Canadian GP: 12 June
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oops double post
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Race Track : Gilles Villeneuve Circuit
Location: Montréal
Raceday : Sunday 12 June 2005
Time : 21:00 (Race) [Local Time]
2004 race winner : M Schumacher
In the 1960s the rivalry between French and English speaking Canada meant that the country's Grand Prix had two homes: Mosport Park one year and Mont-Tremblant the next. By 1970, however, Mont-Tremblant was deemed too dangerous and the race moved full time to Mosport Park.
In 1977 the French Canadians, motivated by the incredible success of Gilles Villeneuve, decided it was about time they built a race track. Building a new circuit simply wasn't feasible, however, as time and money were against them. Their solution was simple and effective. Taking the Ile de Notre Dame, they connected all the island's roads and made a circuit. The island had been the home of the 1967 World Fair (Expo'67) and was full of futuristic looking buildings. It was, everyone agreed, a perfect venue for a Grand Prix.
After $2m was spent on upgrading the circuit to Formula One standards, the first race was held there in October 1978. Gilles Villeneuve, in his first season with Ferrari, was yet to win a race in Formula One, but at his home grand prix he took a memorable debut victory. Following his tragic death in 1982, the track was renamed in his honour.
His son, Jacques, has never won at the track but some of the great drivers of the sport have taken the spoils here. Michael Schumacher holds the record of having won seven times in Canada. It is also the scene of Jean Alesi's single Grand Prix victory in 1995, driving the number 27 Ferrari, the same car number which carried Gilles Villeneuve into the hearts of the Canadian Formula One fans.
Is there car no. 27? hahaaaa -
Brain power and horsepower prove equally critical
Strategy was the key to last yearÂ’s Canadian Grand Prix, and, as was so often the case in 2004, it was Ferrari who got it right.
There may not have been too many passing moves around the Montreal circuit on Sunday afternoon, but tactically it was a thriller and there was even an unexpected twist hours after the chequered flag had fallen.
FridayÂ’s and SaturdayÂ’s practice sessions showed little sign of a Williams revival, but all that changed in qualifying. The BMW-powered squad finished one-two in the pre-qualifier, with Ralf Schumacher leading the way from Juan Pablo Montoya, but when Jenson Button set a stunner for BAR in qualifying proper, a Williams pole seemed out of the question.
Ralf dug deep though, snatching it by less than a tenth from the Brit, with the rest of the field trailing in the distance, including the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello down in sixth and seventh respectively.
By the end of Sunday, however, that P6 and 7 had been converted to P1 and 2, thanks largely to FerrariÂ’s excellent choice of a two-stop strategy. Their Williams and BAR rivals opted for three-stoppers, but the best that could do was put Ralf between the scarlet cars on the podium, and even that evaporated when Williams and Toyota were disqualified post race for illegal brake ducts.
The other team that may have challenged Ferrari, Renault, suffered their first double retirement of the year, allowing BAR to close to within nine points of their second place in the constructorsÂ’ standings.
The disqualifications brought good news for others too. Giancarlo Fisichella gave Sauber their best placing of the year with fourth, while McLaren overcame their reliability woes to bring both cars home in the points.
Jordan managed the same, with Timo Glock (standing in for Giorgio Pantano) scoring an unexpected two points on his Grand Prix debut as he finished seventh ahead of team mate Nick Heidfeld. -
Getting to grips with Canada's new surface
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has been completely resurfaced ahead of this yearÂ’s Canadian Grand Prix, throwing another unknown factor into the mix for BridgestoneÂ’s and MichelinÂ’s tyre engineers.
While the tyre technicians do not expect the properties of the surface to have altered dramatically, they will be monitoring it closely throughout the weekend to check for any unexpected changes.
"Our engineers have taken a look at the track and their research indicates that the asphalt won't be particularly abrasive,” said Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director. “That said, it is completely new and has yet to be tested by any racing cars.
“It is likely that track conditions will evolve significantly throughout the weekend, largely due to the chemical reactions that are an unpredictable by-product of any freshly-laid surface."
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve features long, fast straights, but relatively few corners, most of them slow. These characteristics place some slightly unusual demands on a Formula One carÂ’s rubber.
"The tyres are running at high speeds and for relatively long periods of time which can result in high tyre temperatures,” explained Hisao Suganuma, Bridgestone’s Technical Manager. “This is then followed by hard braking areas which also generates a lot of heat in the tyres.
“On the other hand, because the corners are not so high speed, tyre wear is quite small and that, combined with the relatively smooth track surface, means we can take tyres with compounds from the softer end of the scale.”
"The absence of quick corners and the frequent need for hard acceleration places a great deal of emphasis on rear-tyre performance,” added Dupasquier. “And the possibility of hot ambient temperatures increases the potential strain.
“You have to take care not to let the rear wheels spin too much, because that accelerates wear rates. To counter this phenomenon, we will offer our partner teams tyres with fairly stiff sidewall constructions.”
Michelin head to Canada having won every round of the 2005 season to date. However, Bridgestone have a strong record in Montreal, with four wins in the last five years, all of them for Michael Schumacher. -
Results of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
Drivers' standings after the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal:
1 9 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 70 1:32.09.290 7 10
2 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 70 +1.1 secs 2 8
3 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 70 +40.4 secs 20 6
4 12 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 70 +55.1 secs 11 5
5 7 Mark Webber Williams-BMW 70 +55.7 secs 14 4
6 17 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 69 +1 Lap 10 3
7 14 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 69 +1 Lap 12 2
8 15 Christian Klien Red Bull Racing 69 +1 Lap 16 1
9 11 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-Petronas 69 +1 Lap 8
10 18 Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota 67 +3 Laps 18
11 21 Christijan Albers Minardi-Cosworth 67 +3 Laps 15
Ret 16 Jarno Trulli Toyota 62 Brakes 9
DSQ 10 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 52 Black flagged 5
Ret 3 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 46 Accident 1
Ret 8 Nick Heidfeld Williams-BMW 43 Engine 13
Ret 4 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 40 Brakes 6
Ret 20 Patrick Friesacher Minardi-Cosworth 39 Hydraulics 19
Ret 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 38 Suspension 3
Ret 6 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 32 Hydraulics 4
Ret 19 Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 24 Suspension 17
Fastest Lap: Kimi Räikkönen 1:14.384Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
Constructors' standings after the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal:
1 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 59
2 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 37
3 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 27
4 Nick Heidfeld German Williams-BMW 25
5 Michael Schumacher German Ferrari 24
6 Mark Webber Australian Williams-BMW 22
7 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Ferrari 21
8 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 20
9 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 17
9= David Coulthard British Red Bull Racing 17
11 Juan Pablo Montoya Colombian McLaren-Mercedes 16
12 Felipe Massa Brazilian Sauber-Petronas 7
13 Alexander Wurz Austrian McLaren-Mercedes 6
14 Jacques Villeneuve Canadian Sauber-Petronas 5
15 Pedro de la Rosa Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 4
15= Christian Klien Austrian Red Bull Racing 4
17 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian Red Bull Racing 1Pos Constructor Points
Juan Montoya ran afoul of regulations again, this time earning a black flag and straight disqualification for running a red light at the end of the pit lane.[/quote]
1 Renault 76
2 McLaren-Mercedes 63
3 Williams-BMW 47
3= Toyota 47
5 Ferrari 45
6 Red Bull Racing 22
7 Sauber-Petronas 12 -
he has been marked by the FIAOriginally posted by iveco:Juan Montoya ran afoul of regulations again, this time earning a black flag and straight disqualification for running a red light at the end of the pit lane.[/quote] -
dunno why there was red light in the first place.... replays showed that he was hesitating when coming out of the pits just before the lights....Originally posted by SBS9828X:he has been marked by the FIA -
SC had came out so he musnt go outOriginally posted by hmsg:dunno why there was red light in the first place.... replays showed that he was hesitating when coming out of the pits just before the lights....