goes. The first thing is to work for Ferrari, to put them in the best possible position.`

Q: (Livio Orrichio – GloboSport.com) Kimi, using the same subject. In your view, what is the reason for the difference in points? You have some difficulty with this car? You were unlucky in some races? Because it’s big difference.

KR: It’s a big difference. When you have bad races, you adapt, and obviously Seb has done very good races so far and has been strong everywhere. I was not starting very well the first races — I was not too bad, but I was not where I want to be. Here and there little problems, we have one DNF, the last race was not ideal. That’s how it goes, unfortunately. When your teammate is on the podium more or less every time, a lot of points quickly. That’s racing.

Q: (Alex Popov – Match TV) For Daniil. You just posted a very special video of your training – close combat training – on social media. It’s a message to somebody, or it’s just a coincidence?

DK: No, it’s not a message! Training for sure, I do it in Monaco, it’s my hobby and I have a very good trainer there for that sport and really interests me a lot and very enjoyable. It’s not easy to find time with the Formula One calendar for some other specific training. Usually it’s either running or cycling and everything else gets quite boring – so tried something else for once and really liked it, so like to do it, so simple as that.

Q: Daniil, for people who haven’t seen the video can you just elaborate what it is you’re doing?

DK: Come to see my video! No, I just like to train, I got to know a very good boxing trainer in Monaco and because in my gym there is a ring, they can put you in to train. I just ask him to help me a bit to learn it. Very interesting. Very interesting sport, very exhausting for 12 rounds to be there. Very interesting.

Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Question to Dany – I suppose that could come in very handy if you have any more disagreements with Carlos? Speaking of which, what happened in Canada with a couple of penalties, the retirement for you and then the disagreement over the towing issue in qualifying. Have you got to the bottom of that? How have you resolved it?

DK: Starting with that double penalty, I think we spoke behind closed doors after it with the correct people. With Charlie Whiting, with Jean Todt. It was all very straightforward, all very simple and everyone said his opinion and everyone understood perfectly and the end of the conversation was very positive and everything has been said on that matter. So everything is clear now. Regarding the other matter which you just mentioned, everything has been told already as well and everything will be tried to keep inside the house. That’s what I hope for, at least, from my side.

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Question for Stoffel. You mentioned you’re going to have to carry some engine penalties this weekend. Are the engine bits that are going to be on the car this weekend going to give you any more performance or reliability from the bits that will be on there?

SV: Difficult to say, to be honest. I think it’s probably more a question for Honda. I don’t think there’s many new introductions this weekend, so I don’t think it will be too different.

Q: Just as a follow up to the towing in qualifying that Daniil was asked about, is it something, given the length of the straight here this weekend, that you’re going to work with your team-mates during qualifying to get a tow to improve your lap-time? Kimi, perhaps you could answer that one?

KR: No, we haven’t had any plans. I mean, we haven’t really done it in any place so I don’t see that’s going to happen. Probably the biggest reason is that it’s very difficult to manage with all the cars you get. The most important thing is to try to get the free lap for yourself. When you try to plan it like that it’s actually quite difficult to make it happen every time and it can easily make more harm than good for both of you. So…

June 22, 2017
F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Merc And Ferrari Battle in Baku

In 2016 Azerbaijan became the newest addition to the Formula 1 calendar as it hosted the country’s first ever street-race in the capital city of Baku. F1’s favourite designer Herman Tilke envisioned and delivered a circuit, which combined the city’s uniquely historical buildings with the modern, and technical world of Formula1.

The Baku City track, the third longest of the season, is an exercise in extreme opposites. While the mid sector of exceedingly tight and twisting corners is more akin to Monaco it is in stark contrast to the enormously long straits that dominates the first and final sectors of the lap and are more reminiscent of Monza. The circuit is the first counterclockwise track on the calendar and provides one of the most picturesque backdrops seen all year.

The last time Lewis Hamilton steered his Mercedes around a proper street circuit was the Monaco grand prix. To put it mildly, thing didn’t go well for the Brit on those streets. Though the Baku race is similarly contested on the streets of Azerbaijan it doesn’t have too many parallels.

There are a few factors in Hamilton’s, and to a greater degree Mercedes, favour this weekend. The longest strait on the F1 calendar will allow Merc to focus on its best feature, the engine. Further the Pirelli compounds on offer this weekend in the soft and supersoft compounds, which Mercedes favour far more than the ultra- and supersoft combo.

From last year’s tyre performance it doesn’t appear that degradation is a big factor in Baku, which saw driver able to run long stints and make fewer pitstops. As there are fewer opportunities for a creative pit strategy on Sunday it ultimately increases the importance of qualifying well on Saturday.

Similarly, there are a few factors that Hamilton will have to overcome this weekend in order to claw back the lead of the driver’s championship. The most important of these are undoubtedly the two Ferrari’s of Vettel and Raikkonen. Be it because of damage or unreliability the Canadian grand prix was a messy one for Ferrari. It was the type of grand prix that will, undoubtedly, harden their resolve of securing a good haul of points this weekend. Given their relative performance on other street circuits so far this year form dictates that the prancing horse will be no slouch around here either.

In 2016 the Italian team delivered a solid race here last year despite not being near the performance level of Mercedes. In far less competitive car than they have in 2017 Sebastian Vettel finished second while Kimi Raikkonen ran third for the majority of the race. Since the Monaco grand prix the team has vehemently denied any team orders are at work between its two drivers. It will make for interesting viewing should the Scuderia be faced with a similar scenario, to Monaco, this weekend.

Valtteri Bottas could yet prove to be a factor for Hamilton too. The Finn is currently thirty-six points adrift of his teammate and that with a retirement in Spain. His first race win, in Russia, came on a weekend when Hamilton was inexplicably off the pace and he delivered in Monaco too and he firmly believes that in a head-to-head battle he has the measure of his teammate. “I think we [Hamilton and I] are very close, I don’t see a difference,” he said. “I believe in myself. But he was shown up in Canada on a circuit where he is considered to be somewhat of a specialist. It’s as perfect a time as any to beat Hamilton in a direct fight.

June 21, 2017
F1 2017: Canadian Gp Review – Hamilton Strolls, Ferrari Struggles

As far as grand prix wins go Lewis Hamilton’s win in Canada appeared no more taxing than a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive. Untroubled, the Mercedes driver, for the sixth time in his storied F1 career, reached the chequered flag first on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton’s unchallenged run to the chequered flag was set up by an exquisite qualifying lap on Saturday which netted him a 65^th career pole position. It was this premium starting position on the grid, and a steady get-away, which ensured that he stayed clear of the mess of the first few turns. Though championship leader Sebastian Vettel started alongside in second he fell victim to Max Verstappen who rocketed off the line from fifth to second. In his charge to the front, the Red Bull driver clipped Vettel’s front-wing prompting the Ferrari driver to pit for a replacement and dropping him to 18^th place.

The carnage wasn’t only contained the sharp-end of the grid either. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz triggered a crash that damaged Romain Grosjean’s Haas and ultimately eliminated himself and William’s Felipe Massa from the race all on lap one. The incident prompted a short safety-car period on the first lap. The race resumed with Hamilton able to easily pull away from second-placed Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was running comfortably in second until the Red Bull grinded to a halt with a battery failure on lap eleven. It cleared the way for Bottas in the second Mercedes but the Finn was unable to keep pace with Hamilton for the majority of the race.

Behind Daniel Ricciardo drove faultlessly to maintain third place ahead of the Force India pair of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. While both the Force India cars sat within striking distance of Ricciardo they were never able to get close enough to attempt an overtake. By now Ferrari had opted for a different strategy that had both Raikkonen and Vettel on the ultrasoft tyre for the last 30-odd laps of the race.

Finally, the Ferrari’s were able to run at the pace that was initially expected of them as they closed down on the battle for the final podium spot. However, as Raikkonen closed on the back of fifth-placed Ocon he suffered a brake-by-wire issue that cost him six seconds a lap. Ultimately, the Ferrari was nursed home seventh place. Vettel, without such issues, boldly scythed his way past both the Force India drivers to finish an impressive fourth.

Ferrari’s pace didn’t simply evaporate into thin air either more so it was the fact that they were unable to run in clean air, which is indicative of how an F1 car’s true pace and performance can be nullified if it is running in traffics. It’s no secret that all F1 cars are designed to run in clear air and as soon as that air becomes disturbed, by a car in front, the ‘dirty’ air causes too much instability to run as efficiently as possible. This is an issue, which Ross Brawn, as part of the new F1 brain trust, has earmarked in his quest to make F1 more “raceable.”

On any other day Force India would’ve been pleased with a double-points finish but Perez’s ignored called to swop positions with teammate Ocon, on significantly fresher tyres, likely cost the team a podium finish. Nevertheless, the pair finished fifth and sixth ahead of an ailing Raikkonen in seventh. Nico Hulkenberg brought his Renault home in a solid eighth ahead of Montreal-native Lance Stroll who scored his first F1 points with a fine ninth-place finish ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean in tenth.

After the struggles of the Monaco the Canadian grand prix was a must-win for Hamilton and Mercedes. He now trails championship leader Vettel by twelve points ahead of the Baku grand prix in two weeks time.

June 12, 2017
Alonso to Decide on Future After September

Fernando Alonso remains tight lipped about his future plans in Formula 1 and says that he will decide on his future after the summer break around September or October.

The Spaniard has had to endure another torturous season of bad reliability at McLaren-Honda, something that has become synonymous with the team since Honda entered the sport in 2015.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix Alonso said that he will make his decision in September.

“We have to win. You know, if we are winning before September or something like that I will make a decision and I will stay,” said Alonso when he was asked what would keep him at McLaren.

Ahead of the Thursday press conference, McLaren Executive Director Zak Brown was quoted as saying that McLaren are nearing their limit with Honda and has expressed doubt if the partnership with the Japanese Automaker will continue.

After it was pointed out that McLaren dont, realistically, have a chance for wins this season and if he will leave McLaren if they do not produce a win, Alonso side-stepped the follow up question with his reply.

“You never know. You cannot be 100 per cent now in June about a decision for next year that I don’t even start to consider,” he said.

“What we all want is to win and, related to the answer before, what Zak commented yesterday and the Honda thing is probably what you will expect Zak to say. He wants to win; he wants to put McLaren again on a contender position for the championship.

“So, y’know, after three years we are not in that position. Things have to change, I guess, for the team. And the same with me. I want to win, and I joined this project because I wanted to be World Champion and we are not in that position.

“So, if you don’t see things changing and you are not in a competitive position, maybe you change projects. That’s the only think that I can say now, until I sit down with myself in September, October or whatever – after the summer as I always said, I cannot say 100 per cent about anything now.

“The best decision I will take after summer.”

From what Alonso has said it seems that he is on the end of his tether with McLaren-Honda and is seeking a drive with another team next year. His choices are somewhat limited in that respect with a possibility of an opening in Mercedes should they choose not to renew Valtteri Bottas’ contract for 2018.

McLaren will try everything they can to keep Alonso. Letting him take part in the Indy 500 was one of the ways. Next on the list is the World Endurance Championship.

June 9, 2017
2017 Canadian GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

PART ONE: Fernando ALONSO (McLaren), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Jolyon PALMER (Renault)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Fernando, if we can start with you. It seemed like a great experience at Indianapolis. How was it to learn a completely new way of driving, of racing after all these years? And has it relit your competitive flame after a tough few years here in Formula One?

Fernando ALONSO: It was a great experience, obviously very new for me many things there, so yeah very intense because as you said I had to learn many things from zero, so it was definitely a good way to stop this year in Formula One for a couple of weeks and start from zero in something and learn from the beginning. That was the first thing that I wanted to try. Try to be competitive in a completely new car, new series. I am always searching for this kind of motivations and this year it was a good decision to go there. The race was amazing, the experience of qualifying already started to be an amazing experience there – four laps on the limit and try to not scrub the speed in any place and obviously the race strategically very different compared to F1, a very long race as well – three hours and a half, or three hours and forty-five minutes in the car. It was just you know a new thing for me but I felt competitive, I felt good in qualifying, I was leading the biggest race in the world for a while, so really really happy.

Q: So what happens next? Has the experience helped you to make any decisions or resolutions about where you take your career from here?

FA: Not really. I’ve said many times in F1, a third world championship is still my biggest priority. I think I developed my skills to drive F1 cars for the last 16 years, so it’s the best thing that I can drive. The best car that I can drive is still Formula One. It’s another time that I jump in any car in any categories with any tyres, with any rules, that I go there and I’m competitive, so I’m not afraid of the future. If I cannot succeed here and win this third world championship, I’m still loving motor racing and I will race in any series. I know that I can win any series.

Q: Lewis, coming to you. Five poles, five wins. Montreal is a great place for you to come to bounce back from your disappointment in Monaco last time out. Toto Wolff’s pre-race notes are interesting: he said that it could be a tricky race for Mercedes in terms of the layout of the track. How positive do you feel about the weekend?

Lewis HAMILTON: I think Toto mentioned that he thinks Ferrari… We’ve obviously seen that Ferrari are quickest at the moment, so they’re the favourites, but we’ve worked very hard to rectify the issues we had in the last race, and after the weekend… Attack this weekend. We’ve got some unique bits on the car I think which will work well this weekend,but it doesn’t mean we can’t take the fight to them.

Q: It’s no secret that the Mercedes car has a few issues with the softer compound tyres this year, getting them into that sweet spot and then keeping them there. How much work have you been able to do behind the scenes to fix this problem up to this point?

LH: Not much at all.

Q: Just what you can do on-event with those tyres when you get them?

LH: Yeah. We’ve definitely done some analysis, but we’ll find whether or not there’s new things we can improve on this weekend.

Q: Coming to you, Jolyon. Best result of the season so far last time out in Monaco – P16 on the grid to P11 at the flag. How much of a confidence boost is that?

Jolyon PALMER: It’s been a confidence boost. It’s been obviously a very tough start to the year. There’s been some positives recently, but it doesn’t necessarily show on the results sheets. Monaco, at least we did race distance and we were pretty competitive in the times as well. Obviously when you start 16th it’s difficult to make any overtakes or do much else. Running around in the traffic, but at least with a better pace and we can take a bit of confidence in that.

Q: Cyril Abiteboul, your team boss, in his pre-race notes has said that you now have a more robust engine and gearbox and the team can fully focus on maximising performance. Tell us about that.

JP: That sounds good! Well, we’ll see – we’re always pushing. This is obviously a big power circuit, difficult for the drivetrain as well; it’s an important area so we’re always making progress there. I think it’s now time – especially for me – to start delivering and get some points.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Lewis. Can you tell us how difficult is it to make the tyre work and how you heat them during the pre-laps?

LH: You just drive it the same. You push or you drive slowly, depending on the temperature of the circuit, and when you come to do your laps sometimes they’re ready and sometimes they’re not. It’s difficult to… It’s kind of an unfeeling – sometimes the tyres feel exactly the same when you leave the garage, and sometimes they grip up. It’s the same for every tyre.

Q: (Sef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Lewis, I want to talk a little bit about here, as it’s a very special place for you. Obviously this is where it all began, and this is where you started to build your legacy. You posted a picture on Instagram that was very nice, it was a young you in your karate uniform and your father was with you. Fathers’ Day is this weekend, and I wanted to know – when you come here, does it still… Do you still have those good memories, do you have that positive feeling, those feelings when you first won the race? It’s been ten years now, and I just wanted to know: do you still feel that positive energy going into this weekend?

LH: Montreal’s been… Obviously, having the amazing experience I had in 2007; I remember standing on the podium and looking down at my dad and just seeing the biggest smile I’d ever seen in my life on his face, which was a very proud moment. And then, since then, just every year I come, I’ve just grown a lot with Canada and with Montreal, and the following has grown along the time, ten years, and so a lot of my time when I see get here is spectacular. You definitely feel the energy. Here is such a great race; the weather’s generally really good, the circuit’s incredible and unique to its own, the city’s one of the greatest cities. I’ve not been here when it’s not been a grand prix, but there’s a huge buzz here. I love being here. I try and get here a bit early, because the food’s great, the people are great, and I generally get left alone, so it’s a good weekend.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Question to Fernando. Fernando, would it help you to learn for your decision for next year that you maybe get the same engine next year as Lewis has this year?

FA: I think it doesn’t make any change to my decision.

Q: (Bruce Schoenfeld – Sports Business Journal) At this point in the season, from a driver’s perspective, has much changed with the change in administration of the sport? Have you noticed anything heading in any direction in terms of commercial opportunities, of the way the sport is run, or when you wake up in the morning is it business as usual, with no noticeable differences?

LH: Very very small changes. At the moment I think they’re in planning, so. Coming into this track today, I don’t know if you know where the bridge is? Normally they stop the traffic to let the fans walk through. After ten years or 15 years or whatever, they’ve finally built a stairway to go up and over the road. I don’t know who did that, but otherwise there’s not really other changes so far.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Lewis, it is said that a driver gets stronger after winning for the first time. Have you noticed any change in Valtteri after Sochi? And did you notice any change in yourself here ten years ago after your first victory?

LH: I’ve not noticed any difference in Valtteri – he’s still his calm, composed self. But definitely for me when I won my first grand prix it was definitely a huge boost, confirming what I knew in my heart I could do. So I can only imagine that it’s the same for anyone else, it’s just that some people show it more than others.

Q: (Helmut Uhl – Bild) Question for Fernando. I have read that you said in Spanish TV that if they announce 25 races you would quit. Is that right?

FA: Yes.

Q (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Fernando, looking at it from a distance, in Indy you appeared to be quite different – there was a kind of lightness about you. Skateboarding down the paddock, or Gasoline Alley, attending press conferences with Indiana farmers, and all that kind of thing. What made that change, and are you going to bring it to here as well?

FA: Well, the skateboarding I think here you are not allowed to bring those kind of things. The farmer thing, they give you money if you are the fastest rookie. Someone give us money here, I will attend, no worries. The whole atmosphere is just different there, I think everyone is more relaxed, is happy, you know. Even the way of the events we had, it’s all about… Everyone is proud of that race, that event. They’ve been for many years there, you know everyone that comes to the race they are just proud. They expect to have fun in that race. I don’t say that here is different, but here with years with all of the business that is around F1, you know everyone is trying to find some word, some thing you say or you do that creates maybe a theme behind, for more on the news. That is just about, you know, 33 drivers doing the race and just enjoy racing. Here, it’s more. Formula One is bigger in every sense. It’s bigger, there are other things, you know. But this in all kind of sports it happens the same. In tennis when you start and when you play Roland Garros there are many details that they take care of, the players. In football the same thing – when you start, you have fun, you just enjoy the sport. And then when you go to the champions’ league final a small comment before the match maybe creates a polemic and afterwords or something like that. You are more relaxed, the environment is more relaxed. There’s not the pressure and everything that Formula One has here, so it’s just different.

Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Fernando, just to follow that up, how do you feel coming back to Formula One? You were promised an engine upgrade for here in Canada; it doesn’t look like that has materialised. Zak’s come out again and been critical of Honda; he says the next 90 days is important. What has to change to keep you at McLaren?

FA: We have to win. You know, if we are winning before September or something like that I will make a decision and I will stay.

Q (Guillaume La Francois – La Presse) My question’s for Lewis. I know you mentioned enjoying your time in Montreal, which we all really appreciate, but as far as when you’re on the track, what is it about the track that suits you well, that enables you to have all that success here?

LH: It’s been ten years, I think it’s just a bit like once you get to the corners it’s a bit like a go-kart track, and long straights added to that, so it creates lots of opportunities for overtaking, you can follow here a little bit better than perhaps at other circuits, it’s a lot more of a mechanical, technical circuit, and it suits well an aggressive driving style I guess I would say. So all of that means you have to be generally more aggressive than we can be at other circuits.

Q: (Jeff Pappone – Inside Track) This year is the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race in Canada. I just wanted to know from all three of you, what is the significance of this race to Formula One and personally, is there a significance of this race to you?

LH: The significance of this race? Well, Formula One is obviously made up of a lot of great countries, a lot of great races, but there are the exceptional races and there’s only a few of them. This race is in that few.

FA: Agreed!

JP: Personally, there’s not anything special for me, but I think it’s always a great race. There has been a lot of action here in the past, and it’s a different market here – it’s North America, so it’s always interesting to come.

Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Fernando, if they add five races to the year, you say you won’t go on. What are your objections to that – and what would you do if you stopped doing Formula One for that reason?

FA: I think, y’know, I started when the calendar was 16 races, plus the tests, and now we keep on increasing the races year after year and I think we are in a number that is quite demanding already: the life you have, y’know, between the preparation, the sponsor events, the tests, the commitments you have plus 20-21 races, I think is already enough. If there are 25 or 26 races or whatever, I think it’s good in one aspect but in other aspects, in how demanding becomes your life, at this point of my career, I consider that a good quality of life is more important than to do more seasons in F1 – so if the calendar stays between 20-21, so this range that we know from the last couple of years, I’ll be happy to continue. If it’s increasing, like NASCAR, that they have 40 or 50 races, it’s not for me. It’s better for other drivers.

The second part is, if you did leave for that reason, what would you do?

FA: I don’t know. In September I will think about it.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Jolyon, there are some rumours about your future in Renault. Does it put some pressure on you and what are your feelings about it?

JP: What puts pressure on is not putting in good performances. I’m aware that the start of the year has been pretty disappointing. I’m working hard and I’m ready to turn it around. In terms of rumours, there have been rumours since my third-ever race in Formula One, so it’s nothing new for me. The way to stop it is to do well on track and hopefully I can do that this weekend.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Question to Fernando, again. You went to Indy, you were one of the quickest guys from the beginning, you nearly won the race. Do you think in the opposite, one of the top American drivers from the IndyCars, they could do the same in the Formula One?

FA: Depending on the car, I guess. Yes.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Fernando, I have to ask you to follow-up your answer to my original question where you said if McLaren aren’t winning by September you’ll leave. They’re not going to be winning by September: you know that; I know that; everyone in the room knows that – but you don’t have that many options for next year it would appear. Are you saying definitively, one hundred per cent, if you don’t win a race by September, you’ll definitely leave McLaren? Can you just clarify that?

FA: You never know. You cannot be 100 per cent now in June about a decision for next year that I don’t even start to consider. What we all want is to win and, related to the answer before, what Zak commented yesterday and the Honda thing is probably what you will expect Zak to say. He wants to win; he wants to put McLaren again on a contender position for the championship. So, y’know, after three years we are not in that position. Things have to change, I guess, for the team. And the same with me. I want to win, and I joined this project because I wanted to be World Champion and we are not in that position. So, if you don’t see things changing and you are not in a competitive position, maybe you change projects. That’s the only think that I can say now, until I sit down with myself in September, October or whatever – after the summer as I always said, I cannot say 100 per cent about anything now. The best decision I will take after summer.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Lewis, is there any major, urgent upgrade you need to be more competitive against Ferrari?

LH: Not that I know of. Not that I know of. I don’t have that information to say.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, you said you were going to go into the factory after the last race. Did you go in and what did you learn with your engineers?

LH: We were just focussed on this race, and it was shortly after the last race, so after the last race there was lots of information for them to be working on. So, we didn’t have all the solutions and the answers at that point.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Fernando, which were you feelings when we saw on the replay the Dixon accident – it was so spectacular and the cars are as strong as Formula One, of course.

FA: Well, obviously it was a big accident and we saw this in qualifying, another one with Sébastien Bourdais, so, you know, when you’re running at 380km/h every single thing will be big. There are some risks when you race the Indy 500 but it has always been like that. It’s part of the race – but obviously it was red flagged, I was in the pitlane but you don’t have the communication with the team as much as you have here, you don’t have the mechanics, you cannot jump out of the car, so I was there and just asking if everything was OK and what to do on the restart – because again the procedures are different: here you can change the tyres, you can prepare the car, whatever, under a red flag and there you cannot do anything. We were planning to pit on the next lap after the pace car was on the track, so you just focus on the procedures and the race restart, you are not concerned too much about the accidents – but from the first minute that I decide to race there, I knew about the risk, and I knew also about what was that race. I was happy to take those risks.

Q: (Helmut Uhl – Bild) One more question to Lewis, going back to the 25 races, how do you think about that and would this be just a case for you to think about backing out also, like Fernando said?

LH: I haven’t really given it any thought but I understand what Fernando’s saying and tend to agree with him.

Q: (Sef Harding – Xero Xone News) Fernando, to go back on a question earlier where you said the atmosphere here is the way things are. Isn’t that the issue? That we’re in a wash-rinse-repeat situation where it takes all of us to start to develop and change that atmosphere so we can be more relaxed, so that it’s a better relationship between you, between us, between the fans and to make it a more positive, more relaxed environment?

FA: There are definitely things that are difficult to change, so difficult to consider if they are good or bad. Formula One is the biggest motor sport category in the world for a reason. Whatever that reason is, maybe it’s all about this thing as well. An example is this press conference: there has not been one single question about this race weekend. Not for me, not even for Lewis, not for him. If the future will be OK, if the upgrades will be OK, or not. There is always thinking forwards too much: about next year, about September, about whatever, so, there is not enough focus on this race weekend, because also, the positions, more or less, we know. We can put in a paper the first 15 positons for qualifying and the first 15 for the race. 99 per cent we will match ever single position. This lack of unpredictable racing, generates a lot of… too much thinking forwards, too much guessing. Obviously, it’s a good for some part of the sport that will benefit from that, because we will generate a lot of talks in the media and a lot of fan-interaction – but you miss a little bit what is going to happen this weekend. So, y’know, it’s not being more or less relaxed in the weekend but when you come here you focus with the engineers, you prepare the race, you prepare the strategy, the tyre temperature, whatever, you come to the press conference and it’s all about next year, about what Zak said, about Toto said, you freeze a little bit the emotions that you have about racing this weekend. It’s probably what it is.

June 9, 2017
F1 2017: Canadian Gp Preview – Can Mercedes Stem Ferrari Momentum

Formula 1 swops Monaco for Montreal as it heads to the seventh round of the season around Canada’s Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

The flowing circuit set in the heart of the St. Lawrence Seaway has become a classic on the F1 calendar, which often turns up unpredictable races. Although it’s one of the shorter circuits it’s flowing nature allows for close racing and, though limited, some chances for overtaking. While the average lap speed is significantly higher than at the last round in Monaco the close proximity of the walls and barriers create the impression of a street circuit. The demand on brakes is some of the highest experienced in the entire season.

For the first time in more than a decade the ardent Canadian fans will have a local driver in the mix. Williams’ Lance Stroll will be the first Canadian to race on home soil since Jacques Villeneuve’s retirement in 2006. So far, Stroll’s journey into F1 hasn’t been an easy one with several retirements and a couple of mistakes making for a brutal introduction to the sport. Nevertheless, if the Montreal native is going to step up anywhere this would be the best place to do so.

In 2016 the Canadian grand prix was well within Sebastian Vettel’s grasp but it slipped through Ferrari’s fingers as they called an ill-advised strategy, which cost them victory. While the German comfortably held of second-placed Hamilton the Ferrari pitwall decided to opt for two-stop strategy while Mercedes ran a one-stop race, which ultimately resulted in the top step of the podium for Hamilton.

The picture in 2017 looks far different than twelve months ago. This weekend Vettel arrives in Canada with a healthy lead in the championship and with a car quick enough to challenge for victory. However, there is a suspected reliability issue with the turbo unit on Vettel’s Ferrari. If the unit has to be replaced it could mean a five place grid penalty for the championship leader.

But while it remains only a threat without official confirmation of a penalty Ferrari will be feeling confident ahead of the weekend. The efficiency of their aerodynamic package in 2017 has proven to the class of the field and should come into its own around the circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The most significant area in which Ferrari hold an advantage is its relatively big set-up window. The coveted sweet spot of balance between both axles of the car seem easier to come by for Ferrari than its championship rivals Mercedes. It is this specific factor that is Ferrari’s biggest advantage in 2017.

Further to Ferrari’s advantage is the combination of ultra- and supersoft tyre compounds nominated by Pirelli for this grand prix weekend. The Ferrari’s liking of the ultrasoft tyre stems from its ability to bring the compound into its optimal working range quicker than Mercedes as was seen in Monaco and Russia. Still, Merc is far from out of the equation. The naturally cooler temperatures often experienced over the Canadian race weekend will be to the advantage of Mercedes as it decreases the operating temperature window of the tyre.

The Canadian Gp weekend is an interesting one for Mercedes as both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have shone, to varying degrees, on this circuit. While Ferrari has shown no qualms in advancing the interests of Vettel, as the championship leader, it begs the question as to what call Mercedes will make should Bottas be in front of Hamilton.

June 7, 2017