   
|
Webber hit by gearbox grid penalty
Mark Webber will drop five places on the grid for this afternoon’s Canadian Grand Prix due to a gearbox change on his Red Bull car. Webber, who had qualified second alongside polesitter Lewis Hamilton, will now start seventh.
Red Bull opted to change the RB6’s box as a precautionary measure. It means that Webber’s team mate Sebastian Vettel, originally third on the grid, now joins Hamilton’s McLaren on the front row.
The others to benefit from Webber’s misfortune are Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, McLaren’s Jenson Button, Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, moving up to third, fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Paddock Postcard from Montreal
One of the great things about the Canadian Grand Prix is that it always attracts plenty of famous racing faces.
Double world championship, double CART champion and double Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi was a steward, while Sir Jackie Stewart celebrated his 71st birthday at Queue de Cheval restaurant on Friday evening, together with childhood friend John Lindsay who was 70 the day before. F1 star Derek Daly was there with racing son Conor, who has three Star Mazda wins on the trot behind him this season and is looking for a GP3 or GP2 ride in Europe next year.
Fellow young lions James Hincliffe (a TW Steel ambassador) and GP3 racer Rob Wickens checked things out, together with recuperating NASCAR star Brian Vickers who was a guest at Red Bull.
Former racers included former Coloni, Jordan and Larrousse driver Bertrand Gachot, now vigorously marketing an energy drink; Tyler Alexander of McLaren who happily recalled the great days of the ‘Bruce and Denny Show’ in the Canadian American Challenge Cup series in the Sixties ahead of the story he is preparing of his life in racing; Ron Dennis, who checked out how McLaren is doing on track; former Champcar team owner Derrick Walker; Indy racer and sponsorship guru Townsend Bell and his in-laws Rod and Sandra Campbell; and US racing scene stalwarts Gordon Kirby and Gary Gold wrote and took photographs just like they always have.
Qualifying - Hamilton storms to Montreal pole
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton left it until the dying moments of qualifying in Canada, but his lap of 1m 15.105s was sufficient to push Red Bull off the pole for the first time in 2010. And as it left Mark Webber second on 1m 15.373s, Sebastian Vettel dropped to the second row of the grid with 1m 15.420s.
Hamilton’s McLaren was so light on fuel he had to stop and push before he completed his in lap. He ran Bridgestone’s option tyre, whereas both Red Bull drivers bucked the trend and used the more durable primes.
Fernando Alonso was fourth for Ferrari on 1m 15.435s, while a late improvement to 1m 15.520s put Jenson Button ahead of Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi, who lapped in 1m 15.648s for a career-best sixth.
Felipe Massa was seventh in the second Ferrari on 1m 15.688s, ahead of Robert Kubica’s Renault on 1m 15.715s, Adrian Sutil in the second Force India on 1m 15.881s and Nico Rosberg on 1m 16.071s for Mercedes GP.
Button just saved himself from relegation in Q2 right at the end, but a rapid reshuffle saw the Williams FW32s of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg jump ahead of Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher, the trio being the first to miss out in 11th, 12th and 13th places with respective laps of 1m 16.434s, 1m 16.438s, and 1m 16.492s.
Final practice - four teams in the top four
Things settled down a little in Montreal on Saturday morning as teams found better ways to generate grip in the continuing cold conditions on the Ile Notre Dame. And McLaren got back on top courtesy of Lewis Hamilton, but Red Bull were again close and things look good for an exciting qualifying session this afternoon.
Hamilton lapped his McLaren MP4-25 in 1m 16.058s, leaving series leader Mark Webber back in second on 1m 16.340s. Then came Fernando Alonso for Ferrari on 1m 16.495s, Michael Schumacher for Mercedes on 1m 16.536s, Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull on 1m 16.582s, Robert Kubica for Renault on 1m 16.653s, Adrian Sutil for Force India on 1m 16.673s, Jenson Button for McLaren on 1m 16.699s, Tonio Liuzzi for Force India on 1m 16.814s and Vitaly Petrov for Renault on 1m 16.982s.
There were plenty of incidents, with many drivers missing the chicane exits, but the most significant were Felipe Massa scraping a wall exiting Turn Five, and Lucas di Grassi hitting the outer wall as he spun his Virgin entering the hairpin.
Canada 2008 - the Montreal pit-lane debacle
As the paddock returns to Montreal for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, two Formula One stars - and one former driver now busy rallying - will be trying to shake off a memory from when they were last racing on the city’s Ile Notre Dame, back in June 2008.
For that trio - and most on the sidelines - the sight of three battered and bruised cars embarrassingly wedged together at the end of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve pit lane one that will forever be hard to forget.
Nineteen laps previously McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had expertly sprung from his pole position into the lead of the race, leaving second-on-the-grid Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber to fend off the encroaching Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen. On Lap 17, however, the safety car was deployed so marshals could clear away Adrian Sutil’s Force India, which had succumbed to gearbox problems.
In a blink, Hamilton’s lead was neutralised and as the first round of pit stops got underway, he, Kubica and Raikkonen pulled into the pits simultaneously. McLaren decided to go heavy with fuel, and after Hamilton’s longer stop, he swept out of his pit box behind Raikkonen and Kubica, who were at that moment embroiled in a battle for P1 down the pit lane.
Soon after, however, disaster struck. Focusing no doubt on how to regain the lead over the next few laps, Hamilton didn’t notice that both Kubica and Raikkonen had stopped for a red light at the pit exit. As his McLaren headed back on track, he realised too late and his car ran right into the back of the Finn’s Ferrari.
Coulthard honoured with MBE
Former Williams, McLaren and Red Bull driver David Coulthard has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The Scot, who retired from F1 competition at the end of 2008, remains the most successful Briton in terms of points scored.
"I'm delighted to receive this for my contribution to motorsports," Coulthard told British F1 broadcasters the BBC, for whom he is now a television pundit. "A big thank you to all those who have helped me and to the whole motorsports community, because the platform of motor racing has given me this opportunity."
During his 15-year Formula One career, Coulthard, now 39, won 13 Grands Prix, secured 62 podium finishes and scored 535 world championship points. His best finish in the driver standings was second, in 2001 behind Michael Schumacher.
Practice Two - Vettel pips Alonso in Montreal
Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in Friday afternoon’s second practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver lapped in 1m 16.877s, and only Fernando Alonso with 1m 16.963s for Ferrari got anywhere close to him.
The indications were, however, that most were centred on race running, as the majority of the remaining fast times were set early in the 90-minute period.
Nico Rosberg was the initial pacesetter with 1m 17.151s for Mercedes GP, and that held up for third fastest ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber on 1m 17.273s, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on 1m 17.401s, Force India’s Adrian Sutil on 1m 17.415s, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on 1m 17.522s, Renault's Robert Kubica on 1m 17.529s, Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher on 1m 17.688s, Force India’s Tonio Liuzzi on 1m 17.903s and McLaren’s Jenson Button on 1m 17.961s.
Williams have higher hopes here, and the performance of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg bore that out as they were 12th and 13th on 1m 18.385s and 1m 18.447s respectively, ahead of Renault’s Vitaly Petrov on 1m 18.582s, BMW Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa on 1m 18.658s, his team mate Kamui Kobayashi on 1m 19.142, and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi on 1m 19.168s and Jaime Alguersuari on 1m 19.274s.
Villeneuve & Schumacher promote Canadian road safety
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) and CAA-Quebec, in partnership with the FIA Foundation for Automobile and Society and Transport Canada, held a live road safety demonstration prior to this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, featuring Canadian racing icon Jacques Villeneuve and seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher and Villeneuve called on Canadians to think about safety technologies when they consider their next road vehicle purchase. Systems such as electronic stability control already exist in some vehicles and can prevent accidents before they happen, but according to the two legendary drivers, these technologies should be more widely available and sought out by consumers.
“We know these technologies reduce the impact of injuries and save lives,” Schumacher said. “Canadians should be aware of them, and make them a consideration when buying a new vehicle.”
“As a race car driver, I know that any technological edge I can get is important,” added Villeneuve. “The same is true when it comes to vehicle safety.”
Four systems - Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Warning and Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Monitoring, and Lane Support - were demonstrated with the help of CAA-Quebec expert drivers, at Transport Canada's Motor Vehicle Test Centre in Blainville, Quebec.
Electronic Stability Control helps you avoid a crash by significantly reducing the risk of your car going into a skid during a sudden emergency manoeuvre. ESC applies automatic braking to certain wheels and it may temporarily cut engine power to help a driver maintain control.
Practice One - McLarens split by Schumacher
There was plenty of action as Formula One cars once again hammered round the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Friday morning, as Jenson Button set the pace for McLaren in opening practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The reigning champion was on strong form with a lap of 1m 18.127s in overcast but dry conditions, but it was tight at the top as Mercedes were also in the fight. Button’s lap was 0.158s quicker than Michael Schumacher’s best of 1m 18.285s, and right behind the legendary German came Lewis Hamilton on 1m 18.352s and Nico Rosberg with a late improvement on 1m 18.356s. Schumacher’s efforts to go faster still, however, saw him half spin in Turn Six towards the end.
Sebastian Vettel looked a little ragged as he pushed hard in his Red Bull for 1m 18.549s, while the other stars were Robert Kubica with 1m 18.662s for Renault and Fernando Alonso with 1m 18.726s for Ferrari.
Le Grand Soir celebrates Montreal's F1 return
Montreal hosted ‘Le Grand Soir’ or ‘Grand Evening’ on Thursday to welcome Formula One racing back to the Canadian city after a one-year absence. The spectacular event, staged in the old Windsor train station, saw one of the biggest ever gatherings of drivers and team principals outside of the F1 paddock, with numerous other luminaries, including Bernie Ecclestone, also in attendance.
Under the patronage of Gerard Tremblay, Montreal’s Mayor, Michael Fortier, Strategic Counsel for Ogilvy Renault and Morgan Stanley, and Francois Dumontier, Canadian Grand Prix promoter, the evening began with the obligatory red carpet and a fleet of Mercedes cars delivering the famous guests. Awaiting them were hordes of cheering fans, eager with cameras and pens, ready to request photos and autographs from their heroes.
Among the first to show up was McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, whose arrival created near frenzy among the onlookers. Then came Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and his ‘let’s be buddies again’ drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber; Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg with his bosses Ross Brawn and Nick Fry; Renault team principal Eric Boullier and his star driver Robert Kubica; Lotus’s Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli; Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Buemi with his team principal Franz Tost; Nico Hulkenberg and Williams team CEO Adam Parr; Peter Suaber and driver Pedro de la Rosa; Ferrari’s team manager Massimo Rivola; Force India’s deputy team principal Bob Fernley; and HRT team boss Colin Kolles along with Bruno Senna. There were almost too many famous faces to list.
Newer messages Older messages
|
|
Latest messagess |
|
|
|
nikneem
|
|
Is er nog een beetje ge-raced?
|
|
|
|
Repelzteeltje
|
|
Snake is niet meer.... http://www.webbr.nl/- overzicht-artikele- n/1-webbr/2748-sna- ke-is-niet-meer
|
|
|
|
nikneem
|
|
Pffff... Ik sta niet eens meer in de top 15 :(
|
|
|
|
|
|