[Hatari]

Nice Quali!
I think Nico will be kicking himself not to put in his lap as Hamilton had made an error on his last.
Mega lap from Vettel.. and what on Earth is with Kimi? Poor Q3.

I think young Max is in the best place for him to learn with Ricciardo being that tad bit quicker everywhere.

Nice to see Hulk get one over Perez, the former has been under performing for some reason or the other.

Good job by McLaren, some lap from Alonso to get into Q3! But dont see this optimism heading into the race, only hope is rain (please)

So refreshing to see the grandstands full even on Friday here to watch free practice..

I think on Sunday strategy will be key. Although the tow on the back straight will allow overtaking..

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Looking at the speed trap figures, seems McLaren has gone in for a high downforce set up, expecting rains.
Hopefully they can surprise everyone if rain does come on time

I feel thats just the Honda PU deficit on top speed, not setup. Much closer than expected though.

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by Hatari

Good job by McLaren, some lap from Alonso to get into Q3! But dont see this optimism heading into the race, only hope is rain (please)


I think on Sunday strategy will be key. Although the tow on the back straight will allow overtaking..

The tow is good for sneaking into Q3 as well.

https://youtu.be/DxnCLzC40Gc

Originally Posted by Hatari

I feel thats just the Honda PU deficit on top speed, not setup. Much closer than expected though.

With Honda PU, some of the power is in your dreams
On a serious note, I hope they introduce the TJI combustion as early as Spa and join the club along with the other three.

Here's a quote from Alonso's interview with Formula1.com

http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...e-in-cana.html

Q: What then are your predictions for the race tomorrow?

FA: First of all we are very happy having managed to be in Q3 for the third consecutive time, especially here where we did not expect this to happen with so many long straights. If it rains tomorrow this might be good for our package and help us to have a better race pace. We are ready for any opportunity and we are ready to fight, as we do not have anything to lose.

We had to make difficult decisions all weekend long so far, especially to find the right downforce with the rear wing to balance the straight-line and corner speed. We chose to be a little bit quicker in the corners, and not on the straights, hoping that this will pay off tomorrow, hopefully scoring us some points.

Q: So there is a chance that you will surprise us?

FA: I honestly hope so. Today the job is done - and it was done in a very positive way - so let's see what fortune holds for us tomorrow! (laughs)

[jfxavier]

There has been intrigue in the Montreal paddock about the behaviour of the Ferrari rear wing and the Red Bull front wing – which have appeared on video to both bend at high speed to help reduce drag.

But despite such behaviour being an area that has often been exploited, and some teams questioning as to whether or not either design is in the spirit of the regulations, the Red Bull and Ferrari wings have passed all tests currently laid down.

Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley said that his team had been aware of the Ferrari rear wing and monkey seat flexing as long ago as the Spanish Grand Prix, but accepted that there was nothing about it that was illegal.

“We saw that at the [post-Spanish GP] test,” he said. “There is a very clear test known as the pull-back test that we do, on the bridge, and Ferrari will have been subject to that test.

“They have clearly passed it so anything else that goes on, as long as it doesn't contravene any of the technical regulations, then their car is clearly legal.”

Moveable devices

There remains scope for the FIA to impose further restrictions if it deems the wings to be in breach of the catch-all Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations – which demands there be no 'degree of freedom' in its movement.

However, Smedley said that was something the FIA would have to decide for itself.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/la...medley-777140/

[fz_rider]

What a start that was from Vettel. He was pretty quick today. The two strategy back fired. The Mercedes guys manage their tyres pretty well, so there is a high probability of messing up the chances if you are on the other strategy than Mercs.

On a fun note, Vettel crashed Hamilton's interview and blamed his loss on Seagulls sitting on turn 1.

[jfxavier]

Rosberg down to a lead of 9 points in the championship and not a happy chappy anymore.
But good to see him fighting in the middle out there. Had it too easy in the early races
What might’ve happened had Ferrari not gambled on the VSC to jump to a 2 stop race or if the VSC lasted longer is going to be the "question".

When's that sprinkler idea thet Bernie talked about being implimented. It seems like only random "rain" can save a boring race in F1.

The main takeaways for me from this race.

Red Bull are fast enough to defend if they get ahead, but overtaking not possible without massive tyre advantage. So chasis depended tracks like monaco, hungary etc. will be to their advantage and a bit average otherwise.

Starts continues to be Merc's weakness. Both Merc's started slower than the Ferrari of Vettel.

Superb defending from Verstappen keeping the more experienced Nico at bay. Bigger and better results awaits the young Max.

Kimi had the exact same lock up in the exact same place during Quali and race. Ferrari’s front end looking more and more like the source of it’s woes. Vettel seems to be able to better manage issues than Kimi.

Congrats to Williams on the first podium of the season and a special shout out to Carlos Sainz who went from P20 to P9, without drama.

[sgiitk]

I must say Hamilton was rather brave with his tyre strategy, and got away. I remember when he lost a won race because his tyres were worn down 'to the canvas' and he was even unable to pit.

Yes, Mercs are gentle on tyres, and very likely but for a puncture even Raikonen may not have made the second put stop. Now others will also have to be aware of this strategy.

[rohitoasis]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I must say Hamilton was rather brave with his tyre strategy, and got away. I remember when he lost a won race because his tyres were worn down 'to the canvas' and he was even unable to pit.

Yes, Mercs are gentle on tyres, and very likely but for a puncture even Raikonen may not have made the second put stop. Now others will also have to be aware of this strategy.

I remember that, A rookie Hamilton coming to a grid with multiple champions and literally blowing their socks off in the debut year. And that one mistake in Shanghai costing him the world Championship. It was heartbreaking to see that for the young Hamilton. Anyway thanks to the small mistakes Nico did, we can have an interesting season ahead.

The competition seems to have nearly caught up with Mercedes now.

Waiting to see who would be the first winner at Azerbaijan.

[Knowall]

Great race..Finally glad to see 3 teams with 6 drivers fighting for the top spot. I still feel Merc's have an advantage on the others but at-least Ferrari have narrowed it down to .200s but need their strategy guys to get their act together to cover their bases . Redbull will be good in Baku and should try and make up some lost ground.

Force India, Toro Rosso & maybe Mclaren all seem to be in the same league with each being better at certain tracks. Williams are a clear no 4.

[avdhesh15]

Awesome start by Vettel! But so unfortunate that they gambled on a different strategy to the Mercedes of Hamilton.

This was a mistake considering they were lapping similar times before the 1st stop and Vettel had a 5+ seconds gap. That would have made it easy to follow Hamilton's strategy and mostly would have resulted in Vettel winning the race.

Very poor strategy planning at Ferrari and it's not the first time we have seen that this year.

Rest of the race was interesting with Rosberg unable to pass the RB. Mercedes is surely the fastest car out there but Ferrari and RB have surely made up quite a bit of ground.

Looking forward to Baku next weekend. I expect RB to be strong there.

[Fullrevs]

That was a phenomenal start by Vettel. Looked like the lights went green only for him. I was a bit concerned that he didn't 'jump start' and thankfully I was wrong. It was great to see the Scuderia set such quick laps.

Another wrong strategy call by Ferrari. Pitting under SC or VSC periods are always a massive gamble. Most times it favors those who don't stop against those who do.

Rosbergs luck seems to have run-out and in just two races his lead has been totally eaten up.

Looking forward to the next race in Baku. Some of the track pictures (especially around the town city centre) looks brilliant.

6:30pm qualifying and race start on Star Sports. Dont miss it!

[arun_josie]

Excellent start by Vettel and later some superb driving by Verstappen to defend his position against Roseberg. It was a boring race, otherwise. I was hoping from some rains to make the race interesting, but it didn't happen.

41 seconds gap between P2 and P3.

[deetjohn]

Nico seems to be really low on confidence. He just made a lot of mistakes throughout the race starting with that silly attempt to pass Lewis on the outside in the first corner. Made a mess of his relatively better start compared to the other Merc.

Ferrari took a hasty decision to pit during the first VSC and that spoiled a strategy which was always going to be tight. But the engine update looks good. Canada is a power circuit and the scarlet car wasn't too far away from the silver arrows.

So, Nico should be wary of Vettel as well. And a nice show by Bottas too in a Williams which has fallen back quite a bit.

[mashmash]

Super Tyre management by Hamilton keeping a Flying Vetel behind him. Rosberg seems to be getting desperate and making mistakes. He is aware of Hamilton's speed and knows that if he does not get ahead, his lead would be soon gone.

However,I was not too happy with the race coverage. There was hardly any coverage of Hamilton Vs Vettel. There was a moment when even the commentators were discussing Vettel catching Hamilton and both having amazing pace, but what we were seeing was something else.

MaSh

[Hatari]

Really missed the rain! Great job by Lewis managing tires on the last stint.
Frankly, no issues with Ferrari rolling the dice on strategy. Its what has to be done when you dont have the overall pace compared to Mercedes.
I didnt expect Red Bull to be so far behind though.

I think the same result will follow in Baku.

[danlalan]

And at the start of the season we thought nico would run away with this championship.
But Hamilton has come back strongly and looks to be running away with this championship.
Only time will tell.