Sebastian Vettel continued his domination of the 2011 season with his sixth pole position of the year in Canada.
The Red Bull driver came under pressure from the Ferraris, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa behind him on the grid.
McLaren could do no better than the third row of the grid.
Q1
A busy start to qualifying saw drivers having to jockey for position on a crowded track.
It also saw a desperate battle among the minor men to beat the 107% time.
Fernando Alonso set a fastest lap of 1’13.822, putting the cut-off limit at 1’18.989.
Two drivers were outside the mark: Narain Karthikeyan and Jerome D’Ambrosio. Karthikeyan made it through – by four-tenths of a second – with a late improvement.
D’Ambrosio was also on course to better his time before slowing in the final sector. He did improve his time later on but fell short of the target time by half a second.
The HRTs, Virgins and Lotuses were eliminated as usual, though Jarno Trulli out-qualified Heikki Kovalainen for thie first time this year.
The other car which failed to make the cut was the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari.
Drivers eliminated in Q1
| 18 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’16.294 |
| 19 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Renault | 1’16.745 |
| 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Renault | 1’16.786 |
| 21 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | HRT-Cosworth | 1’18.424 |
| 22 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’18.537 |
| 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1’18.574 |
| 24 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’19.414 |
Q2
All the front-runners started the second session on super-soft tyres. Unusually, nine of them felt safe enough to only do one run – even Michael Schumacher, eighth, and Vitaly Petrov, ninth, stayed in the pits.
The gamble paid off, as none of the other eight cars improved their times by enough to displace them. Nick Heidfeld took the final place in the top ten with a lap of 1’14.467.
Paul di Resta took 11th, half a second quicker than his team mate.
Kamui Kobayashi ran off the track at turn eight and ended up 13th behind Pastor Maldonado.
The Williams driver out-qualified his team mate Rubens Barrichello.
Drivers eliminated in Q2
| 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1’14.752 |
| 12 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Cosworth | 1’15.043 |
| 13 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’15.285 |
| 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’15.287 |
| 15 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’15.334 |
| 16 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1’15.361 |
| 17 | Pedro de la Rosa | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’15.587 |
Q3
Sebastian Vettel was quickest to begin with in Q3 with the two Ferraris on his tail, a few tenths away.
Ferrari elected to do “racing” style pit stops in the session in order to get the cars back on track as quickly as possible, expecting to find more time on the super-softs.
The red cars held their positions but swapped order – Alonso taking the front row spot off Massa.
Webber took fourth and team principal Christian Horner confirmed afterwards his KERS had not been working during the session.
Lewis Hamilton took fifth – the first time he has failed to take pole position in Canada – with Nico Rosberg beating Jenson Button to sixth.
Top ten in Q3
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’13.014 |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’13.199 |
| 3 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’13.217 |
| 4 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’13.429 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’13.565 |
| 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’13.814 |
| 7 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’13.838 |
| 8 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’13.864 |
| 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Renault | 1’14.062 |
| 10 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1’14.085 |
2011 Canadian Grand Prix
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
Antranik (@antranik)
11th June 2011, 19:15
This is starting to get too repetitive and boring… Can’t deny that Vettel deserves it though, he really is a great driver…
Tom
11th June 2011, 19:17
Only if you focus on pole position. Which seems rather absurd with 24 cars on the grid. Open your eyes.
Antranik (@antranik)
11th June 2011, 19:21
I dont mean the qualifying was boring,it was extremely exciting… I talking about the grand scheme of things, the championship!! Maybe you should open your eyes.
Tom
11th June 2011, 19:29
Far more to F1 than just the championship.
VXR
11th June 2011, 19:34
The racing this season has been great, regardless of who your loyalties lie with.
Antranik (@antranik)
11th June 2011, 19:38
Championship is still the most important thing… Whats your point? I said it’s getting boring seeing Vettel first always, you replied by saying it’s not only about 1st place, I cleared up by saying that I didn’t mean F1 as a whole is getting boring, just the championship, and then you respond with “Far more to F1 than just the championship” I don’t get it…
Arhn (@arhn)
11th June 2011, 20:15
I don’t get your point Tom. It’s racing… And as far as I understand, racing is about being first. I have to agree with Antranik : it is becoming boring to see Vettel first all the time.
With names such as Alonso, Hamilton, Button and such, it is fair to be disappointed not seing a greater battle for 1st place.
VXR
11th June 2011, 19:22
He’s also won 6 out of 7 races this season. Who would bet against him winning another?
Eyes wide open!
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
11th June 2011, 20:02
Keith should now put a “rate the qualifying” pole. it will give really interesting and bizarre results.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
11th June 2011, 21:17
Wow. Someone thinks it other than me! Personally I love the midfield battle.
Lemon (@lemon)
11th June 2011, 19:21
He locked up and competely missed the apex of turn ten if you saw the onboard, it seems he doesn’t even have to put in a great lap to get pole!
DMC
11th June 2011, 19:57
Thats the worrying thing, i dont think he’s shown his full pace in the races yet either.
Lemon (@lemon)
11th June 2011, 20:06
your right, i think the car probably had another 3 tenths in it in qualy. as for the race, well i hope it rains to mix things up a bit! I couldnt stand another boring vettel win…
zecks
11th June 2011, 20:07
I had predicted vettel would get a 1:12.8, which he would have got if he hadn’t locked up at 10
DannyJ
12th June 2011, 7:53
I take it you would consider the current situation ‘amazing’ if it were ‘your’ man on pole? The thrill is in the chase, and that is NOT boring!
Antranik (@antranik)
12th June 2011, 8:52
Nope, not really! I was a huge Vettel fan when he was in his Toro Rosso days, and even last year I was a fan of his, but I still thought the Abu Dhabi race was boring and nearly all the races he won in general where boring, as they were all from pole… This year (in the top 3 teams) its the same story, except for every race! Still the midfield battle has been extremely interesting, and you are right, the chase is the thrill, but you have to admit that it would be much more exciting if it was a battle, and not a chase!!
Antranik (@antranik)
12th June 2011, 8:54
Quite alot of typos there, we need an Edit button… meant to say were and not where and also “except its the case for every race” and not just “except for every race”.
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2011, 19:15
From Wall of Champions to the lap of a Champion. 21 poles now, amazing.
TrueF1Grit (@truef1grit)
11th June 2011, 19:15
I really wanted Massa to get it! I literally jumped out of my seat as he approached the line, best qualifying of the year!
slr
11th June 2011, 19:19
Same here. I feel if Massa stayed right on the main straight he might have got Alonso.
TrueF1Grit (@truef1grit)
11th June 2011, 19:24
Theres always up the inside of the first corner tomorrow.
J
12th June 2011, 16:47
Totally Agree.
Antranik (@antranik)
11th June 2011, 19:22
I was almost certain he had pole when he passed the line! It was so exciting to see Massa in his form again!
DMC
11th June 2011, 19:59
I agree, when Massa is on it he’s awesome.
Toni
11th June 2011, 20:17
He’s awesome because he rarely is there. While Vettel has been there all the time he is not “awesome” :).
alex
11th June 2011, 20:40
it’s boring! :)
Come on… It’s not boring. It is amazing to see his performances.
Look at where Webber is… and he is an expert in qualis
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
11th June 2011, 21:03
Granted, but Webber had no KERS so…
DMC
11th June 2011, 21:11
No question vettel is a great driver. I just think Massa gets stick when he’s not performing but not much credit when he gets it right.
The Last Pope
11th June 2011, 21:33
I don’t think Webber is the qualifing expert he once was. Put him in Perez’s car and he’d be a lot slower than Kobayashi. Put Vettel in Sutil’s car and I bet you Di Resta would have him.
Antranik (@antranik)
12th June 2011, 8:56
Vettel is an amazing driver, no doubt. But it is still boring to see him dominate. Also, looking at the qualifying times, I think Webber would have beaten Vettel if he had KERS.
BasCB (@bascb)
11th June 2011, 19:22
Yeah, and he was that close. Would be wonderfull to see both Ferrari’s have a great start tomorrow and beat Vettel off the line.
Just think about a repeat of Hockenheim, before “alonso is faster than you”. Would give them a nice chance to make up.
And I would love to see Alonso and Vettel battling it out for second behind Massa.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th June 2011, 21:31
I was thinking of the Hockenheim issue as well. The top 4 lined up in the exact same order in Hockenheim as well… so I guess you never know what will happen tomorrow. Last year it was a whole lot harder to overtake though.. if Fernando should be able to overtake him fair and square if the situation occurs.
I’m really excited about tomorrow’s race. Finally, Fernando on the front row, and Massa just behind Seb.
Also the closest I’ve ever come to predicting the pole time in the prediction championship.. just 3 thousandths of a second off the pole time!
fox
11th June 2011, 19:29
It’s great to see Massa up there again. I really wanted him to beat Alonso. I guess the Spaniard is just too good.
Steph (@)
11th June 2011, 19:50
I tried not to get too carried away but it was so great to see him battling it out for pole again. It would have been nice for him to beat Alonso but still he was a joy to watch.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
12th June 2011, 7:52
@Steph – He may have beaten Fernando if he stayed right! :P
Electrolite
11th June 2011, 21:00
Yes! Felipe was ON it today! I was convinced he had it, it looked like it 1:11 or something when he went over the line and it would have been amazing.
I think Massa’s biggest weakness is racing in the midfield. If he starts P7-10 sort of area, he seems to get caught up in every tustle and nudge possible and he just gets so frustrated and never seems to get a quiet race. We saw him flying in 2008 when he spent more time at the front, so if he can get his qualifying pace to be more like todays then it could be the big 6 rather than the big 5 as it is usually.
hohum
11th June 2011, 21:50
Whats really getting tedious is seeing Vettels car perform faultlessly and Webbers ALLWAYS having problems, Kers must be worth a second on that slow-fast track.
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2011, 22:09
Webber had no problems that Vettel didn’t have in Spain, Turkey and Monaco. Vettel won all three anyway.
hohum
11th June 2011, 22:52
Maybe, I missed Spain and Turkey but in Monaco Webber had Vettels pitstop snooker him.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2011, 3:51
Maybe, but Vettel, Button and Alonso were already snookering Webber on track.
Face21 (@face21)
11th June 2011, 22:17
I couldn’t agree more with you. Racing in the midfield is difficult for everybody, and it gets specially tricky for Massa for whatever reason. However I wouldn’t get too excited about it, the reason why he’s so close this time is a tire issue and I don’t know if we’ll ever see it again this season: this time we hardly see any tire degradation, which allows the teams to do a couple of laps, with the second one faster than the first one, in stead of just one like in previous circuits. Thus, it is not so critical to make your tire get the right temperature which seems to be the issue for a few driver this year (Massa, Schumacher…) it was great to see them so close to their teammates! And it was great to see at last two flying laps like in the (not so) old days!
Electrolite
12th June 2011, 11:40
Some drivers do thrive in the midfield though, take Alonso for example, who will quietly make up the ground, or Kobayashi who is similiar.
Novotny
11th June 2011, 19:15
*sigh*
Lemon (@lemon)
11th June 2011, 19:23
+1
sozavele (@formula-1)
11th June 2011, 19:15
I thought Alonso would be first
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
11th June 2011, 19:15
i’m bored of vettel winning over and over.
rfs
11th June 2011, 19:19
He hasn’t won yet. And Red Bull’s race pace hasn’t been superior in the last few races. So there’s still hope for Seb’s haters. :p
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
11th June 2011, 19:40
i dont hate him. i’m just bored. it’s like watching the same movie over n over. :P
yeah lets hope tyre wear n stuff like that changes the outcome.
Palle (@palle)
12th June 2011, 14:47
F1 has never been so interesting and exciting to watch as now. In the old days – not so long ago – any race often turned boring and stalemate after the final round of pitstops, because only an accident would change the order at the finish. Now we have battles and lots of battles all the times. We have so many battles, that journalists complain about being unable to keep track of what is happening in the race. This is a fantastic luxury. Newey, RBR and Vettel are dominant, and will probably continue to be so for at least 3-4 seasons more. If some of You hate it so much, I suggest You consider following another series of motorsport. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy all the battles and all the excitement, even if it can be a little too easy to guess the winner. The excitement of F1 is not only in the battle for the win.
Antranik (@antranik)
11th June 2011, 19:26
I’m probably going to be proven wrong, but I think everybody in the top 4 has an extremely good chance of winning! This is probably just me being optimistic hoping Vettel doesnt win again, but I think they all have a chance.
*fingers crossed for Ferrari, mainly Massa*
Snow Donkey (@snow-donkey)
11th June 2011, 19:35
If it rains, expect some fireworks from the third row as well!
sozavele (@formula-1)
11th June 2011, 19:16
agree with Hatebreeder it worthless now.
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 19:19
Quite good. Now I hope Ferrari 1-2 finish.
VXR
11th June 2011, 19:20
Vettel is just the best driver out there at the moment. Webber should have been right with him too, but he didn’t have KERS. Ferrari’s are also looking very good here. McLaren need a small miracle (rain) just to get a podium from where they are.
Face21 (@face21)
11th June 2011, 22:22
I think they expect rain tomorrow… I wonder if McLaren didn’t sacrifice their qualifying today using a wet set-up that will give them the race tomorrow. We will see, but if tomorrow rains it might have nothing to do with what we saw today!
timi
11th June 2011, 23:01
I wouldn’t say he’s the best driver out there at the moment. I still firmly believe Alonso and Hamilton would beat him if they were in an RB7
artificial racer
12th June 2011, 9:33
What evidence is that based on.
Pink Pirelli
12th June 2011, 9:52
The fact that both Alonso and Hamilton can overtake, and actually race people. And I’m talking about consistently, and also both have proven they can do it in inferior machinery.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2011, 19:56
Yes, and Vettel proved all of that in 2008, which is what made him get into a Red Bull in the first place.
timi
12th June 2011, 11:35
Yeah, Alonso and Hamilton have proven time after time that they can wring out the absolute last tenths from a car.. I’m not sure Seb can.
dragon
12th June 2011, 14:26
Have you even watched an onboard of Seb this year? If you don’t think he’s wringing the neck of that RB7, you don’t really know driving. Don’t hate on the kid just because you don’t like him. There’s 5 (sometimes 6) quality drivers on the grid, he’s just the the best of them at the moment.
timi
12th June 2011, 16:17
1.i don’t hate him, don’t know where you got that from
2. I agree that there are 5 or 6 quality drivers on the grid, I don’t see how that’s relevent though. I gave my opinion on who I think would be faster in an RB7, not on how many quality drivers there are.
3. I’ve been watching him, and I disagree, the car is so near perfect, that when watching onboards of his pole laps, he’s not doing a lot. The RB7 does a hell of a lot, and glorifies him slightly.
4. Let’s be real, you, like quite a few of the “Vettel Fans” didn’t give two hoots about him up until last season.. or possibly the second half of the Brawn season. Please.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2011, 20:05
Quality driver attract fans. I began liking him mid-2008, when I noticed what he was doing in the Toro Rosso, and since then he’s shown himself to be a genuine, nice fellow with a good sense of humour (I like his shouting over the radio). Even through Seb’s dominance, I am a fan of Ferrari even more.
The thing I usually like about F1 is the respect amongst fans, unlike the tiresome insults between football fans over “glory hunting”. So timi, do not rag on people like dragon for who they support, if you don’t even know them.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
11th June 2011, 19:20
At least it was close this time. I think any of the top 4 could have been on pole tonight!
BasCB (@bascb)
11th June 2011, 19:26
Yeah, a bit different line and it might have actually been Massa up front. Or Alonso.
Nice and tight. Webber was close enough, considering he had no KERS as well.
Hope for a good start from Massa and Alonso again.
MattW
12th June 2011, 6:55
And I hope Brundle & Coulthard can stop getting confused between Massa & Alonso in their commentary
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2011, 19:26
Yep, and Webber did a good job to beat the Mclarens without his KERS.
Antranik (@antranik)
11th June 2011, 19:33
Either he did a really good job or the Mclarens were just slow. I hope it was just him doing a good job though, maybe with KERS he may have been able to beat Vettel… I’d love to see atleast him being able to compete against Vettel.
hohum
11th June 2011, 22:54
Surely KERS must be at least worth a half second.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
12th June 2011, 7:54
Not sure how much it was worth around here, but I’m happy that the session didn’t have a Vettel dominance vibe to it like just about every other qualifying this year! :P
Nigelstash (@)
11th June 2011, 19:26
More genius McLaren strategy! :(
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2011, 19:29
At least if it rains, they may do very well. Otherwise I expect at least one car to Merc them.
VXR
11th June 2011, 19:37
Button said in his interview afterwards that the McLaren doesn’t have a different set-up for wet weather.
Nigelstash (@)
11th June 2011, 20:04
Maybe Whitmarsh hadn’t told him! Lets hope something happens to get them in front of Vettel. I can’t see rain making it easier to overtake, but whatever the weather there is a good chance of a safety car (someone will surely hit that wall), which might stop Vettel running away with it if nobody catches him into the first corner.
infy (@infy)
11th June 2011, 22:08
I think Button would know about his Strat before Whitmarsh.
Sounds more like his team are trying to save face.
brendant (@brendant)
12th June 2011, 0:09
And what was strange was that right after that interview the presenters said that McLaren definitely had a wet setup.
Leah
11th June 2011, 19:28
Good qualifying session today, was hoping Fernando might sneak pole but second is good. It’s a bit tiring seeing everyone saying it’s boring. I really doubt people would be saying that if it was their favourite driver in Sebastian’s position.
Seb’s doing a brilliant job and Red Bull are giving him a car that gets him pole position and that gets him the wins. It’s not his – or Red Bull’s – fault that no one can catch him. At the moment he’s just in supreme form.
pSynrg
11th June 2011, 19:36
Spot on Leah. I don’t get how F1 fans can consider such brilliant consistency and jaw dropping qualifying pace somehow boring?
I’ve gotta say it, Vettel is fast approaching the Sennna/Schumacher level of quality. In a few years the stats will have it written in stone…
Toni
11th June 2011, 20:26
I am totally with you, you grab my words. This is racing whre the best wins. And what do we do? We blame the best out there because he is sympathetic to my wife, or maybe his name is somehow difficult to pronounce (Vettel or Fettel?)
Harry
11th June 2011, 19:35
Well if Mclaren’s race pace turns up again doesn’t Hamilton have a chance?
VXR
11th June 2011, 19:39
They seem to have about as much chance as the Mercedes, which is……….
Harry
11th June 2011, 19:49
What’s changed since Monaco and Barcelona where the Mclaren was the fastest in race trim?
LSL
11th June 2011, 19:44
great lap? are you kiddin’ me? you guys saw his lap?
locking up the fronts, missing the apex completley. It’s nowhere near as good as HAM’s lap from last year. And i’m a 200% Ferrari FAN.
Alonso’s last two starts were amazing, i think he will SURELY overtake vettel, maybe Massa too. No hard tires this time (like in barcelona), and no one sec gap in Q.
2 ferraris in the podium it it’s a dry race, it it rains, anything can happen. I hope the safetycar/red flag won’t decide anything, not like 2 weeks ago.
Alo MAS HAM my top 3
LSL
11th June 2011, 19:45
*if
dlaird
11th June 2011, 20:51
His pole lap just shows how great the car is. Many mistakes and still pole. As for Webber being behind, I would bet that the RB7 is built around vettel and his style. Considering Webber is merely a support driver now.
hohum
11th June 2011, 21:57
Webber without KERS,that was a hell of a good lap.
blue_r24
11th June 2011, 20:59
agreed, Vettel botched his lap and still got pole. its nonsense.
mwh farrer
11th June 2011, 22:37
@dlaird
“His pole lap just shows how great the car is. Many mistakes and still pole. As for Webber being behind, I would bet that the RB7 is built around vettel and his style. Considering Webber is merely a support driver now.”
Could be something in that, given that they were so evenly matched last year, it’s otherwise hard to explain where on earth Vettel has suddenly picked up all this pace.
The Schumacher years taught us that to win and be the dominant team mate in F1 you have to have the car built around your preferences. Vettel is already seen as the future of RBR and with certain allies in the form of Helmut Marko et al, it’s reasonable to think there was enough influence in the team to tilt things in his favour.
mvi
11th June 2011, 23:45
Well in an interview at the end of last year Christian Horner said they would build the car around Vettel. Looks like they did.
artificial racer
12th June 2011, 9:47
In Webber’s own interviews and Horner’s this year they chalk it up to 1) Pirelli tires and 2) Vettel doing the business
But what do they know? They must be lying. I’m sure the engineers spent long efforts trying to make changes to specifically make Webber go slow. In the end, since Webber is naturally at least 0.5 s faster than Vettel, they resorted to breaking Webber’s KERS and also turning down his RPMs.
silencer (@silencer)
11th June 2011, 19:47
looking forward for the race tomorrow
I just don’t understand why the heck these people moaning about vettel always on pole or always win.
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 20:06
because it’s not fun. We watch F1 because it’s fun. not because Vettel(or somebody else) is so great
DMC
11th June 2011, 20:10
Its always more exiting to see battles right at the front, even though weve seen some great racing theres only been one guy right at the sharp end. I think everyone just wants to see Vettel really pushed.
rfs
11th June 2011, 20:12
I think there are many people who only watch to see their favourite driver win. Like if Alonso has a first-lap crash, plenty of spanish viewers will switch off.
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 20:33
maybe you’re right. but if top teams fight each other so closely, probably no one would easily complain about result. if one is dominating. fan of others would blame it. I just prefer happyness of majority lol.
VXR
11th June 2011, 20:22
Well, you might want to speak for yourself there. ;)
I watch it because regardless of tyres, DRS or whatever other things that may get moaned about, the best will always be at the front. Over the decades, that’s always been the case with F1. This isn’t GP2. It’s up to the other teams to catch Red Bull.
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 20:36
What you’re saying is one kind of fun and I enjoy it too. but F1 is also sport. just highly technology-oriented sport. but it’s still sport. so it’s not wrong if I want pure competition though I know it’s not GP2.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th June 2011, 22:03
+1
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2011, 1:05
I agree VXR.
verstappen
11th June 2011, 19:50
At least I got pole right – again. Shame that my weather forecast was wrong: no rain, although the forecast I looked at said no rain at 11 local time, but did say rain at two…
Fixy (@)
11th June 2011, 19:51
I was as enthusiastic for Massa as if he was on pole… then Alonso arrived and beat him by 18 thousandths! Still happy though :D
Steph (@)
11th June 2011, 19:53
It was a very good for Massa and Ferrari fans! Surprising pace from both Felipe and the car :)
OmarR-Pepper (@)
11th June 2011, 19:57
I was fan of Vettel before he won the Championship… but I agree when “fans” and “haters” say it’s boring to see a one-sided championship. And you can say that there’s also racing among the others. But F1 is about winning and it always was and will. If you think the contrary, go and support a HRT
hohum
11th June 2011, 22:04
Enjoy the race to be best of the rest, that always provided the interest during the Schumacher years.
Speed Damon
11th June 2011, 20:00
Anyone see Kobayashi’s powerslide through the chicane? Coolest thing I’ve ever seen!
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 20:08
I think de la Rosa’s sparkle of wheel is the coolest lol
hohum
11th June 2011, 22:05
Can’t stop those Japanese drifters.
sid_prasher (@)
11th June 2011, 20:00
Wow…I screwed up missing the predictions…:(
Anyways, what we need is a Ferrari 1-2 followed by Merc 3-4 :)…
Of course the Ferrari’s can take out each other before lap 1 as well.
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 20:10
Oh well, for sure it won’t go well. logically you have to bet on Mclaren than Merc.
mwh farrer
11th June 2011, 22:20
Money’s on Alonso making another blistering start and perhaps taking the lead from Vettel.
Oliver
11th June 2011, 20:34
And someone said Redbull won’t be fast here.
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 20:40
I think it should be but it wouldn’t. If this fast, many straight line circuit is suit for Redbull, they would be quite good at Spa and Monza too. Now whoever want to beat them have to be really faster than them.
mwh farrer
11th June 2011, 22:24
Don’t forget that other teams (Mclaren) were probably compromised as a result of choosing a set up that was suited for different weather conditions.
With inclement weather surely it’s anybody guess who’ll win. Exciting race.. it will be for sure!
VXR
11th June 2011, 20:35
Apparently there will be 24 cars on the grid tomorrow.
Eggry (@eggry)
11th June 2011, 20:38
Now I wonder why they introduced 107% rule…
mwh farrer
11th June 2011, 22:18
LOL
Paul A (@paul-a)
11th June 2011, 20:55
Talking of “rules” can RB try and fix Webber’s KERS in parc fermé? (Autosport reports Vettel as saying they will try to repair it overnight.)
Wouldn’t he then have to start from pit lane? If so, will KERS bring him from the back of the pack to [at least] fourth?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
11th June 2011, 22:00
Well, it worked for him in China albeit that was from 18th. However, RBR KERS doesn’t seem to be on a par with a lot of the others (when it works) and although Seb put it on pole I still don’t believe the track suits the RB7.
Paul A (@paul-a)
11th June 2011, 23:16
Not sure who the commentator was, but BBC indicated from an interview that Newey had confirmed that the RBR KERS was only 40KwH – not 60KwH – allowing better aerodynamic packaging, but hoping to increase it in the future.
My question about “parc fermé” and starting from the pit lane is still open :)
montreal95
11th June 2011, 23:51
They won’t have to start from pitlane, if they get a special permission from Whiting to fix a specific car problem.
OukilF1 (@oukilf1)
12th June 2011, 2:39
Well they are allowed to fix/change the Kers batteries under Parc fermé conditions, remember Lewis in OZ and Seb lately in Barca gp ;)
Tom
11th June 2011, 21:05
I get the impression that the people complaining about Vettel getting so many poles and victories are only reading the headlines. They seem not to notice that Vettel & Red Bull are having to work damn hard for each pole and victory; the margins are just that close.
This is not like 1988, 1989, 2001, 2002, or 2004.
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2011, 22:06
In 1988 and 1989, Senna and Prost fought each other. I’d say those two alone is great competition to watch.
In 2001, Hakkinen, Coulthard, Montoya and Ralf all had the car to challenge for, and obtain victories. Michael ran away with the title because of superb consistency, rather than having a car so far ahead of everyone for 50% of the races.
DMC
11th June 2011, 22:34
Damn hard! Sebs not even under pressure from his team mate.
hohum
11th June 2011, 23:01
Yes, but by design or accident his team-mate has been hobbled all year.
Tom
11th June 2011, 23:05
You can only get that impression if you just focus on the headlines.
JG
11th June 2011, 21:22
the start will be sweet, especially as a tifoso with the boys in the 2-3..next to and behind. The probability of vettel swerving to such a degree to ensure a red car passing is near absolute… which one will it be-both perhaps!
the day seb he learns the quickest way to turn 1 is a str8 line, well…lets keep that to ourselves
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
11th June 2011, 21:32
Well done Vettel. I’m not going to criticise anyone. I doubt Vettel is really bothered about how bored everyone seems to be so i’m not going to pretend it’s all that important.
Disappointing for McLaren. Glad that both Renaults and Mercedes’ got into the top 10. Should be a good battle between them two teams.
Surely D’Ambrosio will be given a dispensation…HRT got two in Monaco.
Wooly
11th June 2011, 21:48
Guys, I’m in Montreal, and only 1mm of rain is expected all afternoon. That’s nothing. My prediction is that the Mclarens will dominate tomorrow. At the track, one can sense the panic amongst the RBRs and Ferraris, but qualifying pace will not do it here. Look out for the McLarens!
hohum
11th June 2011, 22:08
I guess your glass is always half full.
Wooly
12th June 2011, 23:00
I told ya! Could you imagine the outcome if Hamiltion was still in the race?
mwh farrer
11th June 2011, 22:17
Wonder what time Webber would have posted if his KERS had been working? With an approximate 0.5 second advantage with KERS, surely he would be on pole?
hohum
11th June 2011, 23:02
I agree!
wigster (@wigster)
11th June 2011, 22:44
I’m surprised Hamilton is only 5th given his previous Canada form, but the Mclaren race pace should be better then qualy (I hope). I’m now sick of Red Bull running away with qualifying, even when Vetel lost time at the hairpin, but I do admire how well the team are doing.
I’m hoping Vettel doesn’t win again. I’m also hoping that it rains to make things interesting and hopefully, for the sake of championship at least, Hamilton finishes on the podium.
Calum
11th June 2011, 22:49
I could only shake my head in disbelief, a huge kick in the teeth for many because this was supposed to be the happy hunting ground for the chasing pack to make up some ground on the leader, but fair play to RedBull for strengthening their low downforce weakness, and to Seb for making the most of what he has.
DMC
12th June 2011, 8:49
I just dont get this Redbull weakness theory. Their car inherently has big downforce so surley they can take less wing off than the other teams and achieve a better straight line / cornering speed compromise.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
12th June 2011, 9:42
That theory would work if it was only the front wing that generated downforce but it’s the car as a whole that does that. All the way back to the diffuser.
Calum
11th June 2011, 22:52
There’s no point in grumbling, the class of the field is dominating this season.
It’s 2010 with RedBull being reliable enough to race.
mash26
11th June 2011, 23:34
So Mansell took 14 pole positions in ’92 and Prost took 13 the next year. How many are willing to bet Seb’ll make it 15??
How many races do you think he’ll win?? 9? 10? 11? A driver hasn’t won more than 7 in a single year since 2004!
I’m no fan but its time someone took atleast 8.
alex
12th June 2011, 0:46
how many poles Schumacher took in 02 and 04? Does anyone know?
rfs
12th June 2011, 1:45
Just check wikipedia.
Schumacher got 7 poles in 2002, and 8 in 2004. Not that many, really.
Eastman
11th June 2011, 23:40
It may have been boring for the BBC broadcast team desperate for McLaren victories, but at the track it was amazing.
The people around me couldn’t get over the pace of the cars. Five men beat the previous track record today. That’s a pretty amazing session.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
11th June 2011, 23:47
The lap record for the race is 1’13.622, but the fastest time seen in qualifying is a 1’12.275, which no-one beat today.
mvi
11th June 2011, 23:55
And that fastest qualifying was set by Ralf Schumacher!
Forcer
12th June 2011, 1:31
di Resta just missed Q3 again. OOPS…but positive is Force India will surely get nice points in Indian GP it seems.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
12th June 2011, 2:40
Probably the best qualifying session of the season, all bets were on for this race as who will be P1.Good to see Massa back on charge I hope from here onward he find his rhythm.
rayan
12th June 2011, 4:37
one doubt guys….wat will happen when ferrari wear the harder tyres,,,which is not suiting the italian car for some reason…mean during tommorow s race
Owen
12th June 2011, 5:12
Webber no KERS. Typical Marko.
Pink Pirelli
12th June 2011, 10:03
I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but really? Webber has unreliable KERS again? And yet Vettel’s works perfectly. Amazing how they can get one to work and not the other…
Varun
12th June 2011, 7:24
Rosberg proved to be dissapointing.
J
12th June 2011, 16:57
I hope by that you mean “Mercedes” proved to be disappointing. I’d be inclined to believe that he and Schumacher came close to the limit of that car in those conditions. They were less than a tenth apart.
Marauder
12th June 2011, 13:14
I’m going to wait until after the rule change @ Silverstone comes along before I give up on watching the rest of this season.
We will see how much the top teams (including you, RB) will suffer in performance.
J
12th June 2011, 16:54
Keith, do you have any data to suggest that Webber might have snatched pole if he’d had KERS operating? I’m curious as to what it’s worth around this circuit. I’m not sure if the long straights increase or decrease its effectiveness (given that they also have DRS). It’s probably still around 3 to 5 tenths. Let us know what you think?