Canadian GP 2014 Team news & quotes [Archive] - TheScuderia.net

Nero Horse

2nd June 2014, 15:50

F1 on Gilles’ home turf

http://formula1.ferrari.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/N_140039spa-630x300.jpg

Maranello, 2 June – This Sunday sees the 45th running of the Canadian Grand Prix. The race was first held in 1967, when Jack Brabham won in his own car. It’s been held on three circuits: Mosport Park eight times, Mont-Tremblant twice and Montreal, 34 times, making it a classic on the calendar.

Ferrari has won the race 11 times which is a 25% success rate. The first win was even a one-two finish at Mont-Tremblant, where Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni crossed the line in that order in the 312B. The Montreal track made its debut eight years later, built on the perimeter roads of the man-made Ile Notre Dame. It used the excavated soil from the construction of the 1976 Olympic village. Local hero Gilles Villeneuve won in the Ferrari 312 T3. The fallout from this win was incredible, being the first victory for a Canadian, as well as taking place in Quebec, where Gilles was born. The track was named in his honour after his death at Zolder in May 1982 and the following year, Ferrari won again in Montreal with Rene Arnoux and a further two years on, Michele Alboreto was victorious.

In 1995, the famous number 27 won again, giving Jean Alesi the best day of his career: Michael Schumacher in the Benetton had an electrical problem, which meant he had to pit to change the steering wheel and to have the system reset. For once, Alesi managed to shake the monkey off his back that had been there for so long. The Frenchman crossed the line to celebrate his 31st birthday in the best way possible. Montreal has a big Italian population and the fans invaded the track, risking getting run over as cars were still on track. Alesi had to park his car as he was mobbed by fans and in the end, it was the aforementioned Schumacher who gave him a lift back, wrapped in the French flag.

In fact, the remaining 6 Ferrari wins in Canada all came courtesy of Schumacher, the first of them in 1997. The following year was a bit more controversial, as the Ferrari man drove into Heinz-Harald Frentzen coming out of the pits, putting the Williams out of the race. Michael was given a stop-go penalty, but he still managed to win.

Walls close to the track edge are a feature of this circuit and one in particular, on the outside of the last turn before the pit straight, has ended the hopes of many of the best drivers over the years. It has become known as the “Wall of Champions” and it has caught out big names such as Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Rubens Barrichello and more recently, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel, the latter on Friday in 2011. Schumacher wasn’t immune to it either, his race coming to an end there in 1999 while leading, but he made up for it, winning in 2000, 2002 and 2004, making him the king of Canada with no less than seven wins.

See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/f1-gilles-home-turf#sthash.nP36KLlo.dpuf

Sanomas

2nd June 2014, 15:58

Here we go! CANADA!

One of my favorites tracks, love the Epingle corner and last chicane and I'm really looking forward to see what's going to happened...hopefully it'll be the good weekend for us!

fratelliferrari

2nd June 2014, 16:45

Really looking forward for the Grand Prix! Please let the updates work :pray

Samcar222

2nd June 2014, 17:26

Really curious to see the gaps to the Mercedes with our supposed engine software upgrades.. I feel this will be a turning point for the other teams, Ferrari and Macca, et al (who may start playing with the car as has been reported to prep for Honda 2015). RBR has the closest chance of winning a race this season, but all the upcoming tracks will play to the advantage of the silver cars.

Another note, considering we saw a Renault and Mercedes "power unit" failure at Monaco, it will be interesting to see how reliability unfolds in the upcoming grands prix.

NickEice

2nd June 2014, 17:37

Good point about reliability. I believe Vettel was quoted as to saying it is not a question about "If" but more "When" the grid penalties for going over the Power Unit allotment start to occur.

vcs316

2nd June 2014, 17:52

Alonso hopes to be closer to podium in Canada

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari has to stay "calm" in its pursuit of Mercedes and Red Bull and insists the team will be closer to challenging for a spot on the podium in Canada.

Alonso finished a distant fourth behind Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco, which he admitted after the race was the best he could have hoped for with Sebastian Vettel's early retirement. Ferrari is still within touching distance of Red Bull in the constructors' championship, currently sitting 21 points behind in third.

Alonso admits he is fully aware Ferrari is falling short of people's expectations in 2014 but is confident the team can progress on a race-by-race basis.

"We will see, I think we need to be calm and work hard," Alonso said when asked about his expectations for Canada. "We need to deliver what the expectations are. We have brought new parts to every race this year - some of them work fine, some of them didn't work, so we just need to make the most of the new parts in Canada.

"Hopefully we can have a good Friday with a good test and make those parts work, then hopefully we will be closer to the podium [than Monaco]. I have no doubts we will be more and more competitive every race, though how much I don't know."

Despite his confidence for Canada, Alonso also knows Ferrari has to be wary of Mercedes and Red Bull making equal gains out in front.

"Our pace [in Monaco] was good and that means, bit by bit, we are improving. Sure, the gap to the leaders is still significant, because like us they are moving forward on the development front. Therefore we must try to do better, starting with Canada."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

vcs316

2nd June 2014, 17:53

Raikkonen bemoans unlucky start to Ferrari return

Kimi Raikkonen believes his return to Ferrari has been hampered by incidents outside of his control this season after suffering several incidents at key points in races.

Raikkonen's form has been the subject of speculation this year, with his highly-anticipated move back to Ferrari so far not living up to pre-season expectations - partly due to struggles with car set-up. He looked set for his best finish of the season in Monaco and his first ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso in 2014, running third after a superb start, but it was jeopardised by a puncture caused by a collision with the lapped Max Chilton under the safety car.

Raikkonen also had two incidents with Kevin Magnussen earlier in the season and he feels he has already seen his fair share of bad luck this year.

"I have driven well many times, but there's always been something going wrong in the races - like punctures from other people hitting me - and it's just never come together really," Raikkonen said. "It's a shame. Again we had a good position [in Monaco] but got a puncture so it's just bad luck.

"Small things go wrong and make a massive difference in the end."

Raikkonen knows Ferrari still has a big job to do to catch Mercedes and Red Bull but thinks the team can achieve it in time.

"Obviously we need to improve in a lot of areas. We've done a lot of things, particularly with the engine and stuff like that to improve already, but we are still lacking the speed we need to compete with Mercedes, they are still quite a way ahead of us. We know what we have to do but those things are not easy to fix, it just takes time.

"We know where the weaknesses are but if everyone could improve theirs everyone would have a fast car. Once we get a good feeling with things I'm sure it's going to be a lot better. But until we get the results and things fixed we have to keep fighting and hopefully be a bit more lucky in the future."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Greig

2nd June 2014, 19:16

The following year was a bit more controversial, as the Ferrari man drove into Heinz-Harald Frentzen coming out of the pits, putting the Williams out of the race. Michael was given a stop-go penalty, but he still managed to win.

Bet Patrick Head is still mad about this :-D

AfterLife

2nd June 2014, 19:20

I had a dream about Canada 2014. It was about the moment that Lewis Hamilton couldn't overtake Fernando Alonso even with open DRS for the whole race. The highlight of my dream was the superiority of Ferrari's engine and all of the commentators were expressing their shocks about what is happening in that moment while three or four commentators talking rapidly at the same time because of their shocks.:saint

ManFromMilan

2nd June 2014, 19:38

Suzie

2nd June 2014, 19:52

I love Canada, so excited for this weekend :clap

stefa

2nd June 2014, 20:37

stefa

2nd June 2014, 20:38

On Saturday 7th I am traveling to London, where I'll be staying till 14th of July. London people, advice for nice place where I can for sure watch whole race?!
Thank you!!!

Greig

2nd June 2014, 20:43

Silverstone :-)

stefa

2nd June 2014, 22:32

Silverstone :-)

I am two week short of that. I was thinking about it when I was planning my trip to London, but unfortunately I couldn't use mu vacation that late... Very good consolidation is that I AM GOING TO SEASON FINALE IN ABU DHABI! Tickets for north grand stand are already both! Yeah!!!!!
OK, now really any good pab or something in London to watch race from Canada?

ALO

2nd June 2014, 23:28

FF1

3rd June 2014, 03:09

Here we go! CANADA!

One of my favorites tracks, love the Epingle corner and last chicane and I'm really looking forward to see what's going to happened...hopefully it'll be the good weekend for us!

Hi, are you living in Tehran. nice to meet you

abbottcostello

3rd June 2014, 05:01

Well, they do say you need to visualize your goals to give them a better chance of happening (something like that:lol), so credit to the 2 of you for getting that part done!
I will visualize a Ferrari 1-2 in a daydream, as I don't do very well at remembering my sleeping dreams & this is one I don't want to forget the minute I wake!

Like many here am getting very excited for the Canada GP

Sanomas

3rd June 2014, 14:45

Hi, are you living in Tehran. nice to meet you

Hey FF1!

Yes, indeed I am living in Tehran, I'm Iranian and nice to meet you to from NZ, mate!

On the topic, I just except a good weekend, running good practices and taking a good result on the qualify and having a good race, all the good!

Nero Horse

3rd June 2014, 16:32

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWp9bJMwIBs

vcs316

3rd June 2014, 17:42

Alonso: Canada an important race for us

Fernando Alonso has said the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend will be an 'important' race for Ferrari and that the team needs to match what its rivals have done on the development front since Monaco 'plus something'.

Ferrari has struggled to match Mercedes and to a lesser extent Red Bull Racing so far this year, and to date the squad has taken just one podium, with Alonso coming home third in China.

After finishing fourth in Monaco two weeks ago, Alonso is determined now to do better and recently he spent a few days at the team's Maranello base.

"Everyone is very motivated and hungry for good results," he told Ferrari's official website. "We are all working in one direction to improve the car and be more competitive than we saw in the first part of the championship. We are realistic and we know where we are. But from now on we want to start getting different kinds of results and try and enjoy the weekends a bit more."

"Canada for sure is an important race for us," he underlined. "We have been preparing the car and improving it on the aero side. We have also been in the simulator and have done a lot of work on the set-up to try and arrive there with a better and more competitive machine.

"Let's see what we can do. We need to wait and see what our competitors do and we need to match what they are doing plus something [to close the gap].

"Hopefully Canada is the starting point for us and we can take some good points back home."

Alonso has had mixed fortunes in Montreal over the years and while he won in 2006, and was third in 2010 and second last year, he has also had five DNFs.

"Canada is a very nice track and very challenging," continued the Spaniard. "There are only six or seven corners but all of them have something special. All of them have some danger and all of them are important to set a good lap time. It is a circuit that I enjoy and there is definitely no room for mistakes as all the walls are very, very close. It is challenging, but nice to drive."

"You can feel the city of Montreal has a lot of passion for the race when we arrive there and everyone gets involved in the preparations," he added.

"I have won there and it definitely has some good memories. I also remember that big storm a couple of years back which meant the race was red flagged for a couple of hours and we were waiting on the grid. There have been ups and downs there in terms of my results. But hopefully this year will be a good one".

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/311597/alonso-canada-an-important-race-for-us/?

vcs316

3rd June 2014, 17:43

Ferrari's Alonso "realist but motivated"

(AGI) - Maranello, June 3 - After two races in Europe, the Formula 1 championship is about to move westward for the Canadian Grand Prix, and Fernando Alonso is preparing for the race in Maranello. "After Monaco I noticed a positive atmosphere in Maranello. Everyone is very motivated and hungry for good results. We are, however, realists, and we are well aware of our current standing, but from now on we want to achieve good results and enjoy the races a little more. One thing is certain, we are all working on improving the cars," he said.

http://www.agi.it/english-version/sport/elenco-notizie/201406031718-spr-ren1053-f1_ferrari_s_alonso_realist_but_motivated?

stefa

3rd June 2014, 17:43

I am two week short of that. I was thinking about it when I was planning my trip to London, but unfortunately I couldn't use mu vacation that late... Very good consolidation is that I AM GOING TO SEASON FINALE IN ABU DHABI! Tickets for north grand stand are already both! Yeah!!!!!
OK, now really any good pab or something in London to watch race from Canada?

No suggestions...? C'mon!

Nero Horse

3rd June 2014, 17:45

http://formula1.ferrari.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/news140022spa-630x300.jpg

Maranello, 3 June – After two races in Europe, the F1 circus leaves the Old Continent and heads west for the first time this year to take in one of the most popular events on the calendar, the Canadian Grand Prix. Before crossing the Atlantic, Fernando Alonso spent a few days in the factory at Maranello, helping the team prepare for the race, while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was involved in sponsor work in Scandinavia.

“After Monaco I felt a good atmosphere in the factory,” said Fernando. “Everyone is very motivated and hungry for good results. We are realistic and well aware of where we are at the moment, but from now on, we want to be in a position to get better results and enjoy our race weekends a bit more and everyone is working in one direction to improve the car”.

The Spaniard has always enjoyed being in the factory and he feels it can provide tangible results. “It is important to spend time with the engineers, the mechanics and other team personnel away from the race weekend, because there are always new ideas or things that spring to mind,” reckoned Fernando. “It can happen that even while you are just having lunch together, you remember something that you would like to try at the next Grand Prix or even in the simulator. That’s why it’s good for me to spend time here in a unique family environment”.

In the short term, the focus has naturally been on the upcoming Grand Prix. “We have been improving the car on the aero side, while in the simulator, we have done a lot of work on the set-up with the aim of arriving in Canada with a better car,” revealed the Ferrari man. “We can’t make any predictions because our improvement has to be seen in relation to what our competitors come up with. We need to match them and then find a plus”.

As a past winner at the Gilles Villeneuve track, Alonso is a fan of the place. “It has only six or seven corners, but each one has something special. They have an element of danger and getting them right brings you a lot of lap time. There is definitely no room for error, as all the walls are very very close. You can feel the city of Montreal has a lot of passion for the race and everyone gets involved in some way. I won here which definitely provides good memories and I also remember that big storm a couple of years back which meant the race was stopped for hours and we were waiting on the grid. There have been ups and downs in terms of results and hopefully this year will be a good one”.

See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/alonso-a-good-atmosphere-factory#sthash.KXuNqski.dpuf

Nero Horse

3rd June 2014, 17:47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMI4SPywCFg

Nero Horse

3rd June 2014, 18:10

Lately Alonso sounds more positive and confident in his statements about the team's progress imo, that's a very good sign. Let's hope we'll truly have something positive coming this weekend. Forza Ferrari!

blaney1977

3rd June 2014, 18:25

I'm starting too believe that Allison is starting too have a bigger influence and hopefully momentum has started for this season and where we are weak we can sort it for next years design and be up there at the start from the 1st race, iv always said Alonso doesn't need the fastest car every weekend

Majki2111

3rd June 2014, 20:24

Alonso has been practising a bit with soft "r" in english, but I like his hard Spanish accent more.

Greig

3rd June 2014, 21:07

Greig

3rd June 2014, 21:10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMmVICbDMpU

I miss these days :-(

fratelliferrari

3rd June 2014, 22:21

No suggestions...? C'mon!

Maybe in Woking at the Mclaren factory ;-) You can laugh about them after the race after yet another dissapointing result :rotfl

stefa

3rd June 2014, 23:28

Maybe in Woking at the Mclaren factory ;-) You can laugh about them after the race after yet another dissapointing result :rotfl

Who knows how good/bad Ferrari result will be at the end of the race....

RedRebel40

4th June 2014, 00:26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMmVICbDMpU

I miss these days :-(

me too.

the most beautifull Ferrari ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U3G38YSlAs

BigGar32

4th June 2014, 01:06

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMmVICbDMpU

I miss these days :-(

Have to say that I laughed most of the way through that clip!! Can remember the race but not this clip. Dubious manoeuvre by Michael but the reaction is hilarious !!! Doubt we'd find it funny if it happened to us though !

Nero Horse

4th June 2014, 02:27

the most beautifull Ferrari ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U3G38YSlAs

The F310 low-nose version was a really beautiful car indeed, but I wouldn't go as far as calling it "the most beautiful Ferrari ever"...there have been many, many, many other stunningly beautiful Ferrari F1 cars, it's all a matter of taste and preference. Actually every Ferrari F1 car with it's legendary red color and Prancing Horse badge is beautiful in it's own way.

djmorin27

4th June 2014, 03:10

I was at that race.the damn drive shafts fell out of micheals car right in front of the pits.Leaving Friday morning for the gp.If any one is going,a bunch of us are heading to the keg in old Montreal later in the.come and join in.

R Ginart

4th June 2014, 03:14

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari has to stay "calm" in its pursuit of Mercedes and Red Bull and insists the team will be closer to challenging for a spot on the podium in Canada.

Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat!!!! 5th place finish.

Nova

4th June 2014, 03:44

Hey RedRebel, great vid of a great F1 car..I loved this era..and? DID YA HEAR THAT MOTOR?????
Did ya hear the sound of that engine???? My gosh..thats something you dont hear anymore.
Wow, I miss that engine sound...a lot!!!

anthony debelli

4th June 2014, 06:29

If Red Bull just blinks to soon, Alonso will pass them for sure. And if by chance Nico and Lewis take each other out, well we could catch 1st place.

stefa

4th June 2014, 11:29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMmVICbDMpU

I miss these days :-(

Nowdays this will be stop and go penalty for two things:
1 - Crossing yellow line after pit exit before it disappears
2 - pushing another car from the track

FerrariF60

4th June 2014, 13:20

Nowdays this will be stop and go penalty for two things:
1 - Crossing yellow line after pit exit before it disappears
2 - pushing another car from the track

yep, totally true...the rules are WAY too strict nowadays

sad but true

Nero Horse

4th June 2014, 14:10

Nowdays this will be stop and go penalty for two things:
1 - Crossing yellow line after pit exit before it disappears
2 - pushing another car from the track

Well, actually Schumi did get a "stop and go" penalty in that race for that move, but he still managed to win it in the end. :-D

Nero Horse

4th June 2014, 15:31

http://i.imgur.com/1Tw6QDG.jpg

sachin

4th June 2014, 16:57

If Red Bull just blinks to soon, Alonso will pass them for sure. And if by chance Nico and Lewis take each other out, well we could catch 1st place.

Thought the same for Kimi at lap 10 in monaco but thats just
Wishful thinking.;-)

ALO

4th June 2014, 18:17

If Red Bull just blinks to soon, Alonso will pass them for sure. And if by chance Nico and Lewis take each other out, well we could catch 1st place.

So since your brought that up what do you guys think? how many races until we actually see the mercs collide spectacularly? my vote Canada lol :lol

Kiwi Nick

4th June 2014, 21:41

[QUOTE=ALO;845862]So since your brought that up what do you guys think? how many races until we actually see the mercs collide spectacularly? my vote Canada lol

Do you mean when Lewis trys to stuff it inside at the hairpin and Nico slams the door? :thumb

ntukza

4th June 2014, 22:02

Within the next three races, but only if Rosberg outperforms Lewis. I don't see it happening with Lewis at the front.

Alonso14

5th June 2014, 02:47

So since your brought that up what do you guys think? how many races until we actually see the mercs collide spectacularly? my vote Canada lol :lol

Canada usually is one of Hamilton's favorite tracks and I expect him to destroy Rosberg there. However, if they are similarly paced (even better - if the car behind is slightly faster) Canada really could be the place where the Mercs collide. The final chicane is very tight and if no one backs off there's a serious chance of a collision. Same with the hairpin, T6 and T8/9.

abbottcostello

5th June 2014, 09:41

Things are definitely getting very tense at merc, lots of stern talk from Toto I imagine, all bets off on the track tho'... I agree on Canada, at the very least it may cement the pecking order within the team.

Kiwi Nick

5th June 2014, 14:13

... I agree on Canada, at the very least it may cement the pecking order within the team.

Cement...as in Wall of Champions?

Nero Horse

5th June 2014, 17:14

Kimi Raikkonen ‘endured’ a sponsor promotional event, a role of a modern Formula 1 driver which he is famously not fond of, ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, where he confirmed that Ferrari have “evolutions” to be tested on Friday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Speaking at a Shell function in Montreal, Raikkonen said, “I believe the preparation for Sunday’s results will start on Friday and I hope that the evolutions we have brought will . . . work on the track.”

He added, “Obviously our target for the race is a good result after a start to the season that has been hard, especially for me. But we will have to see how our improvements compare to those of our opponents who certainly haven’t stopped work over the last few days.”

“From Friday we will know more,” predicted the Finn, who will start his 200th grand prix on Sunday in Canada.

http://www.grandprix247.com/2014/06/05/raikkonen-confirms-busy-friday-for-ferrari/

Rob

5th June 2014, 19:57

Ferrari celebrates the Carabinieri in Canada
http://i62.tinypic.com/ivlbpc.jpg
Maranello, 5 June – There’s a special logo on the Ferrari F14 Ts that Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will drive in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix and at the team’s home race in Monza in September. The logo, which will feature on the sides of the cars, next to the rear view mirrors, celebrates 200 years of the Arma dei Carabinieri, Italy’s Military Police.

The logo features the famous emblem of a flaming grenade with the initial letters of the Italian Republic, as well as the Carabinieri motto, “Nei secoli fedele” (faithful through the centuries,) as well as the Italian flag, with two dates, 1814, when the organisation was established and 2014, the year of the bicentenary.

Having the logo on the cars emphasizes its ever present links to the Carabinieri, based on shared deep values such as respect for one’s history and tradition and on the fact that both are symbolic of Italy around the world. These links were demonstrated in spectacular fashion back in 2012, when Ferrari supported the 4th Carabinieri Cavalry Regiment trip to London. This special division performed its famous historic carousel as part of the Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II in Windsor Great Park.

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/ferrari-celebrates-carabinieri-canada#sthash.GLaWbjyN.dpuf

Rob

5th June 2014, 19:58

Canadian GP – Alonso: “Mattiacci, good vision and a very clever approach”
http://i62.tinypic.com/1zwyeft.jpg
Montreal, 5 June – In the makeshift Scuderia Ferrari hospitality unit, floating on the Olympic Rowing Basin at this unique race track, Fernando Alonso initiated the Canadian GP media proceedings with his usual Thursday encounter with the press. As has been the case in Montreal once every four years the first topic concerned Spain’s chances in the upcoming football World Cup, in which it is the reigning champion. “There are always ups and downs in football, but in recent years the team has made the whole country very happy and expectations will be high again and hopefully they will make us happy again!”

Then, it was onto the more serious matter of this weekend. “It’s going to be tough on a track where once again the dominant factor is the power effect, not like Monaco or Barcelona,” said the Ferrari man. “It’s not going to be easy but I like the track and we have performed well here over the past four years, so I expect to have a good weekend, scoring good points. We have some updates that we have been working on for some weeks, testing them in the simulator. It’s a short lap so the times will be very close which means that one or two tenths can equate to six or seven positions.”

With one team being dominant so far this year, Fernando was asked at what point the Scuderia should concentrate on the 2015 season. “We need to keep fighting for important goals and we have targets to achieve this year, maintained the Spaniard. “However we must not compromise next year’s project this year. We need to keep developing in 2014, because many things carry over for the following year. But if there is something fundamental for next year, obviously we mustn’t take any time away from that. I am not worried about this. Since Marco Mattiacci arrived, everything is moving in the right direction. He has good vision and a very clever approach and we are going to be stronger and stronger.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/canadian-gp-alonso-mattiacci-good-vision-clever-approach#sthash.TsTxB0QW.dpuf

Rob

5th June 2014, 19:59

Canadian GP – Raikkonen: “We are making progress”
http://i62.tinypic.com/x3cyc.jpg
Montreal, 5 June –Some days the press get “talkative Kimi” and other times it’s “laconic Kimi” and today it was a case of the latter, as the Scuderia Ferrari driver was not interested in commenting about feuds between other teams’ drivers, nor seeing much significance in the fact that this Sunday he takes part in his 200th Grand Prix.

However, he was more forthcoming on the topic of the updates brought to Canada for the F14 T. “We have to see how practice goes tomorrow, before getting an idea of what they might bring,” said the Finn. “The weather forecast promised for Friday is not so good and we must hope it’s dry, so we can really get an idea of how things are. Any small improvements are always welcome. We know what we are doing and we are making progress. However, it’s a long process and it won’t happen in just a few weeks.”

As for the rest of the season, Kimi did not foresee a major change to the current hierarchy down pit lane. “I think it would be very hard to challenge Mercedes for the championship,” he maintained. “But within Ferrari we still want to do the best that we can at every race, we want to get stronger for the future and aim for the podium. But I am not prepared to start guessing about whether I can win a race soon.” As for this weekend – “usually, we have quite exciting races here because of the layout of the circuit and also the weather can play a part.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/canadian-gp-raikkonen-we-making-progress#sthash.1Am7Ribg.dpuf

PadGeT

5th June 2014, 20:34

Since Marco Mattiacci arrived, everything is moving in the right direction. He has good vision and a very clever approach and we are going to be stronger and stronger.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/canadian-gp-alonso-mattiacci-good-vision-clever-approach#sthash.TsTxB0QW.dpuf

Finally Mr. Alonso says his opinion on Marco Mattiacci , or is it too much P.R sanitized to judge ?

Nero Horse

5th June 2014, 21:47

Finally Mr. Alonso says his opinion on Marco Mattiacci , or is it too much P.R sanitized to judge ?

I believe that's his honest opinion.

abbottcostello

5th June 2014, 22:24

Cement...as in Wall of Champions?
The perfect spot for the silver cars to "run into" a bit of trouble! :-D

Kiwi Nick

5th June 2014, 23:38

Some light rain this afternoon. Should be gone by sunset. Tomorrow and the rest of the weekend look nice.

Alonsomaniac

6th June 2014, 01:02

I believe that's his honest opinion.

It is, otherwise he would have said nothing.

Alessandra

6th June 2014, 14:30

It is, otherwise he would have said nothing.

True.

And whilst we’re on the subject of what’s said, I’d personally be a happy bunny never to hear well fed and extremely wealthy men talking about being ‘hungry’ for this that and the other. Yes, I know it’s not to be taken literally but it’s become really irritating.
And, a period of silence from L Hamilton would be appreciated, especially on the subject of whether he’s ‘friends’ with Rosberg or not. Who cares? Absolutely no-one – except presumably certain TV commentators trying to keep a perfectly intelligent audience on the edges of their seats when the cars aren’t going round and round. Stop it!

Kristof_F40

6th June 2014, 14:39

I think at this track Lewis has the edge over Nico, so unless there are mechanical issues or a bad start, Mercs will be fine and 1-2. Question is: who will be behind Merc? RBR is fast, but this isn't there most ideal track, but still, they will be up there. So the question is, how will Williams and Force India do? I think they can have a good race here, hopefully we won't be behind them and will have a top 5 position

Nero Horse

6th June 2014, 21:10

The 2007 F1 world champion has had a challenging start to the 2014 campaign, having struggled more than team-mate Fernando Alonso in getting comfortable with the feel of Ferrari's F14-T under braking and corner entry.

With more work to do to overcome Raikkonen's issues, Ferrari has decided to bring back its test team engineer David Lloyd to a racing role to help Raikkonen from this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.

Lloyd will help support Raikkonen's race engineer Antonio Spagnolo and other staff in trying to improve the lines of communication between the Finn and the team so as to get a better understanding of what is needed.

Raikkonen has worked well with British engineers in the past, having had a long partnership with Mark Slade at previous teams McLaren and Lotus.

It is undecided yet if the change will be permanent, or will last only a few races until enough progress has been made.

Lloyd originally joined Ferrari from BAR in 2003 as a test engineer, before becoming race operations manager in 2007 after the departure of Nigel Stepney.

He then returned to a role as a test engineer for the Maranello outfit.

https://eurosport.yahoo.com/news/formula-1-raikkonen-engineer-line-bolstered-181526238--f1.html

vcs316

7th June 2014, 04:29

Ferrari:

Kimi Raikkonen: "Like every Friday, today's programme centred on looking at different set-ups in the first session and a race simulation with both compounds in the second one. This morning, because of a problem on my car, I was unable to run as much as planned and that's never a good thing, because getting in plenty of laps is very important. Thanks to speedy work from the team, in the afternoon, we managed to make up for the run lost in the morning and even if it's too early to make predictions, overall, it didn't go badly and by the end of the day my feeling with the car had improved. I am still not 100% happy with the handling of the F14 T, but I am sure that an analysis of the data we gathered will point us in the right direction for qualifying and the race."

Fernando Alonso: "I am reasonably pleased with the day's testing as we got through a lot of work without encountering any particular problems. We tried some new components and now we must concentrate on getting a good understanding of how they are working. As always on a Friday, we must analyse all the data we have gathered to try and be as well prepared as possible for tomorrow's qualifying, also taking into account the fact that tyre behaviour is very similar to what we saw in Monaco. Certainly, the Supersofts are not like they were in the past and in a race, they last for many laps. For that reason I think there won't be any problems either in qualifying or the first stint of the race."

vcs316

7th June 2014, 04:33

Ferrari looking for speedy development

Despite being able to push "a bit harder" with their engines, Pat Fry has downplayed Ferrari's Montreal updates.

Fernando Alonso set the pace in the morning's session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, crossing the line 0.016s faster than Lewis Hamilton.

And although the Mercedes driver was quickest in the afternoon, the two Ferraris finished fourth and fifth with Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Alonso.

The duo were both half a second down on the leading Mercedes driver, an improvement on their recent form.

Explaining the updates that Ferrari brought to Montreal, Pat Fry told Autosport: "There were quite a few bits, aero, control system tuning, obviously the engine reliability updates, which allowed us to push the engine a bit harder as well.

"It's far too early to be able to say if it is working or not - we need to look at more detail as normal.

"We need to keep developing the car as quick as we can."

However, the head of engineering at Ferrari admitted that catching the Mercedes drivers this weekend may be a step too far.

"I think that will be a very tough challenge," he said. "There is quite a gap to close."

Rob

7th June 2014, 11:01

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Rob

7th June 2014, 11:04

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Rob

7th June 2014, 11:07

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Rob

7th June 2014, 11:09

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vcs316

7th June 2014, 11:26

5868

https://twitter.com/alo_oficial/status/475010367970889728

Rob

7th June 2014, 14:39

Canadian GP – Pat Fry: “Teamwork”

Pat Fry: “We had a particularly busy day in our garage today. What might have looked like two normal practice sessions were actually particularly demanding for the engineers and mechanics, because of several problems, albeit small ones, that affected the running of our programme. However, the number of laps completed by both drivers was enough to get the necessary information to carry out the job of fine tuning the cars. There were two sides to the programme, evaluating the updates introduced for this race and comparing the two compounds, the Soft and Supersoft, brought here by Pirelli. As usual here in Canada, the track is very dirty and that affects grip levels. On this front, we can expect a significant improvement over the course of the weekend. We have to keep that in mind when working on set-up and also when assessing tyre degradation. This latter factor, along with managing fuel consumption, will play an important part in qualifying and in the race, given that temperatures are expected to rise over Saturday and again on Sunday. It’s always difficult to make predictions on Friday because the relative performance level of the teams has yet to be assessed. We will try and give Kimi and Fernando the best possible package and then we will see what results that can deliver.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/canadian-gp-pat-fry-teamwork#sthash.pfIfh6dV.dpuf

Rob

8th June 2014, 07:40

Canadian GP – Pat Fry: “A difficult qualifying”
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Pat Fry: “Today we knew we’d be facing a difficult qualifying, but to be honest, we were hoping for something a bit better. We also knew that at this track, we wouldn’t just be fighting Red Bull, but other teams as well who, thanks to the few corners and long straights here, would give us a hard time and that proved to be the case. The session began in particularly high temperatures, almost 20 degrees hotter than yesterday and we struggled more than our rivals to find enough grip with both cars. From a technical point of view Red Bull, thanks to their higher level of downforce and Williams, with the better driveability of the Mercedes engine, were able to get more out of the tyres, which meant they were more competitive than us. Tomorrow, we will try and do all we can to get a good start, although this year it has not been so easy to make the most of the straights for overtaking. We will definitely have to keep an eye on tyre degradation, which has a bigger effect here, especially with the rears.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/canadian-gp-pat-fry-a-difficult-qualifying#sthash.SUM4wJTX.dpuf

Fernando Alonso: “Uncertain strategy”
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Fernando Alonso: “The result of qualifying reflects the trend we have seen since the start of the season. As often happens, even if on Friday we are front runners, on Saturday we struggle a bit more. The development package we have brought here in Canada has worked well, the car has improved and I am pleased about that, even if at the moment we are unable to extract all the potential out of the car. Mercedes’ dominance today was not a surprise and the Red Bulls and Williams also did better than us. I think tomorrow’s race will not be easy, as it is hard to overtake at the start here, because there is not enough room through the first two corners. We will also have to do a good job of managing tyre degradation and of choosing the right number of stops. It’s been much hotter than yesterday and the tyre that seemed to be the best to race on, the Soft, today appeared less suited to the conditions than the Supersoft. If, as expected, the hot weather continues, the choice will move towards the latter and that will mean making one more stop.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/canadian-gp-fernando-alonso-uncertain-strategy#sthash.7jqgHqKo.dpuf

Kimi Raikkonen: “I’ll give it my all”
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Kimi Raikkonen: “All weekend, I haven’t been completely satisfied with the handling of my car and again today in qualifying I found it difficult. On my only run in Q3, I went out on a new set of Supersofts, but my F14 T was sliding a lot and I couldn’t put together a good lap. Maybe I could have been one or two places higher up, but I don’t think it would have changed much. Even if the updates we tried yesterday worked, we knew it wouldn’t be easy: probably this is one of the tracks that least suits the characteristics of our car. I expect a very long race tomorrow, in which anything could happen. We will try and get a good start and then give it our all.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/canadian-gp-kimi-raikkonen-ill-give-all#sthash.8KdUD1GU.dpuf