FORMULA 1 - 2015

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CANADIAN GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON FENDS OFF ROSBERG

Lewis Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium when he powered to a narrow, but controlled win, at the Canadian Grand Prix over teammate Nico Rosberg as Mercedes (once again!) obliterated the opposition at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Silver Arrows pair were just on another planet, and although Rosberg did a good job to stalk Hamilton for most of the race, he simply did not have the ammo to attack in the end and saw Hamilton extend his lead in the championship to 17 points.

Hammer time came for Hamilton with half-a-dozen laps top go, just when Rosberg would have been primed to make his challenge, but the world champion had it in control stretching what had been a second and a bit gap to three seconds in little time – despite fuel saving ‘lift and coast’ commands from his pit wall.

Hamilton thus scored his 37th career grand prix victory, his fourth win of 2015 and his fourth at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit, the scene of his maiden F1 win in 2007. Only Michael Schumacher, with seven victories, has won more times on the Ile Notre Dame.

Hamilton said afterwards, “I love Montreal. I love this track, love the city. Fantastic weekend. I didn’t feel I had most comfortable balance but I didn’t feel under too much pressure. It felt intense, I really enjoyed it. Did I need this? I think so.

“This place is incredible. There are lots of British flags, Canadian flags, Grenada flags and Barbados flags. I won my first race here in 2007 and to be back up here feels very historic for me,” added the Briton.

“My lead engineer lost a family member this weekend and to come here and perform like he has has been amazing. I take my hat off to him,” said Hamilton.

Rosberg’s run of two wins in a row came to an end in Montreal where he did not have the pace in qualifying to match Hamilton and in the race his pursuit of the other silver car was relentless, but still not enough to ****** the win as the winner had all bases covered when it mattered.

“I was pushing like mad but I couldn’t quite make it. Second place is still okay. It was just a little bit in qualifying – the race pace was good,” said Rosberg of his afternoon’s graft.

And added, “I have an electrical power boost for two laps to see if I can attack him, but of course as soon as I do that his engineer tells him and he will do the same. I think I will have to have a word with the team and see if we can keep it a secret.”

In third place, Valtteri Bottas scored the first podium of the season for Williams and made it a clean sweep of the top three by Mercedes power.

Bottas capitalised on a mistake made by fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who spun his Ferrari mid-way through the race while in strong contention for third and had top settle for fourth after starting third on the grid.

Bottas said after the race, “I’m really happy for us. It was really good teamwork all weekend. A mistake by Kimi allowed us to make up one position. We really needed this. It really boosts the confidence. We are a top team and we can fight for the podiums.”

Behind Raikkonen was teammate Sebastian Vettel, arguably delivering the drive of the day, as he scythed his way through the field from 16th on the grid to fifth by the time the chequered flag waved, and set the fastest lap of the race in the process.

Felipe Massa also recovered well from 17th to finish sixth in the Williams, the Brazilian showing strong pace in the latter half of the race.

Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado scored his first points of his season with a solid drive to seventh, his third points score in three years and a valuable haul for his team, with Romain Grosjean also scoring with his tenth place finish – which might have been better had the Frenchman not tangled needlessly with Manor driver Will Stevens.

Nico Hulkenberg survived a spin in the Force India, when he and Vettel nearly collided in the shadow of the Wall of Champions, but recovered well to finish eighth.

Renault struggled massively this time around in Canada, when a year earlier they won with Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull – what a difference a year makes!

Daniil Kvyat was best of the four Red Bull branded cars with his drive to ninth. Ricciardo was 13th, with the Toro Rosso rookies Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen in 12th and 15th respectively.

Ricciardo summed up his frustration, “I got lapped by a Williams – that explains my day. It was our worst weekend of the year. We have got to understand it but I don’t have any answers. I’m laughing because I don’t want to cry.”

At the end of a largely mundane and predictable race, perhaps the biggest talking point will be the woeful showing by McLaren and Fernando Alonso’s desperate reaction to a command from the team’s pitwall to save fuel.

The Spaniard said after both McLarens were retired from the race, “When you are in the middle of a battle, fuel is a low priority and you will time later on. After three or four reminders of fuel, I just said let me race and let me have some fun.”

On the other end of the spectrum Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said, “It is a fine margin we have. We want them to compete against each other, so you need to watch the brakes and the fuel consumption and this is the fine line we need to walk on.”

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Force India are improving - Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg, whose 8th placed finish in Canada brought him points for only the second time this season, feels Force India are steadily improving.

"I am very happy to come away from here with four points – that's definitely some positive news." he said.

After qualifying in 7th, Hulkenberg lost one position during the race. He had a close battle with Sebastian Vettel in which he eventually spun as the Ferrari driver passed.

"It was not the most eventful race and I was by myself most of the time, except for the battle with Sebastian [Vettel]. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have tried so hard to defend against Seb, but when you're a racer you just don't want to give up a position without a fight. He took the outside line, I was on the inside, braking on the dirt and the marbles. I could see it coming but he didn't leave me anywhere to go so to avoid contact I kept braking, lost the rear and spun."

Despite this, Hulkenberg felt that both the car and his team had performed well.

"Overall it’s been a positive weekend: we keep finding good performance from our VJM08 and the team is pushing hard to find more speed. We’ve had a good run in the last few races, with Checo scoring in Monaco and my points today. It means we are making good progress and we're closing in on fifth in the championship, so the second half of the season should be very interesting." he said.

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Grosjean admits incident was his fault

Romain Grosjean had to settle for a point in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, despite a strong showing from Lotus in qualifying.

Grosjean started from fifth on the grid, but an eventful race, highlighted by a coming together with the Manor of Will Stevens on Lap 50, forced the Lotus driver to pit due to a puncture.

The incident happened when Grosjean attempted to lap Stevens heading towards the final chicane. He passed the Manor but pulled back onto the racing line far too soon, causing his tire to touch the front wing of Stevens car.

Grosjean was hit with a 5 second time penalty by the race stewards. They ruled that he had "moved unnecessarily abruptly to the left thus causing a collision." Luckily, this had no affect on his final position.

After initially complaining over the team radio, the Frenchman admitted after the race that the incident was his fault.

"It can be difficult with traffic here and I was held up a few times even when there were blue flags," he said "I thought I was past the Manor, but it was soon clear that I wasn't. It was my fault entirely and I apologise for it. You never stop learning as a driver."

Stevens felt these situations could be avoided.

"We are told to stay on line and, the guy coming past, it's their job to get by cleanly. I had let a load of cars past in that position because it is the best place to do it. I was completely on the white line on the left and he tried to come across on the racing line when I was there. There was absolutely nowhere I could go. I don't know what more I could have done and the fact he got a penalty proves there was nothing I could do."

"Once they go in front of you and we lose all our downforce, then we lock fronts and we are close to hitting them. It is a situation that we felt would be a problem in the last few races and it needs to be talked about because it will keep happening, what happened today."

Grosjean's afternoon turned a little more sour when it was revealed that two penalty points would be added to his licence.

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Deja vu for Raikkonen

It was a case of deja vu for Kimi Raikkonen in Canada as he once again had a spin at the hairpin, which ultimately cost him a podium finish.

The Finn was carrying the flag for Ferrari and was running third behind the Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, but things changed after his pit stop.

He had a 360 degree spin at Turn 10 on his outlap and that allowed Valtteri Bottas to stay ahead of him after the Williams driver made his pit stop.

Raikkonen, who finished fourth in the end, was involved in a similar incident last year and he was left perplexed after the race.

"Not the result that we wanted," he is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com "No problems in practice, but on both outlaps there is something odd happening, it just gives a massive throttle release and you cannot control it. It's not ideal, but it is what it is.

"It's a very odd thing, because obviously we do practices and similar stuff. So far this year there's been no issues, so who knows?"

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Bottas: We really needed this

Williams have been given a real confidence boost with their podium finish in Canada, according to Valtteri Bottas.

Having picked up nine podiums during the 2014 campaign, the Grove squad found life a little difficult in the first six races of this season with Monaco proving to be particularly difficult as both Bottas and Felipe Massa left the Principality empty handed.

However, they turned things around in Montreal as Bottas qualified P4 and then made the most of Kimi Raikkonen's spin to take P3 behind the Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg while Massa finished P6.

"I'm really happy for us, really proud. It was a great effort, really good team work all weekend," Bottas said.

"A mistake by Kimi allowed us to make up one position and we also chased a plan with a strategy, which I thought was dynamic.

"I think we really needed this result. Like last year we see it really boosts the confidence. We are a top team and we can fight for the podiums. We really hope we can repeat this result."

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Vettel 'should've been smarter' in Alonso battle

Sebastian Vettel reckons he "should've been smarter" in his Canadian Grand Prix battle with Fernando Alonso, having stormed from 18th to fifth in the Montreal Formula 1 race.

Ferrari driver Vettel ended up on row nine of the grid following qualifying engine problems and a penalty for passing Roberto Merhi after a red flag in final practice.

One of the closest calls in Vettel's charge through the field came when he caught Alonso's McLaren for the second time following an out-of-sequence pitstop.

As they battled for 15th, Alonso's defence left Vettel scrabbling over the kerbs at the final chicane.

"With hindsight I should've been a bit smarter," said Vettel.

"Obviously Fernando was not giving one inch. He defended very well.

"It was close, I touched him with my front right wheel but fortunately nothing happened.

"Second time round I was a bit more clever and just benefited from a better exit because I gave him the dirty line under braking.

"So I had a better radius and more speed on the way out."

Alonso went backwards for much of the race before retiring when running 16th. He said fending off Vettel - albeit briefly - was the only highlight of his day.

"We were so slow compared to them so I tried to defend as much as I could," he said.

"It was one lap and a half but I really enjoyed it. He probably didn't but for me it was the best part."

Vettel also had an incident at the same spot with Nico Hulkenberg when fighting for fifth later on. The Force India spun as the Ferrari went around its outside into the corner.

"I was a lot quicker and I didn't really stress too much to prepare the overtaking," said Vettel.

"I was clearly ahead. Then I saw him opening the brakes into the first part of the chicane.

"And that's where I reacted and jumped the second part because if I'd stayed on the track we would just crash."

Although Hulkenberg expressed frustration with Vettel over team radio at the time, he was sanguine after the race.

"In hindsight I shouldn't have tried to defend so hard as I couldn't keep him behind the entire race," he said.

"But when you're a racer you don't just give up your position."

Vettel added that he was satisfied with the outcome of his race given his messy Saturday, but admitted there was room for improvement.

"I would've loved to have had a better opening lap, but there were just no gaps to dive into so I had to sort of wait and start to overtake cars over that," he said.

"We had a great car in the race and the pace just kept coming. As soon as we were in free air we could really progress."

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McLaren F1's Fernando Alonso felt he looked 'amateur'

Fernando Alonso believes he was made to look like "an amateur driver" during a Canadian Grand Prix weekend to forget for the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team.

Alonso appeared to let his frustration get the better of him when told over the radio after just 24 laps to save fuel, responding by saying: "I don't want! I don't want!"

The double world champion added: "Already I have big problems now. Driving with this, looking like an amateur. So I race and then I concentrate on fuel."

Alonso's woe was later compounded when he retired for the third consecutive race, the first time that has happened since his debut season with Minardi in 2001, with an exhaust problem.

Explaining his apparent rant, Alonso insisted there was "no frustration" adding: "It was just a disagreement on when to save fuel.

"Different parts of a race require different techniques of driving, so when you are in the middle of a battle, fuel is a low priority in that moment.

"You will have time later to focus on fuel. Let me race and then I'll save fuel later."

Given the lack of pace of the MP4-30 on a power-dependent circuit, there were occasions when Alonso could only defend for a short period before being passed, resulting in his "amateur" jibe.

"You are fighting and then you get to a group of cars where some people catch you and they are faster than you," he said.

"You look like an amateur driver and that's not good.

"We know we are not super-competitive, that we need to improve reliability.

"There are many things to do in our case. The weekend has provided us with some lessons to improve things. It was not easy here in Canada."

It was a weekend described by team-mate Jenson Button as "painful" given the catalogue of woe incurred by the Briton over the two days.

An ERS-related failure towards the end of final practice resulted in an engine change and the 2009 world champion sitting out qualifying for the second time in four races.

Starting from the back of the grid, Button was then handed a drivethrough penalty as Honda had to also change for the fifth time this year the MGU-H and turbocharger.

"It was a difficult day made worse by starting last," said Button, who ultimately retired with an exhaust issue unrelated to Alonso's.

"You get put out of sequence when the leaders keep lapping you, but the main problem was with fuel saving.

"Maybe some of it is efficiency, but it's something that is needing to be solved for the next one.

"But it was quite painful out there. It's fair to say it's been a bad season except Monaco."

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ROSBERG: I WAS PUSHING LIKE MAD BUT HE DIDN’T MAKE MISTAKES

After a run of two wins on the trot Nico Rosberg had to play second fiddle to his Mercedes teammate at the Canadian Grand Prix in the Canadian Grand Prix. Afterwards he reflected on his race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Ile Notre Dame in Montreal.

Great race, you were struggling with all sorts of things; the team was telling you to save brakes and save fuel sometimes. How close was it?

Nico Rosberg: Yeah, it was a good race against Lewis. I was pushing like mad to try to put the pressure on but he didn’t make any mistakes, so fair play. It was a challenging race, yeah, because we had to manage fuel, brakes, all these things, but it was the same for Lewis, the same for both of us. It was a good race. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it happen but second place is still OK.

Well, you say it’s still OK but it is another second place. You were coming off a couple of good races for you. Where have you been lacking this weekend do you feel?

NR: It was just that tiny bit I lost out qualifying in the end, because the race pace was there and just that qualifying position makes that big difference. That’s what I need to try and make happen the next time.

Tell us a little about the start. There was a lot of radio messages about the brakes. So maybe you could tell us a little bit more about the management you had to do there.

NR: Yeah. The start was good but not quite enough to somehow try and challenge Lewis. And also tight from Kimi behind and even Valtteri I think – I’m not sure. But anyways, it all went OK and second place after that. And then yeah, a very challenging race because of fuel saving – but that wasn’t so bad, more the brakes. And to adapt to the front brakes getting too hot. Adapting around that, changing brake balance, things like that. So that was the most challenging part – especially of course because I have Lewis in front, so I don’t have any clean air to cool the brakes – so for me it was even more of a challenge behind. But it worked out OK. I was still able to put the pressure on but not quite enough.

We heard you ask over the radio about Lewis’s fuel levels and were told that you couldn’t be told about that while Lewis was being told when he was able to lift and coast. Can both of you shed some light on how that strategy call worked from the garage?

NR: Yeah, I can just say my part because I wasn’t to know if Lewis would run into trouble at the end of the race or not because that could help me judge how much fuel I would need to save at that point in time and when I should try and put the pressure on but unfortunately that’s been banned, to give that information, so I wasn’t able to get that, which is a pity, because it would have helped me judge, maybe put on a better attack if I had that information but it’s the way it is, it’s what they decided to do so OK.

Ferrari was using a new engine here as they had used a few tokens and you haven’t done that. There were a lot of questions whether they could get closer to you and we have seen that Mercedes still has a big gap. Does it make you even more relaxed that the fight for the championship is just between you two?

NR: Well, great to see how we’re continuing to push on with the development and everything. Even though Ferrari is throwing everything at it we seem to be keeping our advantage so that’s really great to see and a fantastic job from the team.

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McLaren F1 team to add resources to Honda engine programme

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has called on Honda to utilise the might of his team's resources if the two companies are to again become a force in Formula 1.

McLaren racing director Boullier was left to reflect on a difficult Canadian Grand Prix weekend littered with failures, culminating in the second double retirement of a tough season for the new partnership.

Boullier, though, has suggested there is a route available to McLaren and Honda to accelerate the rate of development and potentially fire the team up the grid quicker.

"We [McLaren] keep talking about issues, and obviously we hope to be listened to more [by Honda]," said Boullier.

"They do listen. We have discussions every day. I don't want to go into anything in public.

"There is some way to improve faster and we should go that path.

"Of course, it is easy to blame the partner, but as a partner we also have to be supportive. We need to help them to accelerate this recovery time.

"To be fair, they decided to join Formula 1 two years ago and it is not easy to be here and win.

"We just need to make sure we are properly equipped to do it."

As to the help McLaren could provide Honda, Boullier said: "In terms of timing, when you want to catch up you basically have to put more resources on the programme.

"If you want to do it short-term you need to bring more experienced resources.

"We have some software, IT, whatever it is, we have this experience at home, so McLaren can actually offer Honda support in this domain to help them shift resources."

Aware of how Red Bull and Renault have pointed accusing fingers in public given the latter's difficulties since the introduction of the new power unit, Boullier is determined not to follow a similar path.

"It's important Honda recover," he said. "I guess it's not embarrassing now because they are new into the program, but it's a question of how fast they will recover.

"It is hard not to blame. It is a management exercise, and we don't want to be like Renault and Red Bull - fighting in the media. There is no sense in that.

"There is a proper reason why we moved to Honda, and we are happy with the move, even if it is frustrating now.

"You need to keep people regularly informed. Yes, it's painful, yes it's maybe embarrassing, but this is Formula 1 where the technology is huge and complex."

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FERRARI MAKE A STEP FORWARD DESPITE MONTREAL SETBACKS

Ferrari failed to finish on the Formula One podium for the first time this season in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix but still found positives in the performance.

Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said it was clear an engine upgrade had delivered even if champions Mercedes dominated the race.

“If you look at the pace of Seb (Vettel) during the race, it’s quite clear we were there,” he told reporters. “So I think in terms of performance it’s fine. But when you get points but not the podium you cannot say you are satisfied.”

Arrivabene said the upgrade had given the team “the positive answer that we were asking for” but circumstances had not allowed the sport’s oldest and most successful team to make the most of it at a circuit that rewards engine power.

“It’s a long way to go. We need to recognise that at the moment they (Mercedes) are stronger than us without thinking that we closed the gap so we can beat them every race,” added the Italian. “This is not realistic. But the answer that we got during this weekend, especially with the race of Seb, was quite good.”

Ferrari remain comfortably second in the constructors’ standings with 180 points to Mercedes’s 285. Mercedes-powered Williams are third on 104.

Vettel, a four times world champion with Red Bull, finished fifth after starting in 18th place because of power unit problems in qualifying and a five place penalty incurred for overtaking while red flags were waved in practice.

Kimi Raikkonen, who ended up fourth after starting third, finished 45.6 seconds adrift of winner and world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel did well in fighting through back marker traffic and past Mercedes-powered rivals Force India and Lotus but Raikkonen hurt his chances with a spin that forced a change of strategy from one stop to two. The Finn still set the fastest lap, however.

Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff, whose drivers finished one-two for the fourth time in seven races this season, said the setbacks had masked the gains Ferrari had made and warned against complacency.

“I think we must not under-estimate the (engine) upgrade they have brought because we have seen a very strong pace on the Friday,” said the Austrian.

“My assumption is that we haven’t seen the best of Ferrari. So let’s not under-estimate them. I think that they will bounce back strong in Austria (next week).”

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RENAULT MAY QUIT F1 WARNS HORNER

Renault could quit Formula 1 if they are not allowed to develop their engines during the course of next season, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned.

The French manufacturer, partners to Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso, has been lagging champions Mercedes and Ferrari since the complex new V6 turbo hybrid power units were introduced in 2014.

In-season development, through a complicated system of ‘tokens’, has been allowed this year but the 2016 regulations in their current form put an end to that unless there is unanimous agreement to relax them.

Horner told reporters at the Canadian Grand Prix that dominant champions Mercedes should think of the bigger picture before resisting change.

“The situation is we are at a precarious point in terms of Renault’s commitment to the future,” the Briton said. “If you are effectively shutting that down (the engine development) in February, you are almost waving goodbye to them (Renault).

“So (Mercedes) need to have a bit of a grown-up think about it. And the FIA as well to say what is in the best interests of F1. If F1 can afford to lose an engine manufacturer, then stick to 28 February”

Horner said a development freeze would be the worst thing for Renault, who have said they are assessing all their options in the sport.

The manufacturer has a contract with Red Bull through 2016 but has not ruled out quitting or taking a greater involvement in a team.

The sport has only four engine makers, with McLaren’s partner Honda struggling even more than Renault and equally keen on constant development.

Red Bull, who won four successive drivers’ and constructors’ titles until Mercedes swept both last year, have also suggested they could be forced out if they do not have a competitive engine.

“We are looking at a lot of options, including getting out of Formula One,” Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul said in March.

However, he told Reuters last month that the company, who championed the V6 engines before their introduction, had a long-term plan.

“Our plans right now are to stick with what we are. We are an engine supplier and we have to do a better job on the technical side,” said the Frenchman. “We have had our difficulties, that’s what we need to focus on.”

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ALONSO: I DON’T WANT, I DON’T WANT!

Fernando Alonso warned McLaren they were making him look like an amateur after another dismal afternoon of racing, this time at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

After being told over the car radio by his race engineer to save fuel after just 24 of the 70 scheduled laps, the Spaniard expressed his dismay by exclaiming: “I don’t want, I don’t want!”

“We’re going to have big problems later if we don’t,” the double world champion was informed in return.

“Already I have big problems now. Driving with this, looking like amateur. So I race and then I concentrate on the fuel,” Alonso replied.

The Spaniard, who left Ferrari at the end of 2014, has yet to score a point in seven races this season as McLaren struggles to get to grips with a misfiring Honda power unit.

Neither he nor team mate Jenson Button finished Sunday’s race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with both retiring with exhaust problems.

The retirement was Alonso’s third in a row, something he has not suffered since he raced for now-defunct Minardi back in his 2001 debut season.

Button had started last, with an additional drive-through penalty, after engine problems prevented him from taking part in qualifying.

While Button showed his frustration after last month’s Spanish Grand Prix, but then finished eighth in Monaco, Alonso has been resolutely on-message so far despite his passionate reputation.

Alonso later explained that it had been just a simple disagreement, “You are fighting and then you get to a group of cars where some people catch you and they are faster than you. You look like an amateur driver and that’s not good.”

“We know we are not super-competitive, that we need to improve reliability. There are many things to do in our case. The weekend has provided us with some lessons to improve things. It was not easy here in Canada.”

Racing director Eric Boullier played down the remarks, “I saw him after the race and he was okay.”

“It is easy to understand, you want to race and you have to save tyres and fuel and then you go into another territory. The more you save, the less you charge the batteries so then you have a problem, then your tyres cool down and it is a mess.”

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HELMUT MARKO BLAMES STATE OF F1 FOR LACK OF INTEREST IN AUSTRIAN GP

Red Bull is struggling to fill the grandstands ahead of its second race as a Formula 1 race promoter,and they are blaming the state of the sport for the decline in interest.

Last year, the energy drink company achieved a full house of 95,000 spectators for race day at the Austrian grand prix.

But the local news agency APA says only 60-70,000 spectators are expected at the Red Bull Ring next weekend.

Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko is in no doubt as to the reason, “It is the overall situation in formula one (to blame). We have this incredible dominance of Mercedes which has taken away the tension.”

Marko said the current generation of cars is also not “spectacular” or “loud” enough, with F1 officials now regularly meeting to discuss how to make the cars faster for 2017.

But Austrian Marko insisted: “Everyone is talking too much and doing too little. Everyone thinks more about how to get his own advantage than what is really good for the sport.”

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FORCE INDIA B-CAR PASSES FIA CRASH TESTS

Force India is on track to roll out its highly-anticipated B-car during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.

Following winter delays, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez have struggled to hide their frustration so far in 2015 as they race with the VJM08.

“Definitely impatient,” German Hulkenberg answered in Canada when asked to sum up his mood ahead of the seventh round of the season.

Even the road to getting the ‘B’ car has been bumpy, as it emerged recently that the crucial ‘short nose’ for the new package had failed the FIA crash test.

But deputy boss Bob Fernley said in Montreal: “We passed all the crash test requirements this week.

“We failed the first one, got through the second one and we’re on target to try it (the car) out at the test,” he is quoted by the Daily Mail.

He is referring to the post-Austrian grand prix test at the Red Bull Ring, after which the team will push to have two ‘B’ machines up and running to race at Silverstone.

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PIRELLI ON POLE TO WIN 2017 F1 CONTRACT

The likelihood Michelin will enter the race to become Formula 1’s 2017 tyre supplier – alongside or instead of Pirelli is apparently dwindling by the day.

The French company announced its interest recently, just as the FIA kicked off a new tender process for the sole tyre supplier contract for 2017-2019.

Pirelli, F1’s official partner since 2011, has already announced it will lodge its application by the deadline.

“On June 17, our offer (application) will be delivered,” said chairman and chief executive Marco Tronchetti Provera last week.

But when asked about Michelin’s apparent interest, he added: “On the 17th, we will see who is there.”

Michelin has reportedly now dropped its condition that a ‘tyre war’ must be reinstated in F1, but the company – whose relationship with F1 and the FIA soured dramatically as it left the sport in 2006 – does want some key changes.

One of them is the move from traditional 13-inch wheel rims to the more modern 18 or 19 inch, and even Pirelli has been toying with that possibility as well.

But suddenly in Canada, teams were revealing that F1 wheels will probably stay at 13 inches for 2017 and beyond.

“As (Mercedes’) Paddy (Lowe) said, the rim diameter is going to stay where it is but the width of the tyre is probably still up for grabs,” said Ferrari technical director James Allison.

The Speed Week publication claims a strong element of politics has crept into the issue, with neither Bernie Ecclestone – who openly wants Pirelli to stay – nor the FIA happy that Michelin tried to dictate the terms of its potential return.

The 13-inch issue, therefore, appears to be a major victory for Pirelli.

“I can only say that the words of Paddy and James reflect what is being discussed in the Strategy Group. But we remain open to everything,” Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s F1 chief, said diplomatically.

And now, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he is more than happy with Pirelli.

“We are very pleased with Pirelli,” he told the French-language Montreal newspaper La Presse.

“They do a great job. Every time they were asked for something, they delivered.

“Personally, I think if we can continue with Pirelli, that will be good,” Wolff added.

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TOTAL REPORTEDLY INVOLVED IN RENAULT’S LOTUS BUYOUT

More details of Renault’s apparent interest in buying back the Enstone based team known currently as Lotus are now emerging.

It has been rumoured for some time that, having sold the outfit to Gerard Lopez’s Genii company at the end of 2009, the French carmaker now wants to ramp its F1 profile back up with a return to full works status.

Lotus chief executive Matthew Carter played down the speculation in Canada, “The last information I heard (in the media) was that we were going to be sold by the end of May but we’re still here and we’re still the same team. That’s as much as I can say.”

The end-of-May story was about a supposed self-imposed deadline for the conclusion of talks between Lotus and Renault, who have reportedly also looked into buying other F1 teams.

But Marca is sure that Renault’s plans to buy back Lotus in time for the 2017 season remain on track.

The report said a new company has already been formed to find investors, featuring Renault’s traditional oil partner Total, and that an announcement could be looming as soon as the British grand prix early next month.

Lotus’ Carter said in Montreal: “I continue to say the same thing — the shareholders have told me that the company isn’t for sale.”

“I think I’ve said in the press before that everything is sale for a certain price. I continue to reiterate that we signed a long-term (engine) contract with Mercedes-Benz and as far as we’re concerned we just continue down that route,” he added.

[MIKA27]

Refuelling should return says Ferrari chairman

Despite many other teams not sharing his sentiments, Ferrari chairman, Sergio Marchionne would like refuelling to return to F1.

A meeting between FIA race director Charlie Whiting and team managers took place at the Canadian Grand Prix, with teams expressing reservations and concerns about the return of refuelling. These reservations include cost and safety factors. Teams also argue that there has been more overtaking in the sport since refuelling ended in 2009.

Marchionne, however, believes refuelling is something that will increase the spectacle of the sport.

"If the findings are such it provides zero additional spectacle value, in the sense of creating something the fans want, then I think we should stay away. I haven't seen the evidence."

Marchionne feels if refuelling might only work if combined with other possible ideas and the answer might lie with tire suppliers, Pirelli.

"Refuelling by itself has no value other than the fact it adds variability to the race. Fuel loads, how many times you refuel, when you refuel, they are all things that are important."

"Especially if you combine that with a higher degree of freedom on the choice of tyres, which is I think is probably a lot more important than the refuelling strategy. So I think there is a willingness on behalf of Pirelli to provide that flexibility to the teams which will create additional variability and will make the sport interesting to watch. It is not just a question of the quality of the drivers. It is the combination of the technical choices the team make and the way in which they drive." he added.

The concerns of the various team managers will now be taken back to the F1 Strategy Group where a final decision on refuelling will be taken.

[MIKA27]

Brakes were a serious problem for Rosberg - Wolff

Mercedes considered halting Nico Rosberg in his chase of the Canadian Grand Prix victory due to brake issues which could have ended his race.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of the heaviest on brakes on the F1 calendar, with Lewis Hamilton retiring from the 2014 race due to a failure of his rear-brakes.

Toto Wolff admitted that the German marque was concerned that the same problems could reoccur on Sunday which led to a fine balance in race management.

"It is a circuit which is very heavy on the brakes, and it is a fine line between not interfering in the racing between the two drivers and on the other side trying to make sure the car survives," said Wolff.

"At a certain stage we had more than a 30-second gap to [Valtteri] Bottas, but we had high brake temperatures and were a bit marginal on fuel [so we had to back off]."

Similarly to Hamilton in 2014, Rosberg suffered from high brake temperatures chasing down the leader, leading to calls for the German to lift and coast to help cool them, or face a possible failure.

"After the first third of the race Nico's brakes were in danger - very, very high temperatures," added Wolff.

"There was a very clear message we passed onto him to look after them.

"For us, the brakes were a bigger problem than the fuel."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton can equal 45-year-old record at next race

Lewis Hamilton could equal a record which has stood for 45 years at the next round of the championship.

Hamilton’s victory in Canada means he has now led 16 races in a row, beginning with the Hungarian Grand Prix last year. He needs one more to match the record of 17 set by Jackie Stewart between the 1968 United States and 1970 Belgian Grands Prix.

The championship leader led all bar one of the 70 laps at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. His career total now stands at 2,143, moving him ahead of Nigel Mansell. Only four drivers have led more laps: Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel.

Along with his 37th win Hamilton took his 44th career pole position – appropriately for the driver of car number 44 – which moved him within one of the driver in third place on the all-time record list. That is Sebastian Vettel, who with 45 pole positions has the most of any driver currently competing.

Hamilton also equalled Vettel’s best run of consecutive front row starts with his 14th. But he needs to keep going for ten more races to equal the record set by Ayrton Senna. That would take Hamilton until the Mexican Grand Prix in November.

Hamilton’s victory gave Mercedes their first win in Canada and their 35th win in total. That puts them level with Renault and Brabham in sixth place on the all-time winners’ list. Second place for Nico Rosberg gave Mercedes their 20 one-two finish.

Third on the grid for Kimi Raikkonen was his best in over two years, when he was second for Lotus at Shanghai in 2013. Lotus also had their best two-car qualifying performance since 2013 – fifth and sixth the highest they’ve seen since Hungary that year. For Pastor Maldonado, sixth was his best since he lined up third at Abu Dhabi in 2012.

Raikkonen also out-qualified Vettel for the first time this year. Roberto Merhi did the same to Will Stevens, which means there are no drivers on the grid who haven’t out-qualified their team mate at least once this year.

In the race, Raikkonen set the fastest lap for the 42nd time in his career. That puts him on his own in second place on the all-time ranking, with one more than Prost and needing 25 more to catch Schumacher.

Valtteri Bottas became the first driver not in a Mercedes or a Ferrari to finish on the podium this year. And Pastor Maldonado scored his first points of the second, leaving only the Manor drivers and Fernando Alonso yet to score.

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen says engine mappings caused spin

Kimi Raikkonen has said that a problem with engine mapping settings was to blame for the spin in the Canadian Grand Prix that cost him a podium finish.

The Finn had been Mercedes' main challenger in the early stages of the Montreal race, but lost third place to Valtteri Bottas when he spun at the hairpin after his first pitstop.

Following a post-race investigation, Ferrari discovered that the issue was related to an overly aggressive engine mapping setting with caught Raikkonen out as he hit the throttle.

"We probably should have been more smart about it and been able to avoid it," he said. "On our map was something that is on the edge.

"You move the pedal a little bit and you get a massive difference on the torque, and there is no way I could control it any more.

"It happened last year but it was a slightly different thing here - but with the same ending. It is a stupid thing, but it happens.

"So we have to learn from it and obviously it hurt us in the race. We wanted more but it is what it is."

Ferrari wanted more

Although Ferrari still managed to take home valuable points on the back of a weekend where things did not click, Raikkonen admits that his outfit was eager for more.

"It was not the nicest weekend for us, but we still came home with fourth and fifth place, so it was not a disaster.

"But we are looking for better results and that is what we are aiming for. It is disappointing where we finished, but we have to keep working and improving."

[MIKA27]

I Am... Valtteri Bottas

Celebrating Valtteri Bottas' first podium of the 2015 season at the Canadian Grand Prix. This is how he does it...

[MIKA27]

“THERE ARE NO EXCUSES”: WHY FERRARI BOSS IS ANGRY AFTER WEEKEND OF OWN GOALS

Armed with an upgraded power unit and other chassis developments, Ferrari went to the Canadian Grand Prix with a lot of optimism. In the end a series of own-goals thwarted them on a weekend when their Canadian president Sergio Marchionne came to the track for the first time to see his team challenge. In the end team boss Maurizio Arrivabene was livid when their run of podiums at every race was broken. “There are no excuses,” he raged.

So how did it unravel for the Scuderia?

Ferrari headed to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last week hopeful that the three power unit development tokens it cashed in, plus revised fuel from Shell and chassis modifications would help them take the fight to the silver arrows. With Marchionne choosing his ‘home’ race for a first Grand Prix visit since taking the helm, the timing looked perfect.

Friday practice pace looked encouraging with long run pace on both soft and super soft Pirellis that compared favourably to Mercedes but it proved to be a false dawn and at the end of a weekend when they spiralled out of contention the suspicion remains that they were carrying significantly less fuel on Friday than the championship leaders.

Things started to go wrong on Saturday when electronic issues related to the ERS sapped Sebastian Vettel’s engine of power, his 16th fastest time converted to 18th on the grid after the stewards penalised him for passing under red flags.

Still, Kimi Raikkonen’s third on the grid was his best since China two years ago giving cause for sustained optimism and Vettel at least knew that Montreal offers more opportunities for overtaking than most tracks.

A podium finish was the minimum expectation as the lights went out but even that was lost when Raikkonen spun at the hairpin just after his pit stop having controlling the gap to fourth placed Valtteri Bottas throughout the stint. A problem with the differential setting was tyne likely culprit, but Ferrari also had some problems warming up the soft tyres in the colder than expected conditions on race day.

Raikkonen was quick to point out that “the energy store kicked in, the same as last year,” a claim his team did not rule out.

“My spin is exactly the same story of last year, I had no problem in any of the sessions during the weekend, but for some reason today in both the out laps something odd happened with the throttle, and I could not control it .

“It’s a very unfortunate thing. Then we tried to recover from that but we found ourselves on different tactics than the Williams.

Overall we had a pretty good weekend, we definitely improved in certain areas but of course this is not the result that I was expecting this morning. We’ll keep on working and improving things.”

Arrivabene was not in conciliatory mood, with his boss breathing down his neck for the first time trackside, “I expected him not only to hold his position on the podium but also to move forward. This is not good. There are no excuses; a podium has been thrown away,” said the former marketing man, turned team boss.

“It wasn’t Kimi’s best day,” was the comment of Marchionne to the Italian media as he left the circuit. “Sebastian was exceptional and the car has shown reasonable progress.”

The Canadian added that Ferrari will have something special at Monza, presumably a super engine using up the remaining development tokens. Incidentally, Marchionne said that he had told Bernie Ecclestone that F1 had to continue to go to Monza, which is under threat. “I told him I hope there is not a future without Monza. It is almost indispensable. We must avoid a catastrophe.”

Back to the events of Montreal; by the time of Raikkonen’s spin on lap 26, Lewis Hamilton was already more than ten seconds ahead and Ferrari were no longer a factor despite Vettel’s hard charging performance.

The four-time world champion made up 13 places to finish just under five seconds behind his team mate who had the scant consolation of a dominant fastest lap acquired after a second stop when the race was already settled in Mercedes’ favour. The strategy was bold and effective; he pitted on Lap 7 to get off the supersofts and aimed for the gap that was opening up between Bottas in fourth place and Grsjean in fifth. With an aggressive two stopper and some aggressive driving, he made it.

For Vettel there is a sense of ‘what might have been’. Delays behind Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Massa followed by a slow pit stop added to a hectic day at the office and by the end of the day he was ruing his qualifying day problems.

His race pace when in clean air was similar to the leading Mercedes and, as Lewis Hamilton observed, “Sebastian wasn’t there and obviously Sebastian has generally been the quicker of the two so far this season so we didn’t really get to see Ferrari’s true pace this weekend, I think, and in the next race we will.”

Vettel enjoyed his Sunday far more than his Saturday, which had been best summed up by the “beep” on the team radio broadcast, censuring his views on not getting out of Q1.

“It was an entertaining race and I had a good recovery, but obviously there was not much more we could have done,” Vettel said.

“In the opening laps I was not very happy with myself, I was very aggressive but I could not find the gaps, I wanted to go crazy but there was no room, so I had to be patient and it’s a shame because these are the moments when if you are lucky you can gain easlily five, six , seven or eight seconds in total race time.

“It did not happen so we had to fight back afterwards, but the pace was good, I felt happy in the car and especially toward the end the speed kept coming. I lost time at the first pit-stop and I am not sure it was totally on me, something went wrong at the back of the car, but the guys have done a super job so far and they shouldn’t be blamed if sometimes things go a bit slower.

“About the move on Hulkenberg, I noticed that I was already ahead of him on the outside, and I think he braked too late and could not make the corner. We did our best today and I am quite content with 5th, but it’s a bit of a shame because around here there is a very nice podium and without the penalty I think we could have had a shot at it.”

His team boss Maurizio Arrivabene was less sanguine about the difficulties of the weekend, chastising his team for not at least salvaging a podium from the experience.

“If we look at the race pace, it was good, but a lot of circumstances occurred which prevented us from getting a better result. Sebastian drove a great race, making up thirteen places from the grid position. The upgraded engine gave us a positive feedback, but the weekend just wasn’t a good one.

“As for Kimi, he was scheduled for a one-stop race, then we switched to two tyre changes when he fell behind Bottas. His spin at the hairpin is something we haven’t fully understood yet, it may be a case of contributory negligence as he said the same thing happened last year.

“It would be wrong to blame either him or the team in any case. He was pushing hard, too, but some issues slowed him down at some stages in the race.

“We must remain humble and try not to let the podium slip off from under our feet as it happened this time. We’re still the second strongest team, but we must look ahead instead of behind us.”

[LLC]

HELMUT MARKO BLAMES STATE OF F1 FOR LACK OF INTEREST IN AUSTRIAN GP

Red Bull is struggling to fill the grandstands ahead of its second race as a Formula 1 race promoter,and they are blaming the state of the sport for the decline in interest.

Last year, the energy drink company achieved a full house of 95,000 spectators for race day at the Austrian grand prix.

But the local news agency APA says only 60-70,000 spectators are expected at the Red Bull Ring next weekend.

Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko is in no doubt as to the reason, “It is the overall situation in formula one (to blame). We have this incredible dominance of Mercedes which has taken away the tension.”

Marko said the current generation of cars is also not “spectacular” or “loud” enough, with F1 officials now regularly meeting to discuss how to make the cars faster for 2017.

But Austrian Marko insisted: “Everyone is talking too much and doing too little. Everyone thinks more about how to get his own advantage than what is really good for the sport.”

The state of the sport did not seem to affect attendance in Canada and Red Bull didn't seem to think it was a problem when they were dominating.

I don't remember a team whine more than these guys. Take your ball and go home already.

[MIKA27]

The state of the sport did not seem to affect attendance in Canada and Red Bull didn't seem to think it was a problem when they were dominating.

I don't remember a team whine more than these guys. Take your ball and go home already.

Always, always, always RBR where there is a complaint.

[Orion21]

When the head of F1 says that more people need to be like Lewis Hamilton and hang out with the likes of the Karashian's to improve the popularity of the sport there is something seriously wrong . . .

"Realistically the fight is between the pair of them, with Mercedes still enjoying a significant advantage over the rest of the field. But it is one made all the more interesting by their starkly contrasting characters. Recently Bernie Ecclestone emphasised this when in conversation with Rosberg.

“When it comes to F1 I am a huge Lewis fan because he is a super promoter of the sport. From a pure business aspect – sorry, Nico, if I have to say this – you are not so good for my business,” he said. “I still believe that Lewis is the best champion that we have had in a long, long time. He manages to get to all different walks of life: red carpet, fashion, business, and music – you name it. That is not your [Nico’s] fault or his. You two are just very different characters.”

As the sport’s promoter, it is hardly surprising Ecclestone is in favour of the attention Hamilton’s lifestyle brings to Formula One. But he also has a point, amply demonstrated by Rosberg’s level-headed response. “He wants some movement out there, and Lewis does a lot of that in his own way,” he said. “I’m a bit more reserved in that sense, so it is not something that surprised me.”"