Vettel: McLaren and Ferrari look strong

Sebastian Vettel: McLaren and Ferrari look strong here, although I haven't seen all the times from practice yet. For us, I'm happy with the car's balance and how it performs, so we will see. It's a special circuit here, it's quite rough with the kerbs and chicanes, but I like it

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel has declared himself happy with his car's balance and performance following practice today for the F1 2011 Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Vettel's weekend got off to a bad start when he shunted in the first session. However he bounced back in FP2 and eventually finished the day second overall on a 1 minute 15.476 second lap, three tenths off the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

“I had an incident this morning. I lost the rear, but by the time I hit the wall I had low speed, so the crash was quite mild. There wasn't much damage, so we could fix the car and get back out this afternoon,” said the reigning world champion.

“McLaren and Ferrari look strong here, although I haven't seen all the times from practice yet. For us, I'm happy with the car's balance and how it performs, so we will see.

“It's a special circuit here, it's quite rough with the kerbs and chicanes, but I like it. The target is to win, but it's a long weekend and a lot of things can happen. It's important to finish and do your best, whatever that is.”

Team-mate Mark Webber meanwhile was only 12th in FP1 and 8th in FP2. He didn't seem overly concerned though.

“We were a bit compromised with the red flags at the end of P2, so we could have had a smoother end to the final session, but it wasn't too bad,” he added. “We tried different fuel loads today and now we just need to chip away and get the car a bit quicker.”

Source: Crash.net

Practice Two: Alonso tops interrupted session at Canadian GP 2011

Fernando Alonso set the pace ahead of Sebastian Vettel as the drivers had to contend with a crash-interrupted practice in Canada

There were three accidents during the session. The first belonged to Adrian Sutil, who put his car into the wall exiting Turn 7. Moments later, Kamui Kobayashi brought out the red flags when he hit the at Turn 4.

The session was stopped for nine minutes while moments after the restart Jerome D'Ambrosio went off at the same spot as Kobayashi. His shunt also brought out the red flags.

The final ten minutes of the session saw Pedro de la Rosa put in his first laps in the Sauber C30. The McLaren tester will race for Sauber this weekend after Sergio Perez revealed he was not feeling 100 percent after Practice One.

Alonso emerged as the man to beat, clocking a 1:15.107 while Vettel came back from his Practice One woes to finish in second place, 0.369s off the pace.

Felipe Massa, finishing ahead of the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and Force India's Paul di Resta.

Report: The track temperature was sitting at 44'C as Friday's second practice got underway in Montreal. The drivers were quickly out and almost immediately put lap times on the board. Paul di Resta went quickest with a 1:20.038 ahead of Jaime Alguersuari and Kamui Kobayashi.

Nick Heidfeld was the next to lead the way, clocking a 1:17.499, slotting in ahead of Felipe Massa, Vitaly Petrov and Fernando Alonso. Mark Webber improved to third place. Fernando Alonso powered by Nico Rosberg on the track as he made his way up to the P1 slot. His reign was short-lived as Mark Webber went quickest before, seconds later, he was overhauled by Sebastian Vettel by 0.334s. The German was back in action after his team made some hasty repairs to his RB7.

Lewis Hamilton joined the Red Bulls at the front of the packing, taking third place and then second while his team-mate Jenson Button improved to third.

After the initial rush, many drivers headed back into their garages before re-emerging out on track, putting in long-run heavy-fueled runs. This meant almost no changes to the timesheets, although there were a few off-track excursions as they tried to find the perfect line and braking point.

Massa took second place behind Vettel with Alonso slotting into third. The two Ferrari drivers both within a quarter of a second off the Red Bull driver's time. Alonso went on to overhaul Vettel by 0.271s while Heidfeld claimed seventh place on the softer option Pirelli tyres.

Adrian Sutil became the first casualty of the session as he hit the wall exiting Turn 7. Yellow flags were out as the marshals moved his car out of the way. Kamui Kobayashi was the next man out, crashing just minutes after Sutil as he hit the wall on the way out of Turn 4. The Japanese driver's accident brought out the red flags for nine minutes.

Less than a minute after the session had resumed Jerome D'Ambrosio put his Virgin racer into the wall. Hamilton suffered a right rear puncture but did not appear to have hit a wall or barrier. And with that the session was red flagged again.

Pedro de la Rosa completed his first lap for Sauber, a 1:21.873, which was 6.6s off the pace. De la Rosa improved to 20th place but cut the chicane to get his time. Alonso was also using more of the track than expected, taking a trip over the grass at Turn 2.

The session ended with Alonso in the P1 slot with a 1:15.107, followed by Vettel and Massa.

Times
01. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m15.107s 34 laps
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m15.476s + 0.369 29 laps
03. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.601s + 0.494 33 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.977s + 0.870 26 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.989s + 0.882 25 laps
06. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m16.089s + 0.982 34 laps
07. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m16.102s + 0.995 28 laps
08. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m16.324s + 1.217 32 laps
09. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m16.422s + 1.315 32 laps
10. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.687s + 1.580 28 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m16.905s + 1.798 16 laps
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m16.941s + 1.834 39 laps
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.051s + 1.944 32 laps
14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.684s + 2.577 34 laps
15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.757s + 2.650 20 laps
16. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m18.470s + 3.363 33 laps
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m18.482s + 3.375 38 laps
18. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m18.536s + 3.429 14 laps
19. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m18.601s + 3.494 38 laps
20. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m19.209s + 4.102 28 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.810s + 4.703 25 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m20.284s + 5.177 31 laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.311s + 5.204 38 laps
24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.922s + 5.815 26 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Nico quickest, Champ in the walls at Canadian GP 2011

Nico Rosberg put his Merc GP's straight-line speed to good use, taking the P1 slot in Practice One while Seb Vettel put his RB7 into the Wall of Champs

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso set the early pace in Montreal on Friday morning, mixing it up with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

Felipe Massa also joined the tussle, while late-starter Vettel only ventured out after half the session was already over.

And, unfortunately for the Red Bull driver, what time he had left was cut short when he locked up into the final corner and slammed his RB7 into the Wall of Champions.

With the session back underway after six minutes, it was Alonso and the two McLaren drivers fighting for the P1 slot before Merc GP's Rosberg put in a late charge to beat them all.

Rosberg finished up with a 1:15.591, 0.548s up on Alonso while Schumacher was third fastest.

Report: Blue skies and sunshine greeted the drivers at the start of Friday morning's practice for the Canadian GP with the track temperature already up to 27'C as Heikki Kovalainen led out the drivers for their installation laps. Problems for Jarno Trulli with as the Team Lotus driver hit a bird on his installation lap. Not a pretty sight on his front wing.

Toro Rosso tester Daniel Ricciardo got proceedings underway with a 1:26.560. His reign was short-lived as Fernando Alonso took the P1 slot with a 1:19.981 and Michael Schumacher slotted into second place. Schumacher went on to overhaul Alonso with a 1:18.821 while Lewis Hamilton claimed third place.

The McLaren driver continued lapping, taking first place by almost half a second ahead of Schumacher. Jaime Alguersuari put his Toro Rosso into third place with Nico Hulkenberg taking fourth ahead of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg.

Alonso returned to the front with a 1:18.326 before being dropped by Rosberg and also by Webber, who was 0.029s off the P1 time. Hamilton improved to fourth. It was all-change, though, as Felipe Massa hit the front, the first driver into the 1:17s.

Sebastian Vettel finally hit the track for his first timed lap, taking 17th place. The reigning Champ continued lapping, improving to 10th place. Alguersuari was the latest to be caught out at Turn 8, however, it was Vettel who was well and truly caught out.

Out on the soft tyres, the reigning World Champ locked up his right front under braking for the chicane and hit, yip, the Wall of Champions! Vettel escaped unhurt from the accident but the same cannot be said of his car. His RB7 suffered serious damage to the front right.

The session was red flagged for six minutes with the drivers quickly out on track. Massa almost followed Vettel into a wall, although a different wall, the one just after the Turn 3/4 chicane. Paul di Resta almost binned it as well, forcing Trulli to take evasive action. Nick Heidfeld spun his Renault, although that's better than his team-mate Vitaly Petrov who had not even set a time with 20 minutes remaining.

Alonso took over at the front with two purple sector times. Hamilton ran off the track and Button climbed to third place behind the two Ferraris. Rosberg overhauled the Ferraris, a 1:16.002 for the Merc GP driver. Schumacher took third place, 0.983s behind his team-mate. Rosberg, meanwhile, reported to his team that he could feel something burning in the cockpit. That's never good.

Practice One ended with Rosberg in the P1 slot with a 1:15.591. Alonso and Schumacher were second and third ahead of Massa and the two McLarens.

Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.591s 32 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m16.139s + 0.548 27 laps
03. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m16.549s + 0.958 30 laps
04. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m16.658s + 1.067 26 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.676s + 1.085 20 laps
06. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.842s + 1.251 19 laps
07. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.990s + 1.399 28 laps
08. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.294s + 1.703 26 laps
09. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m17.445s + 1.854 28 laps
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.549s + 1.958 20 laps
11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.662s + 2.071 27 laps
12. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m17.820s + 2.229 30 laps
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.458s + 2.867 31 laps
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m18.506s + 2.915 15 laps
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.648s + 3.057 35 laps
16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m18.852s + 3.261 8 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m18.932s + 3.341 20 laps
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m19.274s + 3.683 29 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m19.422s + 3.831 30 laps
20. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m19.577s + 3.986 26 laps
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.838s + 4.247 31 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m19.960s + 4.369 23 laps
23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.520s + 4.929 21 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.839s + 5.248 27 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Canadian GP - Alonso: “I see a positive response in the factory”

After attending a Shell event in downtown Montreal, a city that always reserves a special welcome for the Prancing Horse team, Fernando Alonso met the media at the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro hospitality unit, backing onto the Olympic Rowing Basin at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

Looking at the coming weekend, the Spaniard clearly wants to wait until he has completed some laps before making predictions. “I don’t know how competitive we can be here and we must wait and see once we get out on track,” he began. “It should be a better track for us, in the same way that Monaco was, because when we run on the softer tyres it seems we perform a little better. Secondly, aerodynamics is less important here, because there are not many high speed corners and that helps as we know that, aerodynamically, we are a bit behind our rivals. Therefore, we can maybe expect to be a little bit closer here. However, we must not forget that Red Bull has been quick at all types of circuit and McLaren has been fast at tracks with opposing characteristics, like Barcelona and Monaco. I think we can be closer to them here and have a chance of fighting to be on the podium, but it will be very tough, as indeed it has been throughout the season so far.”

Pirelli might be bringing the same tyres here as they did in the Principality, but the track conditions are much tougher on rubber in Montreal. “I expect more difficulties than in Monaco as far as the tyres are concerned,” confirmed Fernando. “Already there, a one stop was not the fastest strategy, but it was the best one because it is impossible to overtake there. Here it is very easy to overtake and if you tried to adopt the strategy of running to the end, like Vettel did in Monaco, you would find yourself down in eighth place. Even two stops could be difficult here so I expect a good number of stops on Sunday.”

For the first time this season, the DRS (Downforce Reduction System) will be used at two points rather than just one around the track. “It will mean we can adopt a different approach for this race, in terms of the number of pit stops and doing an extra one is not a problem as you can overtake easily and making more pit stops will seem more realistic,” maintained the Ferrari man. “However, let’s not forget that there is rain forecast for Sunday, in which case use of DRS will not be allowed. In a dry race with double DRS, we will see a lot of overtaking which will be a good show for the fans. If it does rain, then because of our situation – we are a long way behind in the championship in terms of points and we are not yet quite as quick as our opponents – the wet for us is not such a problem, because at the moment, we would not win a straightforward race in the dry. So, any strange factors can maybe help us, but wet races are also a lottery in which you need to gamble and you need to win.” Finally, Alonso was asked if he could sense a benefit to the restructuring of the technical department, announced a fortnight ago in Monaco. “I see a positive response back in the factory and a good atmosphere within the team, where everyone is prepared to work hard to apply all the new methods involved in this change.”

Source: Ferrari.com

FIA clarifies rule for qualifying fuel stoppages

F1's governing body has issued a rule clarification after Lewis Hamilton was penalised and reprimanded for an incident at the end of qualifying in Montreal.

The McLaren pole sitter was fined $10,000 after driving too slowly on his Q3 in-lap and then stopping on the circuit, so that enough fuel was left in the tank for a sample to be tested by the FIA.

Not everyone was happy with the British team's actions.

"I don't know all the details so it's hard to comment," Mercedes team boss and FOTA technical chairman Ross Brawn is quoted as saying in Canada.

"But we must not come to a situation where cars run out of fuel after their last lap because they want to be running as light as possible."

According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, the situation was discussed on Sunday during a meeting of team bosses and the race director Charlie Whiting.

Whiting reportedly clarified that, in future, any car that runs out of fuel at the end of qualifying will be summoned to the stewards, risking penalties if the reason for the stoppage is not 'force majeure'.

Source: Motorsport

All-Champion podium: First since '91

One has to go back almost two decades to the last time three World Champions locked out a Formula 1 podium although that's what happened on Sunday as Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso made the rostrum in Canada.

The last time such a result sprang up was at, ironically, another North American race as Ayrton Senna led home Alain Prost and Nélson Piquet in the 1991 season-opening event in Phoenix. The fact that it was a McLaren on the top step on that occasion therefore seems appropriate, when considering yesterday's classification.

However, prior to Montreal 2010 there have also been also been a number of pre-Champion podiums in recent seasons, not least when then reigning title holder Alonso shared the platform with future victors Kimi Räikkönen and Hamilton three years ago.

Sunday marked McLaren's 11th victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, more than any other team in the country which was first visited by F1 at Mosport Park in 1967.

All-Champion F1 podiums:

Canada 2010: Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso
USA 1991: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nélson Piquet
Brazil 1973: Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart, Denny Hulme
South Africa 1970: Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart
USA 1968: Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, John Surtees
Mexico 1967: Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme *
Italy 1967: John Surtees, Jack Brabham, Jim Clark
Holland 1966: Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Jack Clark
Great Britain 1965: Jim Clark, Graham Hill, John Surtees
South Africa 1965: Jim Clark, John Surtees, Graham Hill
Great Britain 1953: Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Nino Farina

* Title-clinching race for Denny Hulme

Source: GP Update

Canadian GP: Q & A with Sebastian Vettel

In the build up to the Canadian race everyone thought the Red Bulls would struggle, but surprisingly the RB6 has handled the Montreal track much better than anticipated. So Sebastian Vettel is feeling pretty frustrated that he eventually finished down in P4. Vettel, who has now dropped to fifth in the driver standings, reviews his race…

Q: Sebastian, when you start from P2 and finish the race in P4 something must have gone wrong. What happened?
Sebastian Vettel: I wish I knew. It’s a question mark for me as well. I think at the beginning we were in a good way. Then we pitted first and went out on the track again in fourth. That was hard to swallow. From then on the race was decided. From that moment on I tried to save my tyres to eventually be able to attack towards the end of the race, as I assumed that with lower fuel the car would be quicker. But within one lap I was running in heavy traffic which made me lose six seconds, so the podium was history from that moment on.

Q: It sounds like a strategy issue. You started on hard tyres, did a short stint, but then on the softs you were unable to close the gap…
SV: Well, the first stint was so short because we were surprised at how close the others were able to stay near us. So the impression was that if we had stayed out longer the gap would have been even smaller. With the early stop we lost the position but probably saved P4 and valuable points. In the end, we will have to sit down and analyze when everybody was pitting and in what position they were afterwards.

Q: You were told via team radio to go a little slower as there was a problem with the car. What kind of problem?
SV: This I cannot answer at the moment. I just received the order to go slower and then tried to ‘carry’ the car over the finish line.

Q: This race saw many pit stops. For the TV audience it’s great, but how was it for you?
SV: I would not mind stopping more often - if I always stayed ahead of the rest!

Q: Your Montreal race weekend in general seemed a bit mixed …
SV: Well yes, something of that sort. It’s somewhat difficult to accept if you pit in the lead and go back on the track again in P4. This is something that will keep me occupied for a while. I have to find out what happened with the two McLarens and Fernando (Alonso) after they went back on the track again. Obviously they’ve been able to avoid traffic. At that moment I didn’t know what the challenge was as I was not sure whether they would pit again. But after three laps it was clear and from then on I had two options - either pass them all or just accept it as an unlucky day.

Q: Was it a race that was lost because of strategy?
SV: We will have to analyze that. I still believe that our strategy was good. But obviously the others found a slightly better one.

Q: You obviously had a minor issue with Force India’s Adrian Sutil. Can you say what it was?
SV: I asked him if he had lost his back mirrors. If they show you the blue flag for two laps, it should be obvious enough. Of course he was in a fight with Nico Hulkenberg but I was at that time still in the position to fight for the podium.

Q: Next stop on the calendar is Valencia. Do you think that you will be stronger there?
SV: I don’t think that we haven’t been strong here. I think that we’ve been faster here than we all thought. It simply was not our Sunday afternoon!

Source: Formula1.com

[Video] Sebastian Vettel shows his Germany jersey before the Canadian GP!

Source: YouTube @xwilhelminax

[Photos] Canadian GP - Sunday - Race

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[Video] RTL Germany: Drivers talk about the World Cup 2010

In German...

Source: YouTube @darkanXik90

Lewis Hamilton delighted after 'sensational' Win in Canadian GP 2010

Source: Youtube - WeeklyF1

Canadian GP: Hamilton takes his second win

Lewis Hamilton won arguably the race of the season, surviving the heated action, tyre changes and argy-bargy to claim his second Canadian GP win

The battle off the start line for the lead was between Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso while behind them it was a great deal more physical with drivers banging into each other as they tried to get through the first corner.

Hamilton held onto the lead but had to give it up as he shot into the pits with Alonso close on his heels. The duo were side-by-side on the way out with Alonso taking the position off the McLaren driver. However, it didn't last long as Hamilton overtook him on the track and maintained his advantage over the Ferrari driver through their second stops.

The duo, though, emerged behind Mark Webber as Red Bull opted to put their driver on hard and more hard tyres, hoping he could build a lead over those using the more fragile softer rubber. The hard/hard call meant Hamilton and Alonso just had to bide their time, waiting to pounce when Webber finally came in for his softer tyres.

In the end they didn't have to wait as they caught the Aussie hand-over-foot and Hamilton passed him into the first corner with the Spaniard quickly following suit. From there it looked to be a straight fight between the McLaren and the Ferrari for the victory before a backmarker caught Alonso unaware and Jenson Button leapt onto the mistake, taking P2 and securing McLaren's second successive 1-2.

Alonso had to settle for third, ahead of Vettel, Webber, Robert Kubica, Nico Rosberg and Sebastien Buemi, who actually led the race for a lap.

The results, though, will only be confirmed after the stewards investigate an incident between Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil and another between Schumacher and Felipe Massa. And that will only be done in the hours after the race.

Results:

01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h33:53.456
02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.254
03.Alonso Ferrari + 9.214
04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 37.817
05. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 39.291
06. Rosberg Mercedes + 56.084
07. Kubica Renault + 57.300
08. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
09. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
11. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Massa Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. Petrov Renault + 2 laps
18. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps
19. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps

Did Not Finish

Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50
Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 43
De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 31
Senna HRT-Cosworth 14
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2

Source: Planet-F1

Lewis Hamilton Q&A: It will be an interesting race

After clinching his first win of 2010 at the last event in Turkey, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton has now scored his first pole position of the season in Montreal on Saturday. Hamilton reviews his qualifying session and looks ahead to Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix…

Q: How do you feel?
Lewis Hamilton: It was such a happy feeling coming across the line. The team told me on the radio at Turn Two that I was on pole. I knew it was a good lap. I’m just really happy and proud of the team, as they did a great job before qualifying and we deserved this result I think.

Q: How do you think the tyre battle is going to play out during the race?
LH: It will definitely be a very interesting race. I hope the weather stays like this, or gets even better. I also hope that the track is a little bit better. On Friday the option tyre was going off after about five laps. So for the race it will be interesting to see how long we can look after these tyres. The Red Bulls are in an interesting situation, as they have the prime tyre on, but at the end of the day they have to use the option tyre as well at some stage. Also the safety car often makes an appearance in Canada, and it could play more into the result, but that’s the way it is here.

Q: You seem to have improved a lot since Friday…
LH: We have only made a couple of different set-up changes on the car. Today the tyres just worked a lot better. We were able to switch them on much more. It’s not only the track that works very well for me; it’s also the country, the city and the people. It’s almost like being in the UK. The support from the fans is great and the people are so friendly. I appreciate this so much and I hope I can make them proud on Sunday.

Q: You stopped out on track…
LH: You have one lap to do the job during the run. On the out lap you have to get the tyres and brakes up to temperature. Then you have to find a gap and then you have to nail it. Out of the two runs I think that I nailed it during the first run. The second was not so great. We have been quickest all day, and then not making it would really be a shame for the team. Fortunately they enabled me to do another lap, where I really got everything out of the car. You have to have enough fuel in the car, so they are able to take a sample, and the team believed that there would be no problems with this, as I wasn’t that far away from the pit lane. And fact is that I did not run out of fuel because I switched the engine off to avoid running out of it. Lap-wise there is never a perfect lap. When I take a look at the data later, I will most probably find out that I have lost a little bit here and there, and that I could have even be quicker. But still it was a sensational lap for me. And this is my third pole position in the three years I have been here, so I am really proud of this.

Q: The Red Bulls start the race with the prime tyres, and you with the option tyre. How much do you think this will affect your first couple of laps?
LH: Of course the Red Bulls are in a better position at the beginning of the race. But we will see how we can work with the softer tyres. In the end I believe it will come down to the pit stops, safety cars and the weather situation. I hope that it will stay dry though.

Q: We have seen many people push their car whilst feeling frustrated, but you pushed it whilst feeling very happy…
LH: This is because I love my car. I always love my car. Today I was able to push her, and she has pushed me across the line to be on pole, so I was happy to push her.

Q: Your team mate Jenson Button said that he is happy that he is only four tenths of a second behind you, as you are so strong here. Why are you so strong here?
LH: I think that this circuit is more of a kart-like circuit. I am happy to throw the car around and into the curves - that has always been one of my strengths.

Source: Formula1.com

[Photos] Saturday in Montreal

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