2014 Canadian Grand Prix Thread

[good_Ralf]

5 days left until the GP. Most races in Montreal have been immensely unpredictable due to rain (2000, 2011), incidents (virtually every year) or tyre degradation (2010-2) although last years race, barring van der Garde's incidents and the tragic accident at the end of the race that claimed the life of a marshall, was devoid of all three of those factors! Hopefully the race on Sunday will be amazing, possibly better than Monaco and Bahrain combined!

[Jocke1]

Nick Chester
“Will Canada suit the E22? It’s probably going to be a bit of a tricky one. On the one hand we’re going to have the soft and supersoft tyres, which should be better for us. On the other hand Canada’s got long straights, which we feel might not be great for us. There are also some big braking points and at some races this year we’ve felt our braking isn’t as good as it should be. So for the E22 it’s a balance between performing quite well on the softer tyres and maybe losing out on power and braking. We’re going to do all we can to improve those areas before we go.

“With such long straights followed by big stops into low speed corners, getting the braking performance right is critical in Canada. Obviously this year with all the energy recovery systems there is quite a lot of tuning that can be done to enhance performance. It’s definitely an area we are looking at and we’ve got some things we want to test on the Friday to hopefully improve the braking.

“We’re bringing a new medium downforce package and we’ve also got a few new mechanical parts, one of which will hopefully improve the grip of the chassis. There’s also a small update to the cooling package which will give us a little more downforce.

“There can be a lot of variables at Montreal like rain, reliability and incidents. Romain and Pastor are exactly the kind of drivers you want on your side to exploit any opportunities. However, we hope to be able to challenge for a good points finish irrespective of any of these variables.”

[DanielPT]

Nick Chester
“Will Canada suit the E22? It’s probably going to be a bit of a tricky one. On the one hand we’re going to have the soft and supersoft tyres, which should be better for us. On the other hand Canada’s got long straights, which we feel might not be great for us. There are also some big braking points and at some races this year we’ve felt our braking isn’t as good as it should be. So for the E22 it’s a balance between performing quite well on the softer tyres and maybe losing out on power and braking. We’re going to do all we can to improve those areas before we go.

“With such long straights followed by big stops into low speed corners, getting the braking performance right is critical in Canada. Obviously this year with all the energy recovery systems there is quite a lot of tuning that can be done to enhance performance. It’s definitely an area we are looking at and we’ve got some things we want to test on the Friday to hopefully improve the braking.

“We’re bringing a new medium downforce package and we’ve also got a few new mechanical parts, one of which will hopefully improve the grip of the chassis. There’s also a small update to the cooling package which will give us a little more downforce.

“There can be a lot of variables at Montreal like rain, reliability and incidents. Romain and Pastor are exactly the kind of drivers you want on your side to exploit any opportunities. However, we hope to be able to challenge for a good points finish irrespective of any of these variables.”

Oh you devil...

By the way, who is this Nick Chester bloke that you are quoting?

[Alextrax52]

I fully expect Mercedes will improve on taking their first podium at this track last year.

The pecking order we can look forward to is:

1 Mercedes
2 Red Bull
3 Ferrari
4-6: Force India, Mclaren, Williams
7-8: Lotus Toro Rosso
9: Sauber
10: Marussia
11: Caterham

[mario]

I fully expect Mercedes will improve on taking their first podium at this track last year.

The pecking order we can look forward to is:

1 Mercedes
2 Red Bull
3 Ferrari
4-6: Force India, Mclaren, Williams
7-8: Lotus Toro Rosso
9: Sauber
10: Marussia
11: Caterham

I think that the Ferrari-red Bull fight might be a little more even this time around and possibly tip the other way even - Ferrari are due to be bringing in new updates that allow them to increase the power output of their engines, and Red Bull are already struggling for straight line speed as it is. In lower downforce trim and on softer tyres, I think Ferrari might be a bit closer to Red Bull here.

[Alextrax52]

I fully expect Mercedes will improve on taking their first podium at this track last year.

The pecking order we can look forward to is:

1 Mercedes
2 Red Bull
3 Ferrari
4-6: Force India, Mclaren, Williams
7-8: Lotus Toro Rosso
9: Sauber
10: Marussia
11: Caterham

I think that the Ferrari-red Bull fight might be a little more even this time around and possibly tip the other way even - Ferrari are due to be bringing in new updates that allow them to increase the power output of their engines, and Red Bull are already struggling for straight line speed as it is. In lower downforce trim and on softer tyres, I think Ferrari might be a bit closer to Red Bull here.

I thought that Red Bull were getting on top of those issues last season. Or is it that the new regs have rekindled those straight line speed issues again

[CoopsII]

By the way, who is this Nick Chester bloke that you are quoting?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QvCSmBdsPWE
Sorry, misheard you...

[dr-baker]

Nick Chester
“Will Canada suit the E22? It’s probably going to be a bit of a tricky one. On the one hand we’re going to have the soft and supersoft tyres, which should be better for us. On the other hand Canada’s got long straights, which we feel might not be great for us. There are also some big braking points and at some races this year we’ve felt our braking isn’t as good as it should be. So for the E22 it’s a balance between performing quite well on the softer tyres and maybe losing out on power and braking. We’re going to do all we can to improve those areas before we go.

“With such long straights followed by big stops into low speed corners, getting the braking performance right is critical in Canada. Obviously this year with all the energy recovery systems there is quite a lot of tuning that can be done to enhance performance. It’s definitely an area we are looking at and we’ve got some things we want to test on the Friday to hopefully improve the braking.

“We’re bringing a new medium downforce package and we’ve also got a few new mechanical parts, one of which will hopefully improve the grip of the chassis. There’s also a small update to the cooling package which will give us a little more downforce.

“There can be a lot of variables at Montreal like rain, reliability and incidents. Romain and Pastor are exactly the kind of drivers you want on your side to exploit any opportunities. However, we hope to be able to challenge for a good points finish irrespective of any of these variables.”

Oh you devil...

By the way, who is this Nick Chester bloke that you are quoting?

I am not sure. Something to do with Lotus possibly. Wish I could remember whether it was Lotus-Caterham or Enstone-Lotus that he was involved with.... Shame that I cannot open a seperate browser window on my mobile so I could Google him!

[mario]

I fully expect Mercedes will improve on taking their first podium at this track last year.

The pecking order we can look forward to is:

1 Mercedes
2 Red Bull
3 Ferrari
4-6: Force India, Mclaren, Williams
7-8: Lotus Toro Rosso
9: Sauber
10: Marussia
11: Caterham

I think that the Ferrari-red Bull fight might be a little more even this time around and possibly tip the other way even - Ferrari are due to be bringing in new updates that allow them to increase the power output of their engines, and Red Bull are already struggling for straight line speed as it is. In lower downforce trim and on softer tyres, I think Ferrari might be a bit closer to Red Bull here.

I thought that Red Bull were getting on top of those issues last season. Or is it that the new regs have rekindled those straight line speed issues again

Well, to a certain extent those issues were exaggerated in some of the earlier races before Total introduced a new fuel mixture for the Spanish GP onwards - it seems to be the case that the Renault powered cars are more competitive in terms of power output in the more recent races, so I do concede that perhaps that issue has been at least partially resolved.

Equally, there have been times where they have been able to compensate for a lack of straight line speed through improved cornering and acceleration (i.e. hitting a lower top speed, but hitting that maximum top speed far earlier than their rivals can) - the opening sequence of corners should play right into their hands thanks to their superior chassis.

[FullMetalJack]

Dammit, Sky Sports aren't showing the 1989 race as one of their classics this week. That being said, at least it's a very good lineup, 2012 yesterday, 2011 tonight, 2007 and 2008 and 1998 to come.

[Dj_bereta]

Well, I'm expecting another boring Canadian GP. With Ferrari and Red Bull upgrades, Williams and the others can't catch they, even in high speed tracks like Gilles Villeneuve.

[go_Rubens]

Well, I'm expecting another boring Canadian GP. With Ferrari and Red Bull upgrades, Williams and the others can't catch they, even in high speed tracks like Gilles Villeneuve.

I wouldn't go that far just yet. In fact, Bottas and Smedley seem to suggest they can compete with Red Bull.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.ph ... ostpopular

I'm not sure whether to believe that they will be better, but the signs could certainly be there.

[Shizuka]

Dammit, Sky Sports aren't showing the 1989 race as one of their classics this week. That being said, at least it's a very good lineup, 2012 yesterday, 2011 tonight, 2007 and 2008 and 1998 to come.

Speaking of 1998, look what picture is used for the official F1 website's lead article at the moment...

[wsrgo]

I've heard so much of Montreal being a low-drag circuit with long straights plunging into slow corners, but in reality there's just one such sequence. While I agree that power will be more of a factor here than in Monaco, I do also believe that it won't be as much of a factor as Bahrain. I think traction, driveability, suspension and tyre usage are more important.

I could be wrong though. Mario, are you there?

[roblo97]

I've heard so much of Montreal being a low-drag circuit with long straights plunging into slow corners, but in reality there's just one such sequence. While I agree that power will be more of a factor here than in Monaco, I do also believe that it won't be as much of a factor as Bahrain. I think traction, driveability, suspension and tyre usage are more important.

I could be wrong though. Mario, are you there?

To my knowledge, there are for such sequences. The pit straight, the bit between the hairpin and the final chicane, between turn 7 and turn 8 and from turn 9 to the hairpin.

[mario]

I've heard so much of Montreal being a low-drag circuit with long straights plunging into slow corners, but in reality there's just one such sequence. While I agree that power will be more of a factor here than in Monaco, I do also believe that it won't be as much of a factor as Bahrain. I think traction, driveability, suspension and tyre usage are more important.

I could be wrong though. Mario, are you there?

All of those factors certainly come into play, particularly tyre management (where the issues have tended to come from wheelspin due to the relatively low grip surface rather than from abrasion or thermal effects) and drivability out of the lower speed corners.

That said, Canada is usually considered to be a relatively low downforce circuit - not exactly Monzaesque, but certainly lower than a venue like, say, Barcelona, as the corner complexes in Canada tend to be low to medium speed rather than high speed. The benefits of a higher downforce package are therefore reduced, since the corners tend to place a higher emphasis on mechanical rather than aerodynamic performance, so the teams can afford to go for a lower downforce package and gain time back on the straights.
Added to that, the reasonably long back straight means that teams tend to err slightly on the side of caution and go for slightly lower downforce settings than they might otherwise do in case they either need to attack or defend against another driver on the back straight.

Power, to a certain extent, does play a part too - again, it isn't the toughest on the engine (Monza and Spa are considered harder), but a relatively high proportion of the lap is spent on full throttle, so having both reasonably high peak power and a fairly wide usable power band is vital.

[johnston21]

It is with pleasure that I reflect on having attended the 2011 Canadian GP.

(shameless plug): viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4216&start=160#p99019

[wsrgo]

I've heard so much of Montreal being a low-drag circuit with long straights plunging into slow corners, but in reality there's just one such sequence. While I agree that power will be more of a factor here than in Monaco, I do also believe that it won't be as much of a factor as Bahrain. I think traction, driveability, suspension and tyre usage are more important.

I could be wrong though. Mario, are you there?

All of those factors certainly come into play, particularly tyre management (where the issues have tended to come from wheelspin due to the relatively low grip surface rather than from abrasion or thermal effects) and drivability out of the lower speed corners.

That said, Canada is usually considered to be a relatively low downforce circuit - not exactly Monzaesque, but certainly lower than a venue like, say, Barcelona, as the corner complexes in Canada tend to be low to medium speed rather than high speed. The benefits of a higher downforce package are therefore reduced, since the corners tend to place a higher emphasis on mechanical rather than aerodynamic performance, so the teams can afford to go for a lower downforce package and gain time back on the straights.
Added to that, the reasonably long back straight means that teams tend to err slightly on the side of caution and go for slightly lower downforce settings than they might otherwise do in case they either need to attack or defend against another driver on the back straight.

Power, to a certain extent, does play a part too - again, it isn't the toughest on the engine (Monza and Spa are considered harder), but a relatively high proportion of the lap is spent on full throttle, so having both reasonably high peak power and a fairly wide usable power band is vital.

Thanks for the info, Mario..so would I be right in saying that the Spa setup conundrum traditionally stems from whether the teams will give the Kemmel straight or the fast corners more priority, and that's why we see a mixture of downforce setting ups and down the field?

[Aerospeed]

Weather forecasts in the city call for nothing but sun for the whole weekend. But there might be some rain on Thursday, so the F1 website thinks it's a good idea to drum up interest for rain on Friday.

[Jocke1]

From the press conference today;

Racing Magazine

The World Cup is coming. How much are your interest in football?

Kobayashi

I don't follow anything. I don't follow at all.

Massa

I love football, I watch everything.

[good_Ralf]

Massa

I love football, I watch everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=994_NRAQHhg

[Jocke1]

the F1 website thinks it's a good idea to drum up interest for rain on Friday.

I'm really hoping for rain on Friday.
Friday is the National Day of Sweden (Flag Day), celebrating among other things the crowning of Gustav Vasa as King, 491 years ago.
I think I read somewhere that 2% of Ericsson's DNA has a direct connection to that of the old King.
So what better way to celebrate the day than for Ericsson to be P1 in a rain-hit Friday session tomorrow?

[mario]

I've heard so much of Montreal being a low-drag circuit with long straights plunging into slow corners, but in reality there's just one such sequence. While I agree that power will be more of a factor here than in Monaco, I do also believe that it won't be as much of a factor as Bahrain. I think traction, driveability, suspension and tyre usage are more important.

I could be wrong though. Mario, are you there?

All of those factors certainly come into play, particularly tyre management (where the issues have tended to come from wheelspin due to the relatively low grip surface rather than from abrasion or thermal effects) and drivability out of the lower speed corners.

That said, Canada is usually considered to be a relatively low downforce circuit - not exactly Monzaesque, but certainly lower than a venue like, say, Barcelona, as the corner complexes in Canada tend to be low to medium speed rather than high speed. The benefits of a higher downforce package are therefore reduced, since the corners tend to place a higher emphasis on mechanical rather than aerodynamic performance, so the teams can afford to go for a lower downforce package and gain time back on the straights.
Added to that, the reasonably long back straight means that teams tend to err slightly on the side of caution and go for slightly lower downforce settings than they might otherwise do in case they either need to attack or defend against another driver on the back straight.

Power, to a certain extent, does play a part too - again, it isn't the toughest on the engine (Monza and Spa are considered harder), but a relatively high proportion of the lap is spent on full throttle, so having both reasonably high peak power and a fairly wide usable power band is vital.

Thanks for the info, Mario..so would I be right in saying that the Spa setup conundrum traditionally stems from whether the teams will give the Kemmel straight or the fast corners more priority, and that's why we see a mixture of downforce setting ups and down the field?

Yes, it does tend to be the case that there are two schools of thought about the best approach to Spa.

Traditionally, teams tended to go for a relatively low downforce package and optimise the car for the first and final sectors of the lap given the opportunities to pass into Les Combes and the Bus Stop at each end of the lap, which would involve compromising the middle sector slightly.

However, there does seem to have been a shift in the past few years towards slightly higher downforce set ups which sacrifice a little top speed in the first two sectors but is better for the middle sector, particularly through Pouhon (considered the most difficult complex in recent years).
Although the use of stalling rear wings and, in more recent years, DRS meant that the drag penalty was lessened in the first sector, another factor is the fact that the latest generation of tyres have generally been relatively sensitive to side slip - with the penalty for high tyre wear being exacerbated at Spa due to the length of the lap, using a slightly higher downforce set up reduced the amount that the car would slide around by, helping manage tyre life and therefore gaining time back over a stint that way.

[mario]

On another note, McLaren have brought an interesting upgrade for this race - they've ditched the aero shroud on the upper suspension arm for this race.

[wsrgo]

Softs and supersofts for Hockenheim and Spielberg...

There's gonna be quite a few pitstops in those races..

[Jocke1]

Not a lot of action out on track. Nice weather, though.

Edit:
And Chilton goes faster than Rosberg!

[Alextrax52]

Vergne 4th ahead of both Red Bull's is a surprise

[BigG80]

Bianchi hit the wall coming out of Turn 4 which damaged his right rear suspension. Car is shaking like anything as he drives back to the pits.

[Jocke1]

Wow, Ericsson is incredibly slow. Sure it's his first time to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but with 1 hour+ of FP1 done he is over two seconds off 21st place.
I knew he would celebrate his country's flag day today, but I didn't know how. This is apparently his way of honoring his country and the rejects of the past, by going
'round the circuit in a league of his own. #proudofmarcus

And Bianchi's in the wall!

[Alextrax52]

Alonso and Ferrari might be making a big step this weekend

And it looks really dark out there

[Jocke1]

A solid 21st place in FP1 for Ericsson. Only 0.56 behind Max Chilton. Watch him improve in FP2!

Edit:
Sutil and Magnussen nearly collides in FP2.
Chilton is 14th with half the session done.
And Ericsson' s Friday is over

[Londoner]

Are Red Bull seriously that far down on pace this weekend?

Ericsson has cocked up at turn 3. What a stooge.

[Alextrax52]

Are Red Bull seriously that far down on pace this weekend?

Ericsson has cocked up at turn 3. What a stooge.

No Vettel is now 6th.

I think it's possible we might see a Caterham DNQ this weekend. Ericsson has struggled as a first timer here and Kobayashi has been all over the place

[mario]

A solid 21st place in FP1 for Ericsson. Only 0.56 behind Max Chilton. Watch him improve in FP2!

Edit:
Sutil and Magnussen nearly collides in FP2.
Chilton is 14th with half the session done.
And Ericsson' s Friday is over

At this rate, I am beginning to wonder if he will qualify at all - whilst the stewards were asked in the pre-season to be lenient, Ericsson has been missing the 107% mark by a long way so far. With Kobayashi repeatedly running off the circuit, suggesting that the car has pretty wretched handling, and Ericsson having very little experience with the circuit, I wonder if he can get a clean enough lap to actually make it onto the grid...

Are Red Bull seriously that far down on pace this weekend?

Ericsson has cocked up at turn 3. What a stooge.

Vettel has just set a flying lap that suggests that they aren't quite that far off the pace, though Horner has said that he think the best they could hope for would be 5th place.

[Alextrax52]

A solid 21st place in FP1 for Ericsson. Only 0.56 behind Max Chilton. Watch him improve in FP2!

Edit:
Sutil and Magnussen nearly collides in FP2.
Chilton is 14th with half the session done.
And Ericsson' s Friday is over

At this rate, I am beginning to wonder if he will qualify at all - whilst the stewards were asked in the pre-season to be lenient, Ericsson has been missing the 107% mark by a long way so far. With Kobayashi repeatedly running off the circuit, suggesting that the car has pretty wretched handling, and Ericsson having very little experience with the circuit, I wonder if he can get a clean enough lap to actually make it onto the grid...

Are Red Bull seriously that far down on pace this weekend?

Ericsson has cocked up at turn 3. What a stooge.

Vettel has just set a flying lap that suggests that they aren't quite that far off the pace, though Horner has said that he think the best they could hope for would be 5th place.

Vettel is now 3rd under 0.5 off now. I was about to say that I hope Seb is just using his usual tactic of not chasing Friday glory before that

[AndreaModa]

Have to echo the comments on Caterham. They're looking terrible so far. Kobayashi is almost 2 seconds off of Chilton's time, both of which have done their best laps on the supersoft.

Feel a bit sorry for Bianchi, after his Monaco heroics he's had an unfortunate weekend so far. Hopefully he gets plenty of laps in tomorrow morning.

[mario]

A solid 21st place in FP1 for Ericsson. Only 0.56 behind Max Chilton. Watch him improve in FP2!

Edit:
Sutil and Magnussen nearly collides in FP2.
Chilton is 14th with half the session done.
And Ericsson' s Friday is over

At this rate, I am beginning to wonder if he will qualify at all - whilst the stewards were asked in the pre-season to be lenient, Ericsson has been missing the 107% mark by a long way so far. With Kobayashi repeatedly running off the circuit, suggesting that the car has pretty wretched handling, and Ericsson having very little experience with the circuit, I wonder if he can get a clean enough lap to actually make it onto the grid...

Are Red Bull seriously that far down on pace this weekend?

Ericsson has cocked up at turn 3. What a stooge.

Vettel has just set a flying lap that suggests that they aren't quite that far off the pace, though Horner has said that he think the best they could hope for would be 5th place.

Vettel is now 3rd under 0.5 off now. I was about to say that I hope Seb is just using his usual tactic of not chasing Friday glory before that

True, although to a certain extent he is a little helped by the fact that he set his fastest lap later in the session, when the track conditions would probably have been more favourable to Vettel compared to his rivals. I think that Alonso at least, and Kimi if he can get his brakes set up as he likes them, could have a slight edge over Red Bull - it'll probably be tight though, with Williams possibly also in the mix too.

[Jocke1]

Ericsson has cocked up at turn 3. What a stooge.

Oi!, he's testing the limits that's all. He'll have a career-race on Sunday for sure.


Announcement!
FP2 finished and Max Chilton ended it just 1 second off Dan 'The Man' Ricciardo!
2.5 seconds off 1st placed Hamilton.
This is impressive stuff from Max.

[Alextrax52]

Ericsson has cocked up at turn 3. What a stooge.

Oi!, he's testing the limits that's all. He'll have a career-race on Sunday for sure.


Announcement!
FP2 finished and Max Chilton ended it just 1 second off Dan 'The Man' Ricciardo!
2.5 seconds off 1st placed Hamilton.
This is impressive stuff from Max.

Agreed he didn't do that badly. 2 seconds faster than the Caterham's too (OK worst car on the grid but still )

I wonder if Dan chose not to chase the quickest time he could get in that session because it looks like he might have more to give. I agree with Mario that Ferrari and possibly Williams do have a slight edge on Red Bull this weekend. I'd expect that Austria might see RBR back ahead because high speed is not important there

[Jocke1]

At this rate, I am beginning to wonder if he will qualify at all - whilst the stewards were asked in the pre-season to be lenient, Ericsson has been missing the 107% mark by a long way so far. With Kobayashi repeatedly running off the circuit, suggesting that the car has pretty wretched handling, and Ericsson having very little experience with the circuit, I wonder if he can get a clean enough lap to actually make it onto the grid...

Ericsson said the track was very green for the first couple of runs and that the car was sliding around a lot and that he was having problems optimising the braking. He commented it was like "driving on ice".

After 13 laps and on my second run in FP2 I lost transmission and had to pull over.
I’m sure we’ll make progress overnight and be back pushing on tomorrow.