Hamilton wins Montreal GP

Tire gamble pays off as Brit captures Formula One race in Montreal

Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton didn�t think it was a gamble for his McLaren Mercedes team to start Sunday�s Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on softer option tires.
Few believed him, but at the end of 70 laps at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve it was Hamilton and his McLaren Mercedes team that held all the aces and the giant�s share of the pot from F-1�s only visit to this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
He crossed the finish line a full 2.2 seconds ahead of teammate Jenson Button to give the British-based team a 1-2 result.
Hamilton was 9.2 seconds in front of third-place finisher Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel, who before the race had criticized McLaren�s decision to run the Saturday qualifying laps on the option tires, was fourth for Red Bull with teammate Mark Webber rounding out the top five.
To many among the 110,000 sold-out crowd at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, however, it looked early on as if Hamilton had lost his gamble when he pulled into the pits under green flag conditions to change to the harder compound tires after just eight laps.
But as the race wore on Hamilton reeled in first Vettel, then Webber, then Alonso to take control. It marks the second win in Canada for the 25-year-old Hamilton.
The victory also lifted Hamilton to the top of the world championship with 109 points, three ahead of Button and six ahead of Webber, who had held the lead going into the Canadian GP.
Hamilton called his win the toughest of his career.
�It was the toughest race I�ve ever been in,� he said. �We had great pace all the way through but we had to fight traffic all the way as well. So far this season, I would have to say it was the ultimate challenge.�
There was one moment, however, that could have ruined Hamilton�s day. On exiting after his first pit stop, he came close to locking wheels with Alonso.
�On our in-lap to change tires, I was ahead of Alonso but he had some problems and ended up coming out beside him,� he said.
�He was in my blind spot, but he managed to race us to the end of pit lane and got out in front of us.�
From that point on, Hamilton said, the race was hard fight for every turn on every lap. But he added, the hard fighting made his win all the more satisfying.
�It has been a tremendous weekend, it has been fantastic,� Hamilton said. �I got here on Wednesday and things have gone so well. I�ve had incredible support from the fans.�
Button, the defending F-1 champion, heaped praise on his younger teammate, calling his race phenomenal.
�This guy (Hamilton) was phenomenal,� Button said. �It is good to finish close to (him) and good to get some points.�
Alonso complained, however, that it was the traffic, and not Hamilton�s faster McLaren Mercedes that cost him the victory on Sunday.
�We went from getting 25 points (for the win) to 15 points (for third) because of traffic,� he said.
�Ferrari is moving in the right direction but today we kept being held up (by back markers).�
Late in the race � on Lap 62 � the McLaren engineers were urging Hamilton to ease up in order to save his tires, which were beginning to show some severe wear.
But on the very next tour of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve�s 4.61 km loop Hamilton responded with a time of one minute, 18.025 seconds � the fastest lap of the day of any of the 2X starters on the grid.
With three laps to go he had increased his lead over Button to 3.5 second before finally heeding his team�s pleas to lift of the gas, at least a little bit.

By DEAN MCNULTY

Red Bull faces biggest challenge yet in Canada

It is two years since the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal last hosted a Formula One Grand Prix.
Welcome back, to a race seemingly always packed with drama and incident.
This weekend the initial focus of attention will be less on the cars, but on the body language of the Red Bull Racing drivers. Quite simply after the �Istan-Bulls-Up�, the team faces the biggest challenge of its five year history.
Their car is the class of the field � a Red Bull has been on the front row of the starting grid for every Grand Prix this season � and their two drivers are proven race-winners and championship contenders.

Yet if their run of success is to continue, they need to reassert discipline across the entire team.
The debates will rage for months over Webber and Vettel�s respective actions. But the outbursts by Red Bull Racing driver development manager Dr. Helmut Markko inflamed rather than defused the pressures in the Istanbul paddock and undermined the authority of team principal Christian Horner.
That Markko blamed Webber for the incident and took sides with Vettel isn�t too surprising. Markko was the man who �discovered� Vettel and with the aid of Red Bull funding, assisted him into Formula One.

Frankly, having supervised the spending of millions of dollars of Red Bull money on funding a series of young drivers who largely failed to make it at the top level, Vettel�s success has probably kept Markko in a job. The term �meal ticket� springs to mind.
Markko�s comments demonstrate the most dangerous fall-out that could come from the Istanbul incident; the creation of factions within the team. Remember Alonso and Hamilton at McLaren in 2007? Their animosity created a rift which tore the team apart.

It could, heaven forbid, be even be worse. The name of the circuit which hosts this weekend�s Canadian Grand Prix reminds us of a chilling warning from history.
In 1982 Gilles Villeneuve felt that team-mate Didier Pironi had tricked him out of victory by reneging on a pre-race agreement and diving past as he was cruising to a Ferrari 1-2 in the San Marino Grand Prix.

The Ferrari drivers� rivalry became a bitter feud. In qualifying for the next race, on a wet track at Zolder in Belgium, the pair were 1-2 on the grid, but Villeneuve set out on one final lap, determined to outqualify Pironi at all costs. In blinding spray, the Ferrari hit a slower car and Villeneuve died.
This weekend, the phenomenal speed of the McLarens may prove critical to beating the Red Bulls on Montreal�s long straights.
McLaren precedents certainly look good. Hamilton scored his maiden victory here in 2007 and before retiring after tailgating Kimi Raikkonen in the pitlane (oops!) in 2008, he had dominated the race from pole position.
Expect an equally close-fought battle between Mercedes GP, Renault and Ferrari for the next slots.
Their cars don�t seem to quite have the aerodynamic refinement of the front-runners, but their battle will be no less intriguing.
Force India seem destined to battle at the tail of the top ten and there are rumours of frustration within the team at the performance of Vitantonio Liuzzi. If the Italian were to be dropped, who would be in?
Team test-driver Paul di Resta lacks race experience, so how about Karun Chandhok, who now has plenty of race practice, but is wasted in the uncompetitive HRT car?
The rumour-mill is increasingly hinting that Karun might be given the chance. I personally hope so, an Indian in a Force India car would dominate the headlines across the subcontinent and may prove just the fillip Force India needs!

Steve Slater, ESPN

Lewis Hamilton relishes Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton sat shivering in an air-conditioned tent on a rainy, chilly day at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
"I hope the weather improves," the McLaren star said Thursday, a day before the Formula One cars hit the track for practice for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Turkey, won the 2007 race in Montreal for his first Grand Prix victory.
"I love it here," Hamilton said. "I have just always been able to dial the car in here. It has suited my driving style, so hopefully we will see the same this weekend. I'm hoping the car will be quite competitive."
The race at the demanding track is back on the F1 schedule after a one-year absence.
In 2008, Robert Kubica raced to his lone F1 victory, teaming with Nick Heidfeld to give BMW Sauber a 1-2 finish.
"You have to reduce your downforce, but, on the other hand, you have to have good mechanical grip," said Kubica, now driving for Renault. "There's a lot of heavy braking, which I always like.
The 2.7-mile (4.3-kilometer for Canadians) road course sits on Ile Notre Dame, a slender landfill island off the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River. With long straights � favoring low-downforce setups � and slow sharp corners and chicanes, the track will test the cars' brakes, especially early on with full fuel loads.
"It's an extremely fast circuit, but it isn't a place that tolerates even the slightest mistake because of the proximity of the concrete walls," said Jenson Button, a two-time winner for McLaren this season after winning the world title last year for Brawn GP.
Adding to the difficulty, more rain is expected on Saturday and Sunday.

Bernie's Greed, Leaves Canada Speechless...

Montreal admits defeat in rescue bid

The Canadian Grand Prix's chances of returning to the 2009 Formula 1 calendar appear doomed after Montreal officials said they were unwilling to meet Bernie Ecclestone's �unreasonable� financial demands.
Montreal's mayor Gerald Tremblay admitted at a press conference on Sunday that organisers had failed in their attempts to strike a deal to reinstate the race, with the government unable to justify the cost of keeping the event at the current asking price.
Tremblay and officials from various government levels had hoped that a fresh injection of money from both public and private sources could help keep the grand prix after it was axed from next season�s schedule last month.
But the mayor says a rescue deal couldn't be agreed, with F1 supremo Ecclestone asking for a guarantee of CND$175 million over the next five years and the government only willing to pay $110m.
"We were constantly guided in our negotiations by principles of responsible management,� Tremblay said in a statement.
�However, despite our endeavours and those of the business community, the unreasonable demands of Formula 1 exceeded the taxpayer's ability to pay.�
The Canadian race had been a permanent, and popular, fixture on the calendar since 1978 before it was surprisingly dropped from the provisional 2009 schedule.
Montreal authorities dismissed claims that the axe had fallen because race organisers had defaulted on payments to Ecclestone over the past three years, but did admit to a commercial disagreement over the 2008 event.
Government chiefs quickly expressed their desire to find a way back onto the list and a Quebec delegation flew to London to meet with Ecclestone at the end of October, leaving to return to work on a rescue package.
Details of the contractual deliberations between the two parties have now emerged in the statement, with Ecclestone demanding a promoter put up a government or bank guarantee of $175m over five years in what it says was a final contract offer to the government on October 28.
The statement says Montreal was unable to find a private promoter willing to take on such a guarantee given the limited revenue generated by the event and instead envisioned setting up a non-profit organisation to act in this role.
This was included in a final proposal sent to Ecclestone last week which offered to pay $110m over five years to stage the race, with Formula One Administration to also receive 75% of the first $10 million of profits from the race and 25% of profits thereafter.
The three levels of government also committed to making a combined $5m contribution to each grand prix, with that total to be matched by the local tourist industry.
However, Ecclestone replied in a letter last Wednesday stating that he was �unable to yield� on his stated request to have �the performance of the race promoter be fully guaranteed or underwritten by the Government, the City and/or institution of sound financial repute�.
He added that he felt the terms proposed �are not economically viable� in other major aspects.
He concluded the letter by saying: �I know we have both done our best to explore all the options to save the race, but I think we must both admit defeat on this occasion.�
Tremblay said that the city explored all possible avenues in its quest to broker a deal with Ecclestone.
"We did everything that was humanly and financially possible and responsible to try to save the race," Tremblay was quoted as saying by the Montreal Gazette.
"I'm very very disappointed for Montrealers, for Quebec and Canada.�
Quebec economic development minister Raymond Bachand admitted the only way back for the Canadian GP now was for Ecclestone to lower his demands.
�We worked very hard over the past few weeks to ensure there would be a Grand Prix in Montreal, while staying fiscally responsible,� he said.
�We cannot meet Mr Ecclestone's unworkable demands. Unless he eases his requirements and adopts a different approach, there will be no Grand Prix in Montreal in 2009."
The breakdown in talks will come as a blow to Formula 1�s manufacturer teams after many expressed unhappiness that there would be no North American round in 2009 considering it was an important market for car sales and many of their major sponsors were US-based.

Please refer to our previous article some month back, when we first heard the news about the Canadian GP: http://fastfivecars.blogspot.com/2008/10/will-there-be-2009-canadian-gp.html

Will there be a 2009 Canadian GP ?

Montreal mayor remains upbeat about a 2009 F1 but details remain scarce

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay reiterated upon his return to Canada on Thursday he is confident the Canadian Grand Prix will be held in Montreal next year.
"We had a very good meeting with (F1 boss) Bernie Ecclestone and I think the signs were encouraging and it is possible we will hold a Grand Prix in Montreal in 2009 and subsequent years," Tremblay said.
"We have a better understanding of the issues and the challenges we are facing."
Tremblay was not alone in trying to persuade Ecclestone to restore the Montreal race to the F1 calendar. He was accompanied at the two-hour meeting in London by federal International Trade Minister Michael Fortier and Quebec Economic Development Minister Raymond Bachand.

Bachand ruled out the event posting a deficit and suggested that Montreal hotels and merchants should become involved in making sure the race is held.
"We must find a promoter, someone to run the event," Bachand told reporters at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
Fortier said finding a promoter was one of the primary issues in ensuring a Canadian GP in 2009.
"If the F1 survives, who will be the promoter, the organizer?" he said.

None of the three politicians wanted to specify how much money needs to be put up to ensure the race goes ahead, although Bachand said a number of businesses have expressed interest in helping support a 2009 Canadian GP.

According to some sources, a promoter would need to spend up to $30 million a year over five years to keep the F1 in Montreal. The race generates $15 million in net revenue annually, so governments and business would have to make up the $15 million shortfall.
"We must come up with a responsible financial project that makes sense to Mr. Ecclestone and to Montrealers," said Bachand.
F1 dropped the Canadian GP from its 2009 calendar, replacing it with a race in Abu Dhabi.
Ecclestone says Montreal has not paid its debts to Formula One for the last three years.
But Tremblay, Fortier and Bachand say the amounts for 2006 and 2007 have been addressed, with the dispute tied to what is owed for 2008.
The event generates an estimated $100 million per year in revenues and economic spinoffs for Montreal.
Several local businesses have offered cash to make the event happen. There are also rumblings that Cirque du soleil founder Guy Laliberte, who is friends with Ecclestone, could provide some financial assistance for Montreal organizers.
But a Cirque spokeswoman denies the founder has offered to support Montreal's F1 financially.
"The only role that Guy is playing has been as a consultant, that's all," said Rene-Claude Menard in a telephone interview.
"Right now, we're just keeping a close eye on any subsequent developments."
Fortier also said Laliberte is not involved for now.
"Many people have offered to help but they are all part of the elements we would need to evaluate in the coming days to determine if the Grand Prix will survive and who will be the promoter and organizer," Fortier said.
Bachand admits that the ball is now in Montreal's court.
Nonetheless, "it takes two to tango," he said.
"We still have to sit down for more discussions."

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO EDIT - CANADA HIGHLIGHTS

Relive Robert Kubica's maiden F1 triumph and BMW Sauber's historic one-two in this exclusive video highlights from Sunday's incident-packed Montreal race...

Watch it now.

Robert Kubica Wins Canadian Grand Prix

Robert Kubica made a triumphant return to Canada on Sunday, storming to his maiden grand prix victory exactly a year after suffering a horrific crash on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Pole led a shock BMW Sauber one-two in Montreal after pre-race favourite Lewis Hamilton took himself and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen out of the fray in an early pit lane collision.
Nick Heidfeld took second place and Red Bull's David Coulthard was third but the day belonged to Kubica, now four points clear at the top of the world championship.

"It is fantastic to win for BMW Sauber," he said. "We grew up together and thanks to the team for providing a good car - we managed to do first and second.
"Winning in Canada where I had big shunt last season and achieving the goal to win a grand prix this season... We have done it and I'm leading the championship, so I hope the team will give me 100 percent support to defend it until last race.
"It's fantastic for me, the team, my country and my fans. It was a great race. It is always chaotic here with the safety car and it is not easy. I have never struggled so much before, I was pushing so hard."
The win was the first by a team other than McLaren and Ferrari since October 2006 and fulfilled the BMW Sauber's pre-season ambition to win their first Formula One race.

Toyota's German Timo Glock took fourth place, the best result of his first full Formula One season and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa did well to claim a highly eventful fifth.
The Brazilian now joins Hamilton in second place in the driver's title race.
Italian Jarno Trulli completed a good day for the Toyota team with sixth place with Honda's Rubens Barrichello and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel filling the other point-scoring positions.
The race started amidst serious concerns over the state of the circuit. Patches of the track surface had crumbled badly during qualifying on Saturday and although running repairs were made overnight, many in the paddock were expecting trouble.
Those concerns translated into a generally cautious attitude amongst the drivers and the start passed without incident.
Nico Rosberg did manage to slip his Williams into fourth place around the outside of Fernando Alonso's Renault at the second corner; but it was a clean getaway for Hamilton's McLaren, Kubica and Raikkonen who started first, second and third respectively.
Raikkonen began to put Kubica under serious pressure, the Finn quickly setting the fastest lap of the race, but Hamilton was moving well clear in front.
His lead was erased though, when the safety car was deployed after German Adrian Sutil's Force India car caught fire.
As the field bunched up, the leaders ducked into the pits to refuel. Raikkonen and Kubica emerged from the garage ahead of Hamilton, but were held up by a red-light at the end of the pit lane.
Inexplicably, Hamilton did not realise that his two rivals were stationary ahead of him and after pulling away from his garage he barrelled into the back of Raikkonen ending his own race and that of the reigning world champion.
"I don't know what happened to be honest," Hamilton said. "I was comfortably in the lead, it was looking like an easy win. Then I went in for the pit stop. It was not a good stop and I saw the two guys in front of me battling in the pit lane.
"I saw the red light but by that time it was a bit late. It was not exactly a racing incident as such, it was unfortunate.
"It was one of those things. It is different to if you crash into the wall and you are angry. It is not like that. I apologise to Kimi for ruining his race."
Rosberg was also caught up in the incident and though he was able to continue after some hasty repairs to his front wing, his chances of a points finish were ruined.
Heidfeld was now leading the grand prix, with Barrichello and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima lying second and third.
Heidfeld, his one-stop strategy working perfectly, soon pitted and could not stay ahead of Kubica who had emerged unscathed from the pit lane chaos. Kubica knew he would need one more fuel stop, so he pushed his BMW to the absolute limit to establish a significant margin between himself and his teammate.
With 22 laps remaining the Pole pitted for the final time, emerging safely in front of Heidfeld.
Scottish veteran Coulthard was now in third place with a mad scramble for points unfolding behind him.
There was no catching Kubica though, and there were scenes of joy in the BMW garage as he crossed the finish line to become the first ever Polish grand prix winner.

Canadian GP Practice two - Hamilton takes his turn at the top

Nobody could get near Lewis Hamilton on the Ile Notre Dame on Friday afternoon as the 23 year-old world championship leader lapped his McLaren in 1m 15.752s to all but match Fernando Alonso�s 2007 pole position time of 1m 15.707s.Robert Kubica pushed Ferrari into third place after lapping his BMW Sauber in 1m 16.023s, and Kimi Raikkonen failed to beat 1m 16.093s on his final runs.

His Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa was left in fifth place on 1m 16.413s after his F2008 rolled to a halt with 15 minutes remaining in the session just past the hairpin.Heikki Kovalainen backed Hamilton with fourth place on 1m 16.331s, failing to improve on Bridgestone�s supersoft tyre. Nick Heidfeld likewise failed to go quicker on the same rubber, and was sixth in the second BMW Sauber on 1m 16.589s.

Despite a spin, Mark Webber maintained seventh place with 1m 16.604s for Red Bull, followed by Nico Rosberg for Williams on 1m 16.767s, Sebastian Vettel on 1m 17.019s for Toro Rosso, Jarno Trulli on 1m 17.068s for Toyota, Kazuki Nakajima on 1m 17.242s for Williams, David Coulthard on 1m 17.334s for Toro Rosso, Rubens Barrichello on 1m 17.462s for Honda, Giancarlo Fisichella on 1m 17.508s for Force India, Timo Glock on 1m 17.549s for Toyota and Sebastien Bourdais on 1m 17.559s for Toro Rosso.

It was a disastrous session for Renault, with Fernando Alonso stranded on 1m 17.644s in 17th place after spinning on the exit to Turn One and stalling, and Nelson Piquet down in 20th on 1m 18.076s after a gearbox failure. In between them came Force India's Adrian Sutil on 1m 17.813s and Honda's Jenson Button on 1m 17.842s.

Besides Alonso and Massa, Glock failed to finish the session after crunching his Toyota�s right rear suspension on the exit to Turn Six, and Raikkonen, Webber, Piquet, Bourdais, Barrichello, Kovalainen and Fisichella all had off-course moments.

Lewis Hamilton seeks repeat of 2007 win in Montreal

Canadian Grand Prix: By Andrew Baker

In Lewis Hamilton's ideal scenario, Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix will play out as a repeat of last year's race, but Robert Kubica, the Polish prodigy, is hoping for something very different.

McLaren's Hamilton took his first grand prix win in Montreal in 2007 after a string of podium places, while BMW Sauber's Kubica suffered the most spectacular crash in recent Formula One history. They return to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with Hamilton leading the championship after last month's Monaco win, but only six points separate him from the fourth-placed Pole.

In between are the Ferrari duo of world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who is three points behind the Briton and one ahead of Felipe Massa, the Finn's Brazilian team-mate.
However, Montreal, like Monaco, is a special track for Hamilton. "Last year in Canada was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life, to take my maiden pole and victory in Formula One was incredible," he said. "It would be great to go back there and do the same."
Hamilton, now 23, has put flesh on the bones of his promise, with six wins, 16 podium finishes and seven pole positions from his 23 starts so far.
Kubica has also grown stronger, taking two second places and a third already this year, as well as BMW Sauber's first pole position. Paddock gossips hint at a future move to Ferrari for the Pole but for now he remains firmly committed to BMW. The German team have set a maiden victory as their priority for the year.
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While Ferrari and McLaren are the race favourites, Canada would be just the place for Kubica to make the breakthrough. "I like the track because there's a lot of heavy braking and stop-and-go," he said.