Grand Prix du Canada '16

[J.Clark]

I have always liked this race and this circuit - been there a few times.  I always got seats at the hairpin (exit side is better).

Canada has been part of the Formula 1 championship since 1967, but not always in Montreal.  I was also run in Bowmanville, Ontario and in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.  The venue became Île Notre-Dame in Montreal and following the passing of the famed Gilles Villeneuve, the circuit added his name to the title.

It is on an island.  It is technically a street circuit in the same way as the Australian Grand Prix - a park.  The race is 70 times around the 2.7 mile, 14 turn track.  It is generally a very high speed circuit with a long straight leading up to the final two turns, a chicane leading on to the start/finish straight as it passes the "Wall of Champions" - at the exit of turn 14 that has collected nearly every driver who has been a world champion, and several who have not.



There have been some very exciting races and some very curious incidents.
Hamilton rear-ended Kimi in the pit out: 

Kubica crashed coming to the hairpin (happened right in front of me): 

Perez v Massa in an attempt by Perez to hold the inevitable at bey: 

There are others, and I invite you all to post clips of some of them.

Mercedes should have concerns since they seem to continue to have brake issues and brake issues took Hamilton out of this race once and cost Rosberg; although, he did finish.

This could be a circuit which once again favors the slippery Williams cars.

Ferrari verses Red Bull should be quite a show here.  Both Red Bulls will have the upgraded Renault power unit, which as Ricciardo clearly demonstrated in Monaco, is a huge leap forward.  Vettel has suffered a run of bad luck with reliability issues and Kimi too in some measure, but the Ferrari has been better it seems at high speed circuits.

Williams, Force India, McLaren, Scudaria Torro Roso, and Haas will no doubt be putting on some good racing in the middle, each of which has a real shot at points finishes.  Williams and McLaren are two teams that could surprise at this circuit with a podium if either Merc drivers experience a problem.

The lap record belongs to Barrichello at 1:13.622 in a Ferrari, back in 2004.
I will not be surprised, given the increased performance in this season's cars, to see that record fall.
The most wins by a driver goes to Michael with 7, but of current drivers on the grid, Lewis has 4.  Other winners on the 2016 grid are: Ricciardo, Vettel, Button, Alonso, and Raikkonen. 

Most wins by a constructor goes to Ferrari at 13.

Tire selections for Canada -

[Steve A.]

Looking forward to Canada one of my favourites as well. I remember the Hamilton and Kubica crashes well, Hamilton's gave me a smile but I was amazed that Kubica walked away from his, that was truly spectacular.

[J.Clark]

Kubica's feet were sort of dangling out of the end of the front where the very end of the monocock was broken off.

[cosworth151]

I was at Indy the week after Kubica shunt. The medical delegate wouldn't let him race due to the possibility of a concussion. (A wise precaution IMO). They replaced him with some young German kid named Vettel. It was his first F1 start.

[Andy B]

I was in Stand 11 last year and if ever going again that's where I would want to be a great seat with views all along the pit straight and the people around me who had been going for the last 20 years were very welcoming.
Could be a wet one this year?

[F1fanaticBD]

It left me quite disappointed when they altered the chicane leading to Wall of Champion, specially adding some run off area, it totally takes away the challenge of getting the turn perfected by the driver, other than that it is a brilliant track, with brilliant racing on the cards. It has given us some unforgettable races, some unforgettable moments and a hint of what to come in the future.

[Scott]

http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/video/2016/6/Your_guide_to_the_Canadian_Grand_Prix.html

[J.Clark]

There are hints of some of the upgrades we will see tomorrow.
Williams is bring new aeros.
Ferrari is upgrading their turbo.
Honda says a "new" turbo.

Williams should show better in Montreal anyway, as their car is truly fast at circuits with long, high speed, straights.

Ferrari is not giving up and is still developing their package and that is good to see.

McLaren's Honda has been showing some promise so this new turbo, if it doesn't blow up, should be a boost and Alonso and Button should be able to continue the upward movement.

[cosworth151]

And, best of all, those of us on this side of the pond will be able to watch FP1, 2 & 3, Quali & the race without having to get up at stupid o'clock in the morning!        

[Jericoke]

And, best of all, those of us on this side of the pond will be able to watch FP1, 2 & 3, Quali & the race without having to get up at stupid o'clock in the morning!        

Yeah, instead it comes smack dab in the middle of when I'm doing stuff with my family.

My favourite part of F1 is having a quiet house to myself in the morning lol

[J.Clark]

A good friend just sent me this in an email. 

PIRELLI CANADA GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Round 7 of 21

Montreal, 9-12 June 2016
 
Milan, June 6, 2016 – Just two weeks after the debut of the new P Zero Purple ultrasoft tire in Monaco, it appears again as part of exactly the same nomination for Canada: soft, supersoft and ultrasoft. Canada however will present a number of different challenges to Monaco, with notably higher speeds and higher loads that generate more temperature and put increased energy through the tires.
 
THE CIRCUIT FROM A TIRE POINT OF VIEW:
Like Monaco, Canada is a low-grip circuit with a high degree of weekend track evolution.
The cars reach speeds in excess of 300kph, meaning that they tend to run low downforce.
The track is also famous for high kerbs, which provide the tire structure with a big challenge.
Weather conditions are variable: a factor that has led to a number of safety cars in the past.
The hallmarks of Canada are acceleration and braking: longitudinal rather than lateral forces.
Montreal is a semi-permanent facility, so track surfaces (and grip) can vary during the lap.
 
THE THREE NOMINATED COMPOUNDS:
Yellow soft: the hardest compound in the selection, poised to play an important role in the race.
Red supersoft: two teams have interestingly chosen not to nominate this compound at all.
Purple ultrasoft: very popular on its Monaco debut and chosen extensively in Canada.
 
HOW IT WAS A YEAR AGO:
Winner: Hamilton (one stop: started on supersoft, changed to soft on lap 32 of 70).
Best-placed alternative strategy: Raikkonen, fourth with two stops. Started and finished the race with the supersoft tires but did his middle stint on the soft tire.
The top-three finishers all used a one-stop strategy, stopping within three laps of each other.
 
PAUL HEMBERY, PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR:
“In Canada there’s the potential for some quite mixed weather conditions, as we also saw in Monaco, so this could make it a very complex race as has often been the case in the past. The compounds that we have nominated mean that there is plenty of scope for strategy, on a circuit where it’s definitely possible to overtake on the track as well. The ultrasoft made its mark when it first appeared in Monaco but Canada is a very different type of circuit with more demands on tires. This could lead to a number of different tactics coming into play, as evidenced from the tire choices made by each team prior to the race.”
 
WHAT’S NEW?
The new wider 2017 Pirelli F1 tires were revealed in Monaco, attracting plenty of comment.
A new pit and paddock complex is planned for next year, so this will be the final time we see the ‘traditional’ Montreal paddock, which is cramped but full of atmosphere.
 
OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE CAUGHT OUR EYE RECENTLY:
There have been some very varied tire choices for Canada, with no supersofts for Renault and Haas. Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull have all made slightly different choices to each other.
 
TIRES NOMINATED SO FAR:
 
Purple
Red
Yellow
White
Orange
Australia
 
Supersoft
Soft
Medium
 
Bahrain
 
Supersoft
Soft
Medium
 
China
 
Supersoft
Soft
Medium
 
Russia
 
Supersoft
Soft
Medium
 
Spain
 
 
Soft
Medium
Hard
Monaco
Ultrasoft
Supersoft
Soft
 
 
Canada
Ultrasoft
Supersoft
Soft
 
 
Azerbaijan
 
Supersoft
Soft
Medium
 
Austria
Ultrasoft
Supersoft
Soft
 
 
Great Britain
 
 
Soft
Medium
Hard
Hungary
 
Supersoft
Soft
Medium
 
Singapore
Ultrasoft
Supersoft
Soft
 
 
 

[cosworth151]

Massa had a heavy shunt in Turn 1 during FP1, bringing out the red flag:

http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/video/2016/6/FP1__Massa_backs_it_into_the_Turn_1_barriers.html

Williams later tweeted:

#FP1 DRS didn't fully close causing @MassaFelipe19 to lose the rear wing under braking. Team investigating and working to fix car for #FP2
    — WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) June 10, 2016

[cosworth151]

Hamilton was at the top of the field in FP1. It's worth noting that he set his time on reds while Nico's time was on purples.

1   HAM   1:14.755
2   ROS   +0.331
3   VET   +0.488
4   VES   +0.798
5   RAI   +0.863
6   BOT   +1.546
7   HUL   +1.709
8   SAI   +1.788
9   PER   +1.822
10   ALO   +1.908
11   RIC   +1.979
12   BUT   +2.033
13   GRO   +2.253
14   MAS   +2.310
15   KVY   +2.555
16   GUT   +2.564
17   NAS   +3.100
18   HAR   +3.348
19   ERI   +3.374
20   MAG   +3.654
21   WEH   +3.698
22   PAL   +3.828

Button had problems with his Honda engine again. He left the pits with smoke pouring from the exhausts. He radioed in, "It's like we're stuck on a temperature limiter." His engineer radioed back that he should box immediately and that Honda knew what the issue was.

[cosworth151]

Lewis on top in FP2:

1   HAM   1:14.212
2   VET   +0.257
3   ROS   +0.526
4   VES   +0.944
5   RIC   +0.956
6   BOT   +1.001
7   BUT   +1.001
8   RAI   +1.022
9   HUL   +1.109
10   SAI   +1.198
11   ALO   +1.238
12   PER   +1.281
13   MAS   +1.301
14   KVY   +1.347
15   GRO   +1.881
16   MAG   +2.043
17   NAS   +2.370
18   GUT   +2.379
19   ERI   +2.690
20   PAL   +2.789
21   WEH   +2.811
22   HAR   +3.211

[J.Clark]

  Mercs set that time on the soft tires I think.
Nearly everyone else put a lot of laps on the ultras.