Circuit Guide Canadian GP 2013 / Montreal

What's that thing people say about absence making the heart grow fonder? It was arguably only after Canada was controversially removed from the 2009 calendar that F1 fully appreciated what a boon Montreal's charming presence on the schedule is for the sport. 

Brought back for the 2010 season after a one-year absence, the 2011 race will live long in the memory as the longest grand prix in F1 history. Perhaps more pertinently, the outcry which greeted the removal of Montreal from the schedule should ensure that F1 won't make the mistake of forgetting the venue in a hurry again.
Similarly to Melbourne's Albert Park, the race takes place through a public park, with cars darting through the trees on public roads and parts of a purpose-built race track.
Since 1978, every Canadian Grand Prix held has been on the Île Notre-Dame island. Located in the Saint Lawrence Seaway and across the river from the city, the track circles the lake used for rowing at the 1976 Olympic Games.
Originally entitled the Île Notre-Dame Circuit, the track was renamed the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in honour of the legendary Canadian driver - who won its inaugural grand prix - after he was tragically killed in a qualifying accident at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982.
The circuit has hardly changed since its introduction to the calendar, with the move to new pit buildings for the 1988 grand prix the only major change. No wonder too: the track's layout has leant itself to lots of overtaking over the years and plenty of enthralling, chaotic racing.
Two of the best overtaking spots on the circuit are the l'epingle hairpin at turn 10 and the final chicane at turns 12 and 13 at the end of the back straight. However, also look out for action at in the opening complex of corners along with turns six and eight as the track twists through the park.
Ideally for these types of corner a high-downforce setup is required to aid stability under braking - the track tests brakes to their limits - and for traction on the corner exit. However, a back straight of over 1km means that set-up is a delicate balancing act.
One famous feature on the circuit is the 'Wall of Champions'. Exiting the final chicane onto the pit straight, a wall runs tight to the track which has ended many drivers' - and champions' - races over the years. In 1999, three world champions, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed out at the corner.

Pirelli confirm modified tyres will be tested in Canada

Formula 1 teams will not race with modified 2013 rear tyres at next week's Canadian Grand Prix, but will test them in Friday's practice sessions.

Suppliers Pirelli want to restructure the tyres following a number of disintegrations this season, as well as complaints tyre-management has become too much of a factor.
If used, Pirelli hope their redesigned tyres would bring an end to drivers having to stop more than three times. They could be introduced at the British GP.

F1 tyres, DRS and Kers explained

"The aim of the new tyre is to prevent any instances of the tread detaching itself from the structure," Pirelli said in a statement.
"However, the performance and wear characteristics of the new tyre will not be significantly different, with the aim of keeping up the spectacle and retaining a strategic element to all the races."
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Force India's Paul Di Resta have suffered from 'delaminations' this season. This is where the tread disintegrates and comes away from the belt of the tyre.
Pirelli hopes the new design will eliminate this problem.
However any change would have to be approved by all the teams, unless governing body International Automobile Federation (FIA) orders it on safety grounds.
The FIA has previously rejected a proposal by Pirelli to return to using last season's tyre specification, saying it would be a breach of the rules.
Only changes to prevent the series of recent failures will be allowed.

Lewis Hamilton suffers tyre failure in third practice in Bahrain

Nico Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix from Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber

Mercedes driver earns second career win in incident-packed race

 

The Monaco GP podium: Vettel, Rosberg, Webber

Rosberg celebrates his victory

Rosberg celebrates his victory

Nico Rosberg has completed his domination of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend with an assured victory in Sunday's race.

The Mercedes driver had been fastest in practice and qualifying on the streets of the Principality and duly recorded his second career win in unflustered style after what proved an eventful, and long, race.
However, the drama may not have ended just yet with Mercedes racing under protest following an official complaint from both Red Bull and Ferrari against a 'secret' three-day test at Barcelona in the days after the Spanish GP.
World Champion Sebastian Vettel finished second with his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber completing the podium ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Starting second on the grid behind his team-mate, Hamilton held station during the early laps but lost out when a crash involving Felipe Massa brought out the safety car.

Monaco GP - Race in 60 Seconds

The race was subsequently halted for 25 minutes when Max Chilton's Marussia collided with the Williams of Pastor Maldonado.
Both Massa and Maldonado suffered sizeable head-on impacts, thankfully without injury, although the Brazilian was detained at the track's medical centre for a while.
It was a busy day for the safety car, which hadn't previously made an appearance this season. It came out for the second time with 15 laps to go after Romain Grosjean's Lotus collided with the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo.
Force India's Adrian Sutil finished fifth ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Paul di Resta (Force India) and Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) completing the top ten.
The protest launched by Red Bull and Ferrari against Mercedes, specifically the 'secret' tyre test they undertook after the Spanish Grand Prix, dominated the build-up to the race.
"A good old Formula 1 mess" was how Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz described the hubbub and it probably came as a relief to all concerned to see the clock ticking towards 2pm local time and lights out.

The beef Mercedes' rivals have, of course, is that the test might have given them an advantage. Certainly the tyre wear of their W04 has been woeful at times during races but it's also the case that, of all the tracks on the calendar, Monaco is the easiest on rubber. Might they get it right this time?
Also: to one-stop or not to one-stop? That was the related question facing teams after the usual frenetic activity during the opening laps.
The pit-stop window opened on lap 26 when Webber pitted from fourth place but hands were forced when Massa crashed at Sainte Devote four laps later.
The shunt was almost identical to that he suffered in P3 on Saturday morning, with the F138 veering left and hitting the Armco at around 170mph before ploughing straight on.
As Massa climbed out - feeling some discomfort in his neck - the safety car came out. Vettel pitted immediately but both Mercedes stayed out.
They pitted in tandem the following lap but the timing of the safety car favoured Rosberg - who was first in - over Hamilton, who was shuffled back to fourth place.
Racing resumed on lap 39, with Rosberg again stealing a march. Everyone was looking to try and get to the chequered flag without changing tyres again at this stage, but they were all given the chance to do just that seven laps later when Maldonado's Williams slammed head-first in the barriers at Tabac corner.

Alonso - We didn't have the pace

The Venezuelan was alongside Max Chilton at the time, with the Marussia driver seemingly unaware of Maldonado's presence on his blindside.
Racing got underway for a second time after a delay of almost half an hour, with every frontrunner bar Raikkonen confident of ekeing out their supersofts.
Perez had already given indications that he meant business by passing Button and then Alonso at harbourfront chicane just before the red flag.
The Ferrari driver had actually held the position but only after cutting the corner. Alonso was subsequently ordered to hand the place back as he awaited the re-start.
It was a difficult afternoon by the Spaniard's standards and he lost another place to Sutil at the hotel hairpin on lap 57, just before Grosjean launched a rearward assault on Ricciardo as the pair exited the tunnel.
The safety car duly came out again, with Perez's eventful afternoon continuing when he made contact with Raikkonen - again at the harbourfront chicane.
The Finn suffered a puncture as a result and was in danger of failing to score a points-finish for the first time in 23 races. However, he managed to claw back tenth place from Nico Hulkenberg Sauber on the very last lap.
As Raikkonen pitted, Button pushed Alonso down another position at La Rascasse, but Perez's aggression only brought retirement after his car picked up suspension damage.
Vettel's lead in the Drivers' Championship is now 21 points, with Raikkonen leading the chase. Red Bull, meanwhile, hold a 41-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors' standings.
The Mercedes protest had no effect on the result, which was eventually made official after race stewards had met to discuss the controversy.
Red Bull and Ferrari are unhappy that the test was performed using the Silver Arrow's 2013 car. As yet, there is no word on what impact it might have beyond this weekend.

Results Monaco GP 2013 / The Race

Race	Grid	Q3	Q2	Q1	P3	P2	P1

Pos	Driver		Team	Grid	Total	Pts
1	Rosberg		Mercedes	1	2:17:52.056	25
2	Vettel		Red Bull	3	+3.800	18
3	Webber		Red Bull	4	+6.300	15
4	Hamilton		Mercedes	2	+13.800	12
5	Sutil		Force India	8	+21.400	10
6	Button		McLaren	9	+23.100	8
7	Alonso		Ferrari	6	+26.700	6
8	Vergne		Toro Rosso	10	+27.200	4
9	di Resta		Force India	17	+27.600	2
10	Raikkonen		Lotus	5	+36.500	1
11	Hulkenberg		Sauber	11	+42.500
12	Bottas		Williams	14	+42.600
13	Gutierrez		Sauber	19	+43.200
14	Chilton		Marussia	20	+49.800
15	van der Garde		Caterham	15	+62.500
RET	Perez		McLaren	7
RET	Grosjean		Lotus	13
RET	Ricciardo		Toro Rosso	12
RET	Bianchi		Marussia	21
RET	Maldonado		Williams	16
RET	Massa		Ferrari	22
RET	Pic		Caterham	18

Lewis Hamilton just needs more time to feel comfortable in Mercedes, says Ross Brawn

Hamilton has said he's still getting used to his new team's car
 

Lewis Hamilton: A work in progress at Mercedes

Mercedes boss Ross Brawn remains confident it is just a matter of time before Lewis Hamilton feels fully at home in his new team's car in the wake of Hamilton's surprise admission that he was "struggling" with the W04.

Although Hamilton will start from the frontrow for the third time in his six-race Mercedes career for the Monaco GP, he was once again outpaced by his on-form team-mate Nico Rosberg in Saturday's qualifying hour.
And while ultimately happy with his starting berth, Hamilton conceded that had yet to master his new car.
"To be honest it's been since the first race - actually even in winter testing I was struggling," said Hamilton.
"Even in the first few races, but particularly the last three have been pretty poor, but this weekend was one of the toughest for me so far."
 But his team boss Brawn is far from concerned about his star signing's performances, insisting that, nearly six months on from his arrival in Brackley, Hamilton was still acclimatising to his new surroundings - and the team are still learning about him.
"I think it is quite subtle the way the way the driver communicates, how you understand what it is he wants to achieve with the car and how you tune the car to suit his needs," the Mercedes Team Principal told reporters.
"We have a very good group working with Lewis and very experienced people and it is just working out exactly what he needs, what he's looking for. That might vary from what Nico needs or is looking for. They are pretty close in the cars but it will just be time quite frankly. Nico's been with the team four years and he knows exactly what buttons to press within the team and Lewis is developing his understanding of that.
   "Who is the person to go to if you want to discuss that? Or who is the person who go to if you want debate some aspect of the car? So it just takes a little bit of time and Lewis is up against a very fierce and talented competitor in Nico."
Having comfortably, and consistently, had the edge over his previous two team-mates at McLaren, Jenson Button and Heikki Kovalainen, for single-lap pace Rosberg is currently presenting the most sustained Saturday challenge to Hamilton since Fernando Alonso in 2007.
And while it's his less heralded driver who is currently taking the pole spoils, Brawn is pleased to see the competitive intra-team rivalry develop and Hamilton express a desire to improve.
"We want the drivers to be as close as they can, we want them to be pushing each other and I don't want to see a driver up here saying he's quite happy being second - that's no good," the Briton insisted.
"We want both our drivers when they're not ahead saying that they've got to improve, they want to find ways of getting more out of the package, more out of the car, more out of themselves and more out of the team. So that's what we want."
Elaborating on his current difficulties in wake of qualifying, Hamilton explained that it was certain features and characteristics of his new car compared to the McLaren that were taking time to adapt to.
"The set-up I have on the car in terms of brake cylinders and all these kind of things, steering wheel is a lot different to what I experienced before where I was very, very comfortable and been there for years so I was used to it and it was always the same. That's been a slight weakness for me this year."
   The 2008 title winner admitted he didn't currently have the level of confidence in the W04 needed to really go on the attack around a circuit such as Monaco, adding that unusually for him tyre temperatures had been a problem up until his final Q3 lap.
"It's nothing really to do with the engineers, it's just a general feeling with me. It's difficult to really explain it; I've just not been on it all weekend," Hamilton added. "It's not through not being focused, it's not being centred or anything like that it's just being comfortable in the car.
"When I was at McLaren I'd obviously been there for a long, long time. I had 100% confidence in the car - particularly this track where you need 100% confidence in the car beneath you. It worked well in the past it's just I've been struggling with getting that confidence which means you can't break late enough.
"I think what has really contributed to it is tyre temperatures; I couldn't get enough temperature into the tyres this weekend up until the second and third sector of my last lap and that's the best the car has felt all weekend.
"So perhaps if I'd got them switched on maybe a bit earlier in practice I'd have had a better understanding of how to get them up to temperature. That's the first time I've ever really struggled to get temperature into my tyres and especially with our car."

Results Monaco GP 2013 / Grid

Race	Grid	Q3	Q2	Q1	P3	P2	P1

Pos	Driver		Team	Time
1	Rosberg		Mercedes
2	Hamilton		Mercedes	-
3	Vettel		Red Bull	-
4	Webber		Red Bull	-
5	Raikkonen		Lotus	-
6	Alonso		Ferrari	-
7	Perez		McLaren	-
8	Sutil		Force India	-
9	Button		McLaren	-
10	Vergne		Toro Rosso	-
11	Hulkenberg		Sauber	-
12	Ricciardo		Toro Rosso	-
13	Grosjean		Lotus	-
14	Bottas		Williams	-
15	van der Garde		Caterham	-
16	Maldonado		Williams	-
17	di Resta		Force India	-
18	Pic		Caterham	-
19	Gutierrez		Sauber	-
20	Chilton		Marussia	-
21	Bianchi		Marussia	-
22	Massa		Ferrari	-