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Interview with BMW's Robert Kubica

Interview with BMW Sauber F1 Team Driver Robert Kubica.

21 June 2007
Q. Robert, how do you feel?

Robert Kubica: "I feel very well and it was touching how often I was asked this question! I received so many good wishes from all over the world and want to thank everybody for this."

Q. What have you been doing since you left Indianapolis?

Robert Kubica: "I am pretty bored with doing nothing. I am not used to resting for such a long period - no test, no pr days. But, of course, I have used the time for my fitness preparation in Italy and am also in constant contact with Josef Leberer, our team's physio."

Q. How was the reaction in Poland?

Robert Kubica: "Although I did not go to Poland I know from my family that my accident in Montreal was quite a shock in Poland and I have received a lot of cheering messages from all my friends and fans living in Poland. The 30 minutes after the accident were very tough for my relatives in Poland until they got the information that I was not injured."

Q. Do you think the accident will have an influence on your driving in the future?

Robert Kubica: "No, definitely not. I always knew that with a single seater and open wheels an accident like this could happen. Also it can always happen again. This is the same for every driver and we are all aware of it. I feel what happened is more encouraging than worrying thanks to the outcome that you still can climb out without being hurt. The improved safety regulations from the FIA plus the "safety first" approach of our BMW Sauber F1 Team engineers and designers have made this possible. I would like to say a big personal thank you to all of them. If I had been born earlier I would have still wanted to race in Formula One, but most likely would have suffered injuries. I feel I am lucky to be racing in modern Formula One."

Q. What are your feelings ahead of the French Grand Prix?

Robert Kubica: "Well, as I said, I can't wait to race! But whether I am allowed to or not is down to the decision of the official doctors, who I have to see before the race in Magny-Cours."

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Silverstone - Day two

Timo Glock started the first of his two days of testing. He was able to complete the tire testing in the morning as the rain did not come until the afternoon. Other work on the program included suspension development and aero work. Unfortunately the schedule was disrupted by the afternoon showers, so the team was not able to complete all the work it had planned. Despite this the results were positive and the team was happy.

The team is hoping that Timo will be able to finish the race preparation for the Grand Prix at Silverstone on the 8th July, but this will be weather permitting as the forecast is not good.

Is Kimi Cursing his move from McLaren to Ferrari?

The World Formula One championship is many hundreds of laps from being done and dusted, but Kimi Raikkonen would not be human if he hasn't already asked himself if he has made the wrong move in jumping from McLaren to Ferrari this year of all years.

With McLaren Mercedes looking so strong, and Ferrari seemingly off the boil, was it a mistake to leave McLaren when he did? Was advice to stay ignored?

Of course, it is true that McLaren's recent past had some problems, but it is a team that has always had the capacity to recover.

Raikkonen would have been more competitive this year had he remained at McLaren, where he had won races, though never the world title.

I was hoping that Raikkonen would get his own fortunes back on track in Canada or maybe at Indy this past weekend. But the cheers were again urging Lewis Hamilton to a win.

Raikkonen started karting at the age of 12 and enjoyed considerable success in the sport before turning to single-seater racing in 1999 for four races in British Formula Renault. He had a few outings in Formula Ford and then decided to concentrate on Formula Renault and entered the Winter Series in Britain with Manor Motorsport. He won all four events. Her stayed with Manor for the 2000 season and won seven of the 10 races and was on the podium in the other three events. he also took part in three European races, winning two of them.

Such was his success that in September 2000 the Sauber team tested him at Mugello and immediately decided to sign him up for 2001 as team mate to Nick Heidfeld. It proved to be an inspired choice and Raikkonen finished sixth on his Grand Prix debut in Australia and went on to score on three more occasions (twice finishing fourth) in the midseason. McLaren decided in August to make a bid for the Finnish driver to replace Mika Hakkinen and he was signed by McLaren on a five year deal in September. In 2002 he failed to win a race but looked strong on several occasions and he won his first F1 victory in Malaysia in 2003. There would be more than 18 months of frustration with poor cars before he won again in Belgium in 2004.

In 2005 he was joined at McLaren by Juan Pablo Montoya. The team was very competitive and Raikkonen won a string of races and would have won the World Championship but for poor reliability.

There was further frustration in 2006 as the McLaren was not fast enough and Raikkonen decided to take up the offer to join Ferrari in 2007, as replacement for the great Michael Schumacher.

Say Cheese

Ralf fastest at Silverstone - 1st day

Ralf Schumacher served notice and topped the times on the opening day of testing at Silverstone this week. The under-fire Toyota driver finished the day 0.1s ahead of McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa.

Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber was third fastest but his car stopped on the track in the afternoon. Luca Badoer was  on duty for Ferrari, the Italian focusing on set-ups as  well  as  the development  of  new  components to  be  used  in  the upcoming Grands  Prix.  Having lost track-time due to a technical problem in the morning, Badoer eventually completed 57 laps, finishing almost a second off the pace. Kimi Raikkonen  takes over tomorrow. Let's see what the "ice-man" can do.

The most dramatic incident of the day came when Williams tester Kazuki Nakajima went off track in the finals sector and damaged the car's front wing in the morning.

Adrian Valles and Giedo van der Garde were in action for the Spyker team.

Rain was expected, but it held off all day allowing plenty of running. The three-day test continues tomorrow.

Is F1 really boring? - I say No!

Who's really bored lately watching F1? Some have said that they had written off Formula One as an unsporting, processional bore. Along comes a British driver who seems to combine raw talent and a naked desire to race, with the ability to make good on the hype and what seems genuine humility.

The racing this season isn’t any better... you say... still isn’t much competitive overtaking? Well you might be right, but Kubica’s sickening accident was a timely reminder of the fear the drivers must face down just to exit the pit lane. This remains a very high-consequence sport, and that alone demands our attention. As does the endgame of Ron Dennis’s extraordinarily precognitive decision to sign a pre-pubescent Hamilton to McLaren a decade ago.

I suspect he may really be that good

At first I thought Hamilton - sure a fluke, just wait until Alonso - or maybe the ice-man Kimi comes out of the woodworks. But the way he won in Canada and Indy suggested he could win the drivers’ championship at his first attempt, so I suspect he may really be that good. I suspect I'll watch more F1 as normal - looking too see if Alonso or Kimi - or hopefully the BMW boys can become challenging. Otherwise we may have another "Schumacher-syndrome" on Sundays. Where every race is dominated by one man - Hamilton.

I know I'm tuning in to see who can challenge this new knight in his silver racer every weekend. The same thing will be happening to other former Formula One fans across the world - I'm sure. Gardens will go untended. Cars will go unwashed. Whole sections of the Sunday papers will go unread. And I reckon there’ll be a Brit at the top of the drivers’ standings at the end of the season.

Standings so far

Drivers' world championship 2007
Name	Car	Nat	Points
1 Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	GB	58
2 Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	Spa	48
3 Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Brz	39
4 Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Fin	32
5 Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	Ger	26
6 Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	Ita	13
7 Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	Pol	12
8 Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	Fin	12
9 Alexander Wurz	Williams-Toyota	Aut	8
10 Jarno Trulli	Toyota	Ita	7
11 Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	Ger	5
12 David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	GB	4
13 Takuma Sato	Super Aguri-Honda	Jpn	4
14 Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	Aus	2
15 Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	Ger	2
16 Sebastian Vettel	BMW Sauber	Ger	1
17 Rubens Barrichello	Honda	Brz	0
18 Jenson Button	Honda	GB	0
19 Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	Ita	0
20 Christijan Albers	Spyker-Ferrari	Ned	0
21 Scott Speed	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	US	0
22 Adrian Sutil	Spyker-Ferrari	Ger	0
23 Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri-Honda	GB	0

                   

Constructors' world championship 2007
Team	Points
1 McLaren-Mercedes	106
2 Ferrari	71
3 BMW Sauber	39
4 Renault	25
5 Williams-Toyota	13
6 Toyota	9
7 Red Bull-Renault	6
8 Super Aguri-Honda	4
9 Honda	0
10 Toro Rosso-Ferrari	0
11 Spyker-Ferrari	0

Positions after US Grand Prix

Hamilton All The Way at Indy!

Lewis Hamilton produced yet another incredible display to claim his second straight win in a McLaren one-two at the United States Grand Prix.

The victory, in his first-ever race in Indianapolis, saw the Briton extend his lead over team-mate Fernando Alonso in the title race to 10 points.

Hamilton held off an attempted pass from Alonso on lap 39 but after that the pair did not race each other again.

The Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen took third and fourth place.

Just seven days after claiming a maiden Grand Prix win in Canada, Hamilton delivered another assured drive at the famous Motor Speedway circuit.

"What a dream," said the 22-year-old, after he had climbed onto the podium for the seventh time in his fledgling seven-race Formula One career.

"To come to two circuits (Montreal and Indianapolis) that I didn't know and to really come out with such pace and to see the team moving forward is great.

The last 15 laps seemed a lifetime, but I was in the lead, I was able to do it and I'm very emotional now.

After taking a second straight pole, Hamilton was able to complete a grid-to-flag victory, coolly dealing with Alonso's two attempts to pass him.

The Spanish world champion tried to hustle pole-sitter Hamilton off the grid but the rookie pulled away and used his now customary early pace to stretch his lead.

After making their first pit-stops just one lap apart, Alonso tried to pass Hamilton, who had become embroiled with the back-markers.

Alonso gathered pace in Hamilton's slipstream and the two McLarens went side-by-side down the main straight, only for Alonso to be thwarted by the Briton as they entered Turn One - after that tussle the McLarens did not race again.

McLaren's build-up to Indy had been dominated by Alonso and Hamilton's publicly sniping about favoritism within the team.

When it came to the crunch team boss Ron Dennis wisely chose to bring both his drivers home safely and preserve the points.

Hamilton added: "It was very tough, Alonso fought very well but at the end I managed to pull a gap which I was able to maintain and control the race."

Alonso, whose glum expression indicated he took little comfort from his best-ever finish in the US, said he had lost the race right at the beginning.

"I think the start was the key point of the race, after that who was second would be second in the race," said Alonso, 25.

"My start was good but we both braked in more or less the same place. I tried to overtake but I didn't want my race to finish in the first corner.

"Eight points are better than nothing, we increased the gap on Ferrari which is one of the main things at this is point in the championship."

Hamilton's win in Indianapolis saw him become only the fourth rookie, alongside Jacques Villeneuve, Nino Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, to win at least two races in their debut season.

It was also an historic day in Indianapolis for Sebastian Vettel, who became the youngest driver to score a point.

The 19-year-old was making his debut for BMW Sauber as a replacement for Robert Kubica, who is still recovering from the effects of his high-speed crash in Montreal.

Vettel drove smartly and was bumped up into eighth after Nico Rosberg retired on lap 69 as smoke plumed out of his Williams, which was yet again haunted by reliability problems.

There were signs of encouragement for Renault as Heikki Kovalainen, who briefly led a race for the first time in his career, finished fifth ahead of Toyota's tenacious Jarno Trulli.

Mark Webber collected his first points of the season in seventh for Red Bull. There was less luck for Trulli and Webber's respective team-mates.

David Coulthard's Red Bull got shunted by Ralf Schumacher's Toyota out of Turn One on the opening lap, forcing both, along with Honda's Rubens Barrichello, to retire.

Jenson Button brought the other Honda home in 12th while fellow Briton Anthony Davidson was one place better off in his Super Aguri. 

 

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Results from the United States Grand Prix, Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

1.   Lewis Hamilton (Britain)        McLaren   1hr 31min 09.965
2.   Fernando Alonso (Spain)         McLaren        +00:01.518
3.   Felipe Massa (Brazil)           Ferrari         00:12.842
4.   Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)        Ferrari         00:15.422
5.   Heikki Kovalainen (Finland)     Renault         00:41.402
6.   Jarno Trulli (Italy)            Toyota          01:06.703
7.   Mark Webber (Australia)         RedBull-Renault 01:07.331
8.   Sebastian Vettel (Germany)      BMW Sauber      01:07.783
9.   Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy)    Renault             1 lap
10.  Alexander Wurz (Austria)        Williams-Toyota     1 lap
11.  Anthony Davidson (Britain)      Super Aguri-Honda   1 lap
12.  Jenson Button (Britain)         Honda               1 lap
13.  Scott Speed (U.S.)              Toro Rosso-Ferrari  2 laps
14.  Adrian Sutil (Germany)          Spyker-Ferrari      2 laps
15.  Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Spyker-Ferrari      3 laps
16. retired Nico Rosberg (Germany)          Williams-Toyota     5 laps
17. retired Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy)       Toro Rosso-Ferrari  5 laps
R Nick Heidfeld (Germany)         BMW Sauber         18 laps
R   Takuma Sato (Japan)             Super Aguri-Honda  60 laps
R   David Coulthard (Britain)       RedBull-Renault    73 laps
R   Rubens Barrichello (Brazil)     Honda              73 laps
R   Ralf Schumacher (Germany)       Toyota             73 laps

Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen, 1:13.117 on lap 49.

R = retired

 

The Brickyard - USA GP - Preview

Indianapolis Speedway is fundamentally different from the circuit at Montreal, yet both tracks demand a medium downforce level. In Indy that is the result of a tricky compromise. On the oval section you have a 1,860-metre full-throttle section - the longest flat-out stretch to date on the whole F1 calendar. To achieve maximum top speed, you would want to take the Indy oval with a very low wing setting and minimal drag. But with a low-downforce package of the kind BMW Sauber uses in Monza, there wouldn't be nearly enough downforce for the 11 turns in the Indianapolis infield section. If you haven't got sufficient braking stability and traction in these corners, you lose more time than can be gained on the straights. In the infield, where you shift down all the way to first, you want the maximum possible downforce, similar to Monaco or Budapest.

These radically different demands made by the oval and the infield section turn set-up work at Indy into a fine balancing act. It is also worth noting that there are passing opportunities at the end of the straights. And the transition to the infield the track is so wide that it can accommodate a number of possible lines.

Ferrari team boss Jean Todt has suggested that his team will be much more competitive at this weekend's US Grand Prix than it was last time out in Canada.

Furthermore, Raikkonen had several problems. He slightly touched another car at the start (his teammate's), and then he got some parts of a crashed car in the front wing, as you could all see, and that definitely damaged the performance of his car. Raikkonen also had problems with the softer tires he had to use at the end of the race, but not as severe as World Champion Fernando Alonso who finished two places behind.

In spite of Ferrari being 28 points behind McLaren in the championship race, there is still a long way to go.

BMW's Motorsport Director Mario Theissen hopes he can welcome Robert Kubica at Indianapolis as the team's race driver. The Polish driver crashed at the Canadian Grand Prix with a huge impact into the wall. Even though Kubica was knocked out for a moment he was almost fine after spending a night in the hospital in Montreal. 

History and background:

The race teams traveling by truck and bus started arriving Monday evening at Indianapolis. By then those team mates traveling on flights from Canada to the USA, will already be in place and poised to start setting everything up and preparing the cars.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 as a 2.5-mile oval. Its enduring nickname "Brickyard" derives from the bricks that were used in its construction. 1911 saw the inauguration of the famous 500-mile race associated with the track.

For the Indy 500, cars race on the oval in a counter-clockwise direction. Formula One, on the other hand, runs clockwise and uses only part of the oval. This particular section forms a 1,860-metre full-throttle stint which contrasts with the twisty infield section of the circuit specially built for the debut appearance of Formula One in 2000.

In 2007, Formula One will mark its eighth USA Grand Prix there in succession. The first USA Grand Prix was held in Sebring in 1959 and was won by Bruce McLaren in a Cooper Climax. 1960 saw F1 move to Riverside, then to Watkins Glen the following year, where a total of 20 World Championship races were held up until 1980. Between 1976 and 1983, Formula One also made eight appearances at Long Beach for the Grand Prix USA-West. The 1980s also featured two F1 events in Las Vegas, one in Dallas and seven in Detroit. From 1989 to 1991 Phoenix played host to the USA GP. The 2005 Indianapolis race went down in history after just six cars took part due to tyre problems.

Under the rear wing

Speed Racer the Movie (2008)

It's been talked about for a LONG time now that Larry and Andy Wachowski wanted to make a movie based on the cartoon and manga Speed Racer property but word finally comes through that the movie is a definite go! Speed Racer the Movie - is due out May 2008.

Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized-the legendary Rex Racer-whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill.

Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret-some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line.

It's the story of Speed Racer, but in a way that you’ve never seen it before. The Wachowskis brought a tremendous sense of wonder and magic to that story. They just had a different way of seeing the story, in the way they do on everything they do. And we’re going to shoot all of that in Germany.
producer Joel Silver

The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival-the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)-to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

Based on the classic series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, the live-action "Speed Racer" will showcase the kind of revolutionary visual effects and cutting-edge storytelling that have become the benchmarks of the Wachowski brothers'.

Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer
He's a demon on wheels
He's a demon and he's gonna be chasing after someone
He's gaining on you so you better look alive
He's busy revving up the powerful Mach Five
And when the odds are against him and there's daaangerous work to do
You bet your life Speed Racer's gonna see it through
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer go

He's off and flying as he guns the car around the track
He's jamming down the pedal like he's never coming back
Adventure's waiting just aheeeeeeeeaaaaad

Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer Go!

Kubica out of hospital

BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica was released from the hospital on Monday after escaping serious injury in a horrific crash at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old Pole lost control as he tried to overtake Toyota's Jarno Trulli at 180mph, his car lifting off the ground before hitting a wall head-on.

Kubica emerged with only slight concussion and a sprained ankle.

I was very lucky - big accident, but fortunately, nothing hurt.

Kubica said he remembered "nearly everything" about the crash.

He underwent intensive CT-scans and other checks at the Sacre Coeur Hospital in Montreal and was given the all-clear by doctors, driving himself away in a BMW X5.

Kubica hopes to be cleared to race in next weekend's US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, although he will have to undergo a standard check by the FIA Medical Delegate on Thursday.

To get a driver back unhurt after such a huge accident is fantastic.

The fact that Kubica emerged relatively unscathed is all the more remarkable as photographs show that the front of the chassis had been ripped off in the initial impact, exposing the driver's feet.

German test driver Sebastian Vettel is BMW's official reserve driver if Kubica is not declared fit to race in Indianapolis.

Sato's Best Race Ever!

Takuma Sato finished Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix in sixth position. The Japanese rider scored three points in Super Aguri's only 25th Formula 1 Grand Prix - something the team could not even dream about just over a year ago.

Wow - I guess I'm having to change my thinking about this young guy. Sato started the race from 11th position and managed to overtake Jarno Trulli. He overtook the Italian already in Turn 1 to grab 10th position.

Sato was chasing down Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari - very impressive. Then he got ahead when the Finn slipped up at the hairpin. That was a really weird situation, and really surprising he had a very strong pace and Kimi couldn't catch him. More surprising was that Sato was catching Giancarlo in front of him.

Around the end of the race Sato got behind Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher. He took three laps to work out how to overtake him. He tried the chicane - it failed, then at Turn 1 - it failed. But he finally managed it down the back straight and braking into the last corner on the outside. That was pretty cool.

At that point Takuma Sato was chasing double world champion Fernando Alonso. The McLaren was superfast down the straight - about three quarters of the way down the straight in his tow! - But he suffered a lot on his soft tires. Within a few laps Sato had the same opportunity as with Ralf. He was much stronger under braking and was committed enough to overtake on the outside into the chicane. Totally exciting!

It was amazing. You could say it was lucky, but you have to put yourself in the right position to make it happen. I think this team did an awesome job - Sweet!

Kubica escapes injury after crash

BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica escaped serious injury in a horrific high-speed crash at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old Kubica lost control of his car as he tried to overtake Toyota's Jarno Trulli at 180mph as he approached the L'Epingle hairpin.

His car lifted off the ground, crashed into a wall, nose first and then somersaulted down the circuit before coming to a halt.

After initial reports of a broken leg, Kubica was later said to have suffered concussion and a sprained right ankle.

He was airlifted to hospital after being extracted form the wreckage of his car.

But team officials later said Kubica had "escaped relatively unscathed" and he is expected to be released from hospital on Monday.

There is no indication yet whether he will be cleared to race in next weekend's US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

"When you see another colleague have such a big crash and you are hit from the back, it's not a nice feeling," said Trulli.

"At that stage a lot of things were going on in my mind but I have since heard that he's fine."

Hamilton's Dream Comes True - Winner at Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton drove to win the Canadian Grand Prix and take his first, Storybook Formula One victory in only the sixth race of his career.

The Englishman led a dramatic race throughout, driving with composure as the field fell apart around him. Talk about a freaky race...

He survived four interventions by the safety car to head Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber and Williams's Alexander Wurz.

World champion Fernando Alonso finished seventh and Robert Kubica survived a HUGE crash after rolling his BMW.

Kubica's 180mph crash at the hairpin prompted the second, and most lengthy of the safety car periods, but by that time all semblance of a challenge to Hamilton had evaporated.

His victory puts him into an eight-point championship lead over Alonso and strengthens the astonishing prospect of him winning the title in his first season.

The 22-year-old started from pole position, and was expecting a strong challenge from team-mate Alonso.

But the Spaniard ran wide at the first corner, and slipped down to third place behind Heidfeld. He was then taken completely out of contention through no fault of his own.

The first caution period was triggered by a crash involving Adrian Sutil's Spyker, and, running low on fuel, Alonso had no choice but to make his first pit stop at the same time, breaking rules that say drivers cannot pit until the field has formed up behind the safety car.

That meant Alonso was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty, dropping him down to 13th place.

He started lapping at record pace in an attempt to make up places, and was aided in his quest by three further safety car periods - the second for Kubica's horrendous crash.

Kubica's car appeared to touch Jarno Trulli's Toyota as they approached the hairpin and speared off the track. The car was launched into the air, flew into the barriers nose first and barrell-rolled down the track before coming to rest on its side.

Medical crews took several minutes to get him out of the car, and he was taken to Montreal hospital for further checks, but his manager Danieli Morelli said he was "fine" and had a broken led. Wow - it certainly looked worse.

The constant safety car interventions might have unsettled some drivers, but Hamilton demonstrated the coolness and maturity that have been his signature in his stunning debut season to continue un-flustered at the front. But then he was never really impacted by any of the "stuff" that was going on behind him.

Hamilton has done a great job, he deserved it

I also believe that Alsonso was extremely disappointing and he himself, not just the saftey car being  deployed really destroyed his chances. He was all over the place and never looked in control of this race or his car.

Behind Hamilton, the unrelenting drama continued to shake up the order.

And by the end of the final caution period, Wurz was in an unaccustomed third place thanks to his team's decision to fill his car up with fuel at his first pit stop and gamble on more safety car interventions allowing him to get to the end of the race without stopping again.

Renault's Heikki Kovalainen was another beneficiary, taking an impressive fourth place after crashing in qualifying and starting from the back.

Other drivers were less fortunate - Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella were both disqualified (Black Flagged - hello...) for leaving the pits when the exit was closed.

Kimi Raikkonen was fifth for Ferrari, ahead of Takuma Sato's Super Aguri, which emphasised the sense of surrealism hanging over the race by passing Alonso for sixth place with two laps to go. Say what - Sato passing the world champion..? - Twilight Zone.

The Spaniard had fought up on to Raikkonen's tail before the final safety car intervention and looked as if he might take the Ferrari before the end.

Instead, he began to drop back, struggling for grip, and fell into the clutches of Sato, who dived around the outside in the final corner. Alonso gave him room, preferring not to risk a collision.

Ralf Schumacher took the final point in eighth place.

 

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Result of Canadian Grand Prix after 70 laps of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal

1 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes one hour 44 minutes 11.292sec
2 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 4.343 seconds behind
3 Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Toyota 5.325
4 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 6.729
5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 13.007
6 Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 16.698
7 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 21.936
8 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 22.888
9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 22.960
10 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 23.984
11 Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 24.318
12 Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 30.439
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 58 laps completed
R Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) Toro Rosso 54 laps
R Christijan Albers (Ned) Spyker-Ferrari  47 laps
R David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 36 laps
R Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 26 laps
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 21 laps
R Scott Speed (USA) Toro Rosso-Ferrari eight laps
R Jenson Button (GB) Honda no laps
DQ Giancarlo Fisichella* (Ita) Renault 51 laps
DQ Felipe Massa* (Brz) Ferrari 51 laps

* Fisichella and Massa disqualified for leaving the pit lane while a red light was showing

Hamilton takes pole in Canada

Lewis Hamilton claimed the first pole position of his burgeoning career with a stunning qualifying lap for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

The 22-year-old Briton set the fastest time of one minute, 15.707 seconds and McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso was unable to beat it with his final lap.

Alonso was ahead but lost six tenths of a second in the final section.

Our BMW boy, Nick Heidfeld did superbly to put his BMW Sauber third ahead of the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. Way to go Nick!!

Britons Jenson Button and David Coulthard both finished outside the top 10 after a disappointing qualifying session.

Coulthard finished 14th after suffering braking troubles with his Red Bull while Button came 15th in his Honda.

Hamilton, racing at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit for the first time, set the fastest time on his final lap but had to wait for a few anxious seconds before discovering that Alonso had not beaten his time.

He came to that last corner at 200mph and on the final lap went quicker than ever. He almost touched the wall.

And Hamilton, who has claimed a record five podium finishes in the opening five races of his maiden F1 season, might be able to collect his first Grand Prix victory on Sunday.

Heikki Kovalainen's nightmare continued during the opening qualifying session, when he lost his rear wing after finding the wall at turn four, bringing a red flag out for the second session in a row.

During morning practice engine failure left his Renault spilling oil on the track and the day before he hit a wall.

They really struggled with low grip. I don't know if it is heat in the tires or what, but they didn't appear to have good traction.

They've done well in qualifying here in the past but it was interesting today. It looked very disappointing to be so far behind.

 

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Qualifying times at the Canadian Grand Prix:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren one minute, 15.707
2. Fernando Alonso (Sp) McLaren 1:16.163
3. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:16.266
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:16.411
5. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:16.570
6. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:16.913
7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:16.919
8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:16.993
9. Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Renault 1:17.229
10. Jarno Trulli (It) Toyota 1:17.747
11. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:16.743
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi (It) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.760
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:17.116
14. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:17.304
15. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:17.541
16. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:17.571
17. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda  1:17.542
18. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:17.634
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:17.806
20. Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Toyota    1:18.089
21. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 1:18.536
22. Christijan Albers (Ned) Spyker-Ferrari 1:19.196

 

Alonso sets early Canada GP pace

McLaren's Fernando Alonso was fastest in both of Friday's practice sessions for the Canadian Grand Prix.

He was half a second quicker than the rest in the second session, posting a time of one minute 16.550 seconds.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa was second quickest in 1:17.090 while Lewis Hamilton, who was second in the first session, was relegated to third.

David Coulthard ended 11th, two places ahead of Jenson Button, while Anthony Davidson was 15th fastest.

 

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Times from Friday's second practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix:
1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.550
2. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:17.090
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB)  McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.307
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:17.515
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:17.827
6. Nico Rosberg (Ger)  Williams-BMW 1:17.992
7. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:18.108
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:18.130
9. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:18.181
10. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri F1 Team 1:18.309

 

Times from Friday's first practice session:
1.  Fernando Alonso (Spa)         McLaren-Mercedes 1min 17.759 seconds
2.  Lewis Hamilton (GB)        McLaren-Mercedes     1:17.967
3.  Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)        Ferrari     1:18.136
4.  Felipe Massa (Brz)           Ferrari     1:18.167
5.  Mark Webber (Aus)         Red Bull-Renault     1:18.301
6.  Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita)    Renault     1:18.620
7.  Nick Heidfeld (Ger)         BMW Sauber  1:18.634
8.  Ralf Schumacher (Ger)       Toyota      1:18.652
9.  David Coulthard (GB)       Red Bull-Renault     1:18.717
10. Anthony Davidson (GB)      Super Aguri-Honda 1:18.896

Schumi remains busy

Michael Schumacher was spotted at Sunday's Italian MotoGP race at Mugello, Ferrari's home track in Italy.

Schumacher witnessed Valentino Rossi win his home Grand Prix, his sixth in a row.

Schumacher remains a busy man even though he retired at the end of the 2006 Formula 1 season. The German visited the Spanish and Monaco Grand prix and also is scheduled to visit the French and German Grand Prix.

Michael may not be racing any longer, but he's set to stay in the public eye thanks to ongoing promotional work for Ferrari's parent company, Fiat.

Schumi, already the star of television commercials for Fiat will now make his way into the letter boxes of van drivers, small businesses and fleet managers. Schumacher is being used to front a campaign for the Fiat Scudo vehicle and the direct mail pack being sent out will include a bumper sticker reading 'my other car is a van'. It also contains a solo photo of the man himself.

The Ferrari Formula One team is glad it has Michael Schumacher presence at a number of races. Schumacher visited the Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix so far as the Italian team's advisor.

Jean Todt said about Schumacher's presence: "He has been observing and if he feels he has something to say he will speak with the engineers." But he wouldn't go so far as to say that Schumacher had a major influence in the team's decisions. "You know the team is quite well organized. We rely on the people who spend all the time in (Ferrari's base at) Maranello or at the track to improve the car and the development of the car, but Michael's input is always very interesting and makes everybody happy."

Where is Kimi?

Where is our boy Kimi Raikkonen; the struggling Ferrari man to have replaced Schumi?

Going into this weekend's Canadian GP, Raikkonen is 15 points adrift of drivers championship co-leaders Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Kimi has been struggling with problems for some time now.

Things have not gone to plan for Raikkonen at Ferrari

Things looked bright for Raikkonen when he won the Australian Grand Prix in March on his Ferrari debut.

But McLaren's dream team of reigning world champion Alonso and rookie sensation  Hamilton relegated him third place in both Malaysia and Bahrain.

Raikkonen was forced to retire from the Spanish GP and a crash during qualifying at Monaco gave him an uphill battle as the McLaren duo romped home in the principality.

He has also seen team-mate Felipe Massa take victory in Spain and Bahrain to move 10 points ahead of him in the drivers standings.

Regarded as the out-and-out fastest driver in Formula One, Raikkonen has unexpectedly been eclipsed by team-mate Felipe Massa since moving to Ferrari.

There was much speculation before this season about how the former McLaren driver would adapt to life at Ferrari as a replacement for Michael Schumacher, who was much more involved in the workings of his team.

Could Schumacher replace Todt?

After his retirement at the end of the 2006 Formula One season Michael Schumacher has visited the Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix as Ferrari's advisor.

According to Jean Todt, who might retire at the end of this season, Schumacher would be his perfect successor.

"Yes, we are thinking about various people who could take over the whole responsibility of Gestione Sportiva," Jean Todt told reporters in Monaco. "You must always try to plan for the future. Michael has the skills to do it and for me it would be the best, but he does not want to do it. Michael loves the team and the team loves him.

"He is a very clever guy, he knows that to be the head of Gestione Sportiva is a very demanding job where you need to spend 10 or 12 hours every day in the office and be solving problems. Simply he doesn't want to do that which I can understand."

Is Hamilton too agressive?

Is Lewis Hamilton too aggressive in his driving at the start of Grand Prix'.

Hamilton's behavior is similar to that of former champion Michael Schumacher, who was widely criticized for dirty driving.

Is his driving style considered dangerous, his chopping moves dirty driving?

Lewis is not getting penalized and his behavior off the start has started to look the way Michael used to.

Hamilton has begun his Formula One career with greater success than any driver in history, and his ability to make places off the start is one of many ways in which the 22-year-old has attracted attention.

Lewis is very fast but he still has to step up to the plate and beat Alonso

But I'm surprised race officials had not waved a black flag at Hamilton, calling him into the pits for potential disqualification for dangerous driving. So far, i think he has been lucky, so we'll see if it carries on.

He makes progressive moves that would have gotten some of the other drivers black-flagged, or at least questioned.

Hamilton heads into this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix tied on points at the head of the world championship with team-mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso.

And he has been faster than the Spaniard in the last three races, beating Alonso in Bahrain and Spain but being asked by the team not to challenge him for victory in Monaco.

I believe Hamilton still has some way to go before he has fully established himself as a leading contender. Lewis is very fast, but he still has to step up to the plate and beat Alonso.

And we still haven't seen how he reacts under pressure - that will be interesting to watch.

Stroll on Hump Day

Prediction - Ferrari fights back!

Ferrari will bounce back from their below-par performance in Monaco to contest victory in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.

Rivals McLaren took a dominant one-two in Monaco, with Massa a distant third.

But Massa believes Ferrari will be a force in Montreal and at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis a week later.

"The F2007 will run as a very strong package in Canada and actually, also in Indy, where Ferrari has also had good results," the Brazilian said.

It is widely believed that Ferrari struggled in Monaco because their car did not suit the tight confines of the street circuit.

The Ferrari has a longer wheelbase than the McLaren, which puts it at a disadvantage on a track that is predominantly made of slow corners with limited chances of driving at high speed.

But the Montreal and Indy tracks are higher speed layouts which should suit the Ferrari's design.

Ferrari sporting director Stefano Domenicali said: "We believe we will have a strong package for this event.

"There is no reason why we should not be able to fight for the win in Montreal after a weekend in Monaco where our performance did not accurately reflect our potential."

Ferrari have lost their traditionally rock-solid reliability this season, and Canada has a reputation as a car breaker.

Its long straights put a strain on engines, and adding to teams' worries are the fact that most will be using in Canada the same engines they used in Monaco.

F1's rules demand that engines last for two entire Grand Prix weekends, and Canada is the second event in the two-race cycle.

But Massa - who heads into the race five points behind the McLaren drivers, who are level at the head of the championship - said he was not concerned.

"Although you can never be 100% sure, I think we have an engine that is strong in terms of reliability and added to that is the fact we did not push it too hard in Monte Carlo," he said.

Canada is a crucial race for Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who has slipped to 15 points off the championship lead after a series of poor races.

Valencia secures F1 street race

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has sealed a deal to hold a Grand Prix on a circuit around the streets of the Spanish city of Valencia from 2008.

The race, to be called the European Grand Prix, will be the second Spanish race on the F1 calendar.

Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya recently extended its contract to host the Spanish Grand Prix until 2016.

Valencia has signed a seven-year contract, and the race is expected to be held late in the season.

Ecclestone told the Reuters news agency on Friday: "The agreement was signed this morning along exactly the same lines as we agreed last month."

At that time, Ecclestone caused a political storm in Spain by saying the deal was conditional on the Partido Popular holding power in local elections.

But Ecclestone later denied that was the case, saying: "I said I wouldn't formalize the contract until after the elections because I didn't know who I would be signing it with."

To have a race on the streets when we have a circuit only 20 or 30km away in Valencia is a little bit difficult to understand 

    Popular Francisco Camps was re-elected president of the Valencian regional government last month.

The Valencia circuit will be between 4.1-4.3km (2.5-2.7 miles) long and will be based around the city's America's Cup port.

Its harbour-side location is bound to draw comparisons with the Monaco Grand Prix.

Valencia's willingness to pay an estimated 26m euros (£17.5m) to stage each race as well as the boom in popularity of F1 in Spain, sparked by the emergence of double world champion Fernando Alonso, are seen as major factors behind the decision.

At last month's Spanish Grand Prix, Alonso said he had mixed feelings about a race in Valencia.

"Four years ago, we didn't have even TV coverage and now we will have two Grands Prix, so that's very special," said the two-time world champion.

But the McLaren driver added that he was at a loss to understand though why there will be a street circuit when the Ricardo Tormo track lies on the outskirts of the city.

"The direction Formula One has tried to go in the last couple of years is to improve safety," added Alonso ahead of his home race this weekend in Barcelona, which has an agreement to stage a race until 2011.

"We have changed the last couple of corners here in Barcelona to slow down the cars.

"Now, to have a race on the streets when we have a circuit only 20 or 30km away in Valencia, that is a little bit difficult to understand what the Formula One bosses want.

"But for us, so far as it is safe and they put in what is required to make it safe, we will race anywhere."

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Canadian Grand Prix

8th - 10th June 2007 - 6th of 17 World Championship rounds.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team and its Formula One rivals will be embarking on the second of five back-to-back race weekends during the 2007 season when they line up on the grid at the picturesque Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on 10th June. A week later, they will be limbering up for the next race on the calendar at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the US. 

The BMW Sauber F1 Team will arrive at the Canadian Grand Prix full of confidence. Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica are aiming to add to their points totals at the demanding high-speed track and to further strengthen the team's third place in the constructors' championship. The team has scored points in every race so far in what is only its second season on the grid.


Nick Heidfeld:
"Like most drivers, I really like travelling over to Montreal. The race circuit occupies an incredibly beautiful location on the island in the St Lawrence river, which makes for an unmistakable atmosphere. And the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve itself has a very special character. It is a high-speed track with long straights, but also some tight chicanes and a couple of slow corners. To start with, the asphalt always has very little grip. When the track starts to get really grippy and the car is working perfectly, though, you can run hard over the kerbs in the second chicane. This chicane also goes downhill, and you get seriously close to the wall on the exit.

"Away from the track itself, I also like the city of Montreal a lot. There is always a great atmosphere there and the people get really excited about the grand prix. I usually travel to Montreal a few days before the race and have time to do some shopping in the city. I also like to stop by at a few galleries in the old part of town. Patricia and I have several pictures at home which I bought there."

Robert Kubica:
"I am really looking forward to Montreal as it is one of my favourite tracks in the Formula One calendar. It means driving with lower downforce for the first time this season. Last year on the Friday I was quite good there. I am looking to repeat that performance and I think our car can perform very well there because of the downforce configuration. I like the track because it is a street circuit and has pretty low grip, improving during the weekend.

"It will be interesting to see how I can cope with the Bridgestone tyres compared to the Michelins of last year, and how I have to change my driving style. I will see how big an influence it was for me to change to the different tyres. Montreal was the track where my driving style of last year gave me an advantage. As I am not driving the same as in 2006 we have to see how it will be this year."

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
"The two races in North America represent not only the next challenge for us as a team in terms of collecting more World Championship points - they also carry a lot of weight for the BMW Group. The USA was the most important single market for the BMW Group in 2006, with sales of some 314,000 BMW and MINI cars. Canada is the Group's second largest market in America after the USA. BMW, therefore, has a large fan base in the country, and we also feel the strength of this popularity as a team.

"Last year, we crossed the Atlantic in fifth place in the standings. In 2007 we will be arriving in Canada as the third best team. In 2006 we were only able to take two points away from the pair of races in North America. This is something we are naturally looking to improve on, and we are aiming to collect as many points as possible on the back of our good result in Monaco in order to further strengthen our position in the championship.

"The atmosphere at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the island in the St Lawrence river, with its paddock running along the side of the former Olympic rowing basin, is simply captivating. With the colourful hustle and bustle in the city and a race circuit on the waterfront there are certainly parallels in terms of atmosphere with the Monaco Grand Prix. However, the type of challenge presented by the Montreal track could hardly be more different. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve places totally different aerodynamic demands on the cars and pushes both the brakes in particular, and the engines, to the limit. In line with the F1 regulations, our cars will continue with the same engines as we used in Monaco. Sebastian Vettel will be with us in America in his capacity as test and reserve driver."

Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
"The combination of long straights and chicanes makes Montreal what we call a 'medium downforce' circuit, and we have developed a special aero package that takes this into account. The long straight leading up to the final chicane offers the drivers the best overtaking opportunity if top speed allows. Montreal is harder on the brakes than any other circuit on the F1 calendar, so maximum brake cooling and high-performance specifications for discs and pads are the order of the day.

"This is a circuit that punishes even the slightest error, as the crash barriers are largely extremely close to the track and there are not many run-off areas. We were very competitive in Canada last year, and I am extremely confident that we will be able to come away with good results again this year."

History and background:
With a population of 1.6 million, the eastern Canadian city of Montreal is the country's second-largest city and the capital of the 80-percent French-speaking province of Quebec. 3.7 million people live in the greater Montreal area. The city lies on the Île de Montreal at the confluence of the Ottawa and St Lawrence rivers. The 233-metre-high Mont Royal - located in the centre of the island - gave its name to the city, which was founded by French explorers in 1642 as Ville-Marie-de-Montreal. The Port de Montreal remains an important stop-off for ships on their way to the Great Lakes. The region's climate is dominated by extremely cold winters and short, sunny summers.

The complex on Notre Dame island where the non-permanent race track is located was the site of the 1967 World Expo and hosted the 1976 Olympic Games. The Formula One paddock runs along the side of the former rowing basin.

2007 marks the 39th Canadian Grand Prix and the 29th held in Montreal. The first Canadian Grand Prix took place in 1967 in Mosport, which went on to host a further seven GPs. Mont-Tremblant was the venue for two GPs. Formula One moved to Montreal in 1978, where it has been held ever since on the circuit named after the winner of the inaugural race, Gilles Villeneuve.