both Ferraris are running pretty heavy. 1. FA 2. GF 3. Kimi 4. Trulli 5. MS 6. Nico 7. JPM 8. JB 9. Rubens 10. Massa i just hope MS gets a jump at trulli tomoro, or else, he'll be stuck behind the train..
Running heavy? I think it's pretty safe to say the Ferraris aren't on pace because they're just not that good and there are also some new aero regs put in starting in this race.
They are running heavy. They are almost a second slower than practice and the second qualifying session, and during the Wurz interview he said that the Bridgestones worked better over long stretches than Michelins and he thought that would be Ferrari's strategy. I do think the aero changes affected them, but I would bet Remy Zero is correct and Ferrari is on a 1-stop strategy (witness Schumaker's times in session 3...they were faster than everyone until the last 5 minutes suggesting he was burning fuel). Ferrari is hoping for a Monaco repeat, but from the front half of the grid this time.
the new regs have nothing to do with it. the speed are still 6+kmph faster then the others even with the "new" areo regs. meaning that fearrari really was within in the rules.
i doubt it. the Ferraris were faster than the renaults by nearly 10 km/h down the straights. amd i'm not sure if anyone really noticed this, but MS was practically just cruising the last 5 min or so. he even chose to change into a new set of tyre just the last second of the final session. i think he'll go long on the 1st stint, then a splash and dash on the 2nd. like i pointed earlier, he has to make that jump on trulli on the 1st lap.
In comparison to 2nd quali, the Ferraris looked sluggish. My guess is they are filled with fuel to take them both on a very long stint. To go from being .4 down on Alonso to over a second, shows to me they are heavy on fuel.
Trulli will probably have to pit after the first lap. Guaranteed that he's on a short (very!) first stint. Still, MS needs to get around the mobile roadblock known as Trulli.
I think Ferrari are likely just off the pace. When have we ever seen a race where the "true fastest cars" were loaded with fuel and only made into the 2nd half of the top 10 in quali, yet came back to win? How do we know Alonso isn't loaded with fuel also? I predict Alonso makes a huge lead at the start, MS gets by Trulli but can't hang with Alonso or Fisi, alonso generates a massive lead, pits easily and comes back out in 1st, then in the closing 10 laps, Ferrari backs off to "save the car for the next race". Meanwhile the gap will extend to 27 or more points and the championship slips further away from feasibility. I could be wrong - and I hope I am - but I just don't see it happenning. No way I'd put money on Ferrari to win tomorrow.
They'd better be on a one or two stop with a long first stint: Over a second off pole is really going to fuel the "flexi-wing" gossip columns. Given that Alonso wasn't that far off his second session time, I'm probably supposed to guess the Renaults are pretty light on fuel. FWIW, most cars were on a two stop, last year. Michael tried a three stop from P2 on the grid and finished 8th. Rubens was on a two stop and finished 6th from P20. The row 2 Renaults looked like they were on a two stop until they DNFd. Kimi won from P7 on a two stop. Alonso might be on a lighter first stint, but I think most of the front runners are going to be on a two-stop. Nobody did all that well on a 3-stop last year. Even the McLarens didn't try for one stop on that track. (Unless maybe Renault is worried that their tires won't go 25 laps on a warm track.) But maybe Ferrari is more focused on next week. Renault doesn't sell in the US, but it's Ferrari's largest market.
I'd be surprised if Ferrari pulls a win tomorrow, I think the best we can hope for is podium but first place looks out of reach unless alonso brushes the walls a few times like last year, and kimi kills the car like he's done a few times already.
I think perhaps you are correct. I just read this on Autosport and it's doesn't sound just real encouraging . . . Carol Michael Schumacher is not confident of fighting for victory at tomorrow's Canadian Grand Prix after struggling for pace in qualifying. Schumacher was unhappy with the handling of his car, and was unable to find an answer for their lack of pace. "We were sliding too much but we do not know the reasons for it 100 percent," said Schumacher. "No doubt it will be difficult but it's seventy laps and you have to finish first. "After that we'll see the real picture but it looks very difficult. It is not an ideal result for us to start from fifth. "Definitely we did not find enough grip. We do not know why, we don't have a reference." When asked if he was confident for the race, Schumacher said: "Not very much." Schumacher is 23 points behind Alonso in the standings and is looking for an unprecedented eighth victory in Canada. The German's teammate Felipe Massa completed a poor day for Ferrari, finishing down in tenth.
I think that just about seals it for tomorrow and the season. Renault is bulletproof and they are dominant on the track. We thought the two North American races would give Ferrari a ray of light, but it's looking all dark right now.
Kinda sad where you hear a WC driver say he basically has no chance unless he starts in the front row. That's how I interpreted what he said... Imagine how everyone else must feel...
This is the only place Alonso stuffed up last year, when he clipped the wall, along with Fisi retiring due to some technical problem. Looks like they'll be reversing their fortunes, although I doubt Fisi will stay P2 because he's simply too slow in the race.
Ferrari needs to come up with a strategy, they simply don't have the pace of FA in the Renault, and FA seems to be unable to make a mistake. I think the Driver's Title will be all but over before the USGP.
I think the Renaults will win it easy unless of course they tangle with each other into Turn 1 while wrestling for the lead. Alonso will not make the mistake like last year. I think Michael is carrying more fuel than the guys ahead of him but it is not an extra stop's worth of fuel. He did a 1:15.716 in QLF1, 1:15.139 in QLF 2 and 1:15.986 in QLF3. Assuming he was running with light fuel in QLF1 and 2, the time in QLF3 doesnt indicate that much fuel in the car. Massa on the other hand seems to be running very heavy - 1:16.259 in QLF 1, 1:15.555 in QLF 2, and 1:17.209 in QLF3. He is perhaps running one fewer stop. I think Kimi, Fisi and Raikkonen are on very similar strategies - hopefully there will be a couple dogfights tomorrow.
well, i think, deep down, FA is wary of GF's threat. he was pretty fast here last year till he retired. i hope kimi can do something about this. but i still think MS has a chance somehow. slightly off topic, but interesting to note how confident martin brundle sounded during his commentary saying that he's 100% kimi signed a deal with Ferrari next season.
I think Brundle is right, Ferrari wouldn't just sit around twidling their thumbs if MS decided to retire this year. I'm sure they have a back up/replacement for MS, and I wouldn't doubt it if it was Kimi. He just seems like he would fit the bill for the future of the team.
