Canada GP Practice Spoiler

speedy_sam · Jun 23, 2006

Montreal free practice session one times
1. KUBICA BMW 1m16.390s
2. DAVIDSON Honda 1m18.306s
3. WURZ Williams 1m18.941s
4. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m18.994s
5. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m19.070s
6. BUTTON Honda 1m19.165s
7. JANI Toro Rosso 1m19.258s
8. DOORNBOS Red Bull 1m19.681s
9. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m20.154s
10. ALBERS Midland 1m20.646s
11. MONTEIRO Midland 1m20.799s
12. R.SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m20.861s
13. MONTAGNY Super Aguri 1m21.783s
14. SATO Super Aguri 1m21.891s
15. YAMAMOTO Super Aguri 1m23.159s
16. MASSA Ferrari 1m23.179s
17. TRULLI Toyota 1m24.029s
18. MONDINI Midland no time
19. ALONSO Renault no time
20. FISICHELLA Renault no time
21. KLIEN Red Bull no time
22. SPEED Toro Rosso no time
23. VILLENEUVE BMW no time
24. COULTHARD Red Bull no time
25. HEIDFELD BMW no time
26. RAIKKONEN McLaren no time
27. MONTOYA McLaren no time
28. WEBBER Williams no time
29. ROSBERG Williams no time

Montreal free practice session two times
1. KUBICA BMW 1m16.965s
2. ALONSO Renault 1m17.095s
3. WURZ Williams 1m17.337s
4. RAIKKONEN McLaren 1m17.490s
5. DAVIDSON Honda 1m17.627s
6. FISICHELLA Renault 1m17.805s
7. WEBBER Williams 1m17.848s
8. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m18.009s
9. HEIDFELD BMW 1m18.015s
10. VILLENEUVE BMW 1m18.035s
11. DOORNBOS Red Bull 1m18.201s
12. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m18.279s
13. BUTTON Honda 1m18.429s
14. ALBERS Midland 1m18.503s
15. M SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m18.549s
16. R SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m18.614s
17. MONTOYA McLaren 1m18.761s
18. KLIEN Red Bull 1m18.865s
19. TRULLI Toyota 1m18.868s
20. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m18.907s
21. ROSBERG Williams 1m19.048s
22. MASSA Ferrari 1m19.099s
23. MONDINI Midland 1m19.138s
24. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m19.313s
25. JANI Toro Rosso 1m19.541s
26. SATO Super Aguri 1m19.624s
27. YAMAMOTO Super Aguri 1m20.197s
28. MONTEIRO Midland 1m20.262s
29. MONTAGNY Super Aguri 1m21.434s

(Source: itv-f1.com)

Friday form guide - James Allen of ITV

Ferrari
We've had a very interesting first day here in Montreal.

The track temperature was cooler than expected and although this didnt bother the Michelin runners too much and their tyres were in the right operating window, it did catch out the Bridgestones, particularly Ferrari.

Its going to be very interesting to see how they react as the weekend goes on and the track conditions evolve.

Michael Schumacher finished the afternoon session 15th behind the Midland of Christijan Albers.

But I think this is a situation a little like Monaco, where on the first day of running Ferrari were really scratching their heads and struggling for grip.

They expected the track to come towards them as the rubber went down, and indeed thats exactly what happened if you recall, Schumachers race pace in Monaco was stunning.

They are using a similar type of soft-compound tyre here, and I think Ferrari will be a lot stronger than they showed during free practice today.

Renault
Watching Alonso in the second session this afternoon, every lap he did just looked effortless, as if he was wearing his Renault car and it was an extension of himself.

Hes so at one with the R26 at the moment, and so confident in it, than when he banged in his lap time of a 1m17s flat, it looked like he had plenty more in reserve as well.

I think the changes that Renault have made for this low-downforce circuit have made a significant difference.

That car looks really hooked-up and will be very hard to beat on Sunday.

McLaren
Of the other race drivers, Kimi Raikkonen looked quick straight away.

McLaren and Kimi have both gone well here in the past it seems to be a lucky track for the Finn in the same way as it has been perhaps an unlucky track for Alonso, so he looks like he might have something to say about it.

I think it could be a similar situation to Silverstone where the Renault is the car to beat with the Ferrari just in front of the McLaren in pursuit.

A star in the making
Behind them, however, it looks extremely close and theres very little to choose between Honda, Williams and BMW Sauber, who look particularly strong here this weekend.

I think its going to be a fascinating scrap in the second knockout qualifying session as to who makes it through into the top-10 shootout, particularly between those teams, so that should make Saturday afternoon very entertaining.

Hats off once again to Robert Kubica, who headed the timesheets in both free practice sessions.

Even though we know he has more engine revs and more tyres at his disposal, if you look at his long-run performance it is incredibly consistent and very strong, and he really is making a name for himself in Formula 1 with his Friday performances.

Honda
Turning to Hondas performance, they like most of the teams were complaining of a general lack of grip and were finding it difficult to get a good balance on the car.

Obviously theres been a lot of upheaval on the technical side this week, and the new overall technical boss Shuhei Nakamoto is not here, hes playing himself in at the factory in Brackley.

It will be interesting to see how the team reacts to the changes that have happened.

I think its important to make the point that Geoff Willis role was to give the team its technical direction, but he didnt give it its operational direction at the racetracks so nothings changed on that side, and yet in many ways thats the area where theyve been having problems.

The car was fundamentally OK albeit not developing quite as quickly as the Renault and the Ferrari but the main problems recently have been on the operational side, for example Jenson missing the weighbridge or getting whacked in the face with the lollipop at a pit stop.

So it will be interesting to see how the team performs this weekend.

Expect the unexpected
The weather forecast is good its predicted to get warmer as the weekend goes on. There is the possibility of a few spots of rain on Saturday afternoon, but I think its only a remote possibility.

And it should be a pretty competitive grand prix. One thing you can be sure of with Montreal (where weve had I think six safety cars in the last nine years) is that you can expect the unexpected.

Thats one of the things that makes the Canadian Grand Prix such a thrilling event so dont miss it.
Click to expand...

Remy Zero · Jun 23, 2006

well, even FA is wary of Ferrari, so don't just write them off 1st. they are just comparing tyres, according to brawn, not aiming to post the fastest time. just can't wait for the quali....12 hours time...

ricksb · Jun 24, 2006

Alonso and Schu in 11th and 13th place in the morning practice before qualifying...while Fisi and Massa are in 3rd and 4th. McLaren is looking dominant in the 1 & 2 positions, .37 secs ahead of the next driver (Renault).

I think there is some sandbagging going on here...

ricksb · Jun 24, 2006

Sandbagging there was...top 5 from this morning's practice:

1. Alonso 1:15.455
2. Fisichella 1:15.521
3. Villenueve 1:15.554
4. Heidfeld 1:15.616
5. Raikkonen 1:15.902

others included: 6. Schumaker 1:15.959 9. Massa 1:16.348

It looks like Ferrari is definitely suffering from the flexi-wing change and that sec/lap loss is showing up as Bild reported. Ferrari was widely tipped to win the race this weekend.

It is interesting, however, that times did not drop until the final 5 minutes of the session when there was only enough time to do 1 or 2 more runs. MS was about to start a final lap when time expired. Still, Ferrari has to be concerned about pace, unless the temps heat up in two hours.

ProCoach · Jun 24, 2006

Schuey's fast lap in practice was ruined by KR.

ricksb · Jun 24, 2006

Final qualifying:

Just give the championship to Renault. They are on front row with Alonso .4 faster than Raikkonen back in 3rd. Ferrari is obviously depending on fuel strategy and tyres to give them a shot, as MS came in 5th at .8 secs slower than practice (Alonso was .2 slower than practice) and Massa is in 10th with a 1:17. They are probably on a 1-stop strategy, similar to the strat at Monaco (basically using the same tires which performed much better in the heat)

We'll see if a 1-stopper can trump a faster car. The theory is that the Bridgestones are holding up longer than the Michelins, and if the temps get higher than Ferrari has a shot.

I think it's a stretch. Renault has dominated the time sheets, but that's why they actually race.

tifosi12 · Jun 24, 2006

ricksb said:

Final qualifying:
Just give the championship to Renault.
Click to expand...

I think that has become already obvious in Silverstone. Barring a 1982 or 1994 desaster Alonso has this thing in the bag.

ricksb · Jun 24, 2006

tifosi12 said:

Barring a 1982 or 1994 desaster Alonso has this thing in the bag.
Click to expand...

Do not even think such things.

While the race could be a foregone conclusion tomorrow, I will still be interested in seeing what Ferrari has up their sleeves. They are obviously much heavier than everyone else, and I heard the Wurz interview that tipped the Bridgestones to work better in long stretches and identified that as the strategy.

Ferrari spent a lot of time referring to Monaco this race, I'm betting they're on a 1-stopper. I'm also pretty certain Trulli is on a 4-stopper.

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