Канада 2012


Цитати, изявления, въпроси отговори ... всичко, което се отнася до състезанието в Канада

Архив:
drJeckyll МакЛарън за неделя
Люис Хамилтън:
It’s a phenomenal sensation to come back to Canada and put on a performance like we did today. This win feels as good as my first Formula 1 victory back in 2007. In fact I’d say it’s one of the best races I’ve had for a very long time.
I feel fantastic, to be honest. Just brilliant. I could hardly believe it when I was driving across the line. That emotion inside, it’s like an explosion. It’s really just incredible. It’s what I love best about motor racing.
I always knew today’s race was going to be incredibly tough. So, in the first stint, I was really pleased that I could keep up with Seb [Vettel], and at that point I already felt sure I’d be involved the fight for victory. Our strategy was always for a two-stopper: we knew it was going to be the fastest way to get to the finish. I looked after my tyres really well today, and I used them knowing we were going to two-stop.
I had 100 per cent control and understanding of what was happening in the race – it was one of our best races for that. I told my race engineer, Andy [Latham], to keep the information flowing, and he was fantastic today. I always knew where I was losing or gaining time, which really helped.
Every win is different. Every victory is new, special and fresh. And to see the team all wearing their Vodafone ‘rocket red’ victory T-shirts, knowing the guys back at the factory are doing the same, makes everything feel even more special.
Finally, the support from the fans has been amazing – this victory is dedicated to them. I’m so grateful to be here today.

Дженсън Бътън:
First of all, big congratulations to Lewis and to the whole Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team – they found a lot of speed today and Lewis did a great job.
For me, though, I didn’t find the speed today, and I couldn’t seem to look after the tyres.
Generally, the past few Grand Prix weekends haven’t been great for me. But every time you make changes to the car, you’re hopeful that it’s going to go well and give you an improvement, so hopefully we’ll be able to solve it sooner rather than later.

Мартин Уитмарш:
A hat-trick of Canadian Grand Prix wins for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes [2010, 2011, 2012]! Five wins out of the past seven Canadian Grands Prix for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes [2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012]! The 13th Canadian Grand Prix win in our history – more than any other team! A third Canadian Grand Prix win for Lewis [2007, 2010, 2012]! And Lewis is now leading the Drivers’ World Championship! And all of that in the historic 300th Grand Prix of the McLaren-Mobil1-Mercedes-Enkei partnership!
So, yes, today was a very good day. Lewis drove brilliantly. He shadowed Seb for the first dozen-or-so laps, then closed right up on him as the first pitstop window approached. When Seb took on fresh rubber on lap 16, Lewis really got the hammer down, made his stop on lap 17, and rejoined the race just ahead of Seb. Then, when Fernando [Alonso] made his pitstop, and re-emerged just ahead of Lewis, he [Lewis] showed his innate racer’s instinct by passing him [Fernando] in short order and then steadily pulling away. It was a majestic performance by a master of his craft at the peak of his form.
For Jenson, by contrast, today was another day on which we, his team, failed to provide him with the tools with which to do the brilliant job we all know he’s capable of, and which he did so superbly here last year. He lost track time on Friday through no fault of his own, was unable to qualify as well as he would have done had he not lost that track time, and may have been further troubled today by a suspension set-up, different from Lewis’s, that left him with excessive rear tyre wear. We’ll have to check that out.
Lastly, I want to pay tribute to Akebono, whose brake callipers coped brilliantly on the circuit that by some margin poses the biggest braking challenge of the Formula 1 year
drJeckyll Ферари за неделя
Фернандо Алонсо:
Today we tried to win the race, but the gamble of only making a single stop did not pay off. When Hamilton came back into the pits for his second stop, we chose to try and play our hand: now it’s easy to say that we should have made that choice too, but it would have meant we had tried nothing and we could also have lost position to Vettel. The last laps were very long indeed: the tyres dropped off suddenly and I was too slow to defend myself from those coming up behind. My engineer was telling me to hold them off but there was no way I could do it. The real problem today was the tyre degradation, definitely not the strategy, which at the very most cost us one place, but let’s not forget that it was that very same strategy that allowed to us to get ahead of Vettel at the first stop. The car was competitive practically all race long: it wasn’t the quickest because here the McLaren, as was expected, was very quick, but definitely we have made a step forward in terms of performance. We need to work out how to improve the tyre degradation: it can be affected by very minor factors such as a few degrees more or less in temperature, although here maybe they had also come to the end of their life. It is not a tyre world championship, but every detail must be studied to aim for victory. For the first time this year, we have not just been trying to limit the damage, in that we were actually aiming for the win. It’s a positive sign and now we must confirm it at Valencia and Silverstone. We are definitely returning home with more confidence in our chances, because this was the most significant step forward we have made in terms of car development for a long time.

Фелипе Маса:
I am angry with myself for the mistake at Turn 1. I lost touch with the quickest group and then my tyres were vibrating too much, which meant I had to pit early. Then I tried to extend the next stint of the race as much as possible, even hoping not to stop again. Unfortunately, towards the end, I did have to make a second stop, because they were almost down to the canvas. Maybe bringing forward the final stop could have got me ahead of Kobayashi again, but it would not have changed much after that. I am disappointed, because we showed we were competitive with our main rivals: now we are there, fighting with them, which was not the case just a few races ago. Tenth place definitely does not reflect our potential. Now it is vital we continue to work in this direction: it was a weekend in which we were always fighting for the top places and we have improved in every area and that has to be a confidence boost for the rest of the season.

Пат Фрай:
To finish a race struggling with the tyres always hurts a bit, but for we engineers it’s best to evaluate the situation with a cool head and not with the emotive images from the television in mind. Today, Hamilton was quicker and the fact we were able to pass him was down to the strategy, by trying to do something different. Furthermore, given the behaviour of the tyres at that moment, from a certain point onwards, we decided on going for a single stop to try and at least make it to the podium. We did not manage it, but we tried right to the very end. Maybe we could have shadowed Vettel and come into the pits when he did: that was a mistake which cost us a position, but anyway Fernando would have finished outside the top three. A shame for Felipe, because he showed a good pace: a mistake early on meant he ended up in traffic and the last of the points places is definitely not the result that was within his grasp this afternoon. We leave Montreal convinced we have made a step forward in terms of outright performance, but aware that we did not pick up what was in our reach The F2012 has improved, but it is still not enough and we will have to work a lot on understanding the tyre degradation. We will head for Valencia with the aim of further improving performance and getting the most out of the potential available to us.

Стефано Доменикали:
There’s a certain feeling of disappointment this afternoon and there’s no point denying it. It’s the first weekend in which we have not got the most out of what we had, but it’s also down to the fact that the level of expectation was higher thanks to the progress we have made. Let’s not forget that yesterday we were fighting for pole and today, we were in the battle for the win right to the end: in Bahrain, a month and a half ago, not a year ago, we only got one driver into Q3 and we finished the race one minute off the winner. Today, we made two mistakes: we did not cover Vettel when the German stopped the second time and Felipe’s spin in the early stage of the race. All things considered, the first error cost us relatively little, while the second came at a higher price, because Felipe, who nevertheless had another good weekend after the one in Monaco, had the pace to stay with the lead group. Having made this preliminary analysis we need to look at the weekend in terms of the championship. Fernando is only two points off the leader and the F2012 is back to being competitive enough to fight with the best. However it was important to score points on a track that, going into the event, was definitely not one that suited us: knowing we can count on a driver like Fernando, capable of completing a year’s races all in the points is a factor that has its part to play when it comes to thinking about the title race. We must continue to push on the development to close the gap which still separates us from pole position: only when we have done this can we claim to have reached our first objective. Another theme we need to look into further is the tyre degradation, which is proving to be ever more the key to this season.
drJeckyll Пирели за неделя
Пол Хембри:
With three World Champions starting from the top three grid positions, it was always going to be an entertaining race. Towards the end we saw Lewis Hamilton use the extra speed he gained from a two-stop strategy to overhaul his rivals. Particular congratulations as well to our former test driver Romain Grosjean, who was only 2.5 seconds behind at the end on a one-stop strategy, and it was another great drive from Sergio Perez, who once again demonstrated his perfect understanding of the tyres. The result is one of the youngest podiums we have seen in Formula One, which goes to show that the future of the sport is in safe hands. With warmer conditions and no safety cars, the degradation was maybe a little more than some people expected, which led to Alonso and Vettel’s tyres losing performance in the closing stages, after running very long stints. With several different strategies in play and the leaders catching each other at the end of the race, we couldn’t have hoped for a more thrilling finish.
drJeckyll Лотус за неделя
Кими Райконен:
The car was a bit better in the race than it was in qualifying. I seemed to get stuck behind people a few times. The DRS zone is not very long, and it’s still a difficult battle if the car ahead of you is also using the DRS. We had a chance to do a bit better, but it didn’t quite all come together today. We scored points again so that’s always a good thing, especially this season. Qualifying yesterday wasn’t perfect so obviously that left us with more work to do. If you start further forward it’s easier to finish higher up the order. We’ll try to achieve that in the next race.

Ромен Грожан:
It’s been a great day for the team. It was an incredible race and the one stop strategy worked perfectly for us. It wasn’t an easy race, but we wanted to be aggressive to achieve a good result. Yesterday was a bit disappointing, but we learnt a lot from Friday to Saturday and the fruits of all these lessons were seen today. It wasn’t easy to manage the second set of tyres for so long, but it worked so I’ll happily do that again for another result like today. It’s fantastic to finish in second position on my first visit to Montreal, hopefully I will finish in first on my second time! I would like to thank the entire team for the amazing job we’ve done this weekend

Ален Перман:
Today all went very much to plan. Coming into the race we were fairly confident that we could do a one stop strategy; it would be a bit tight on the tyres, but it was clear from Friday that the tyres had the pace and the durability to do one stop. Today was a lot hotter, and we had a fall back of a two stop strategy, which we didn’t need. Romain did everything he needed today and it’s a well deserved result. For Kimi we used the opposite tyre strategy from Romain by starting him on the soft tyre and it worked for him to finish four places higher than he started in what was a very competitive race. It’s two very solid drives we’ve had today so we’re very happy to bounce back from Monaco in emphatic fashion.
drJeckyll Заубер за неделя
Серхио Перес:
When you start 15th and there is no rain or chaos you don’t really expect to finish on the podium. We were quite aggressive today. The strategy and the pit stop have been very good and I was able to overtake a few cars. I saw that for me the tyre degradation wasn’t so bad and this allowed me to manage my pace quite well. We have a quick car but since Malaysia we have been unlucky for one reason or another, and then yesterday we had such a disappointing qualifying. Today’s result is a great reward for all the guys who work hard. The last time I scored points I was also on the podium and think this is quite a nice way to do it. Also it is particularly sweet to have been at the podium ceremony here in Montreal because we are not too far from my home country and there are many Mexicans here. It is a great boost for the team and I am very pleased for everybody.

Камуи Кобаяши:
My car was okay today and the team deserves the good result. For me we had planned two stops, but it turned out that one stop was possible and even quicker. I started on super soft tyres and after my pit stop I did 46 laps on the set of soft tyres. I had a good race pace when the tyres were in good shape, but in the end it wasn’t easy. However, to me the most difficult thing today was traffic and I think, under the circumstances, P9 was about the maximum possible from 11th on the grid.

Джампаоло Далара:
“It’s difficult to find the right words after this emotional finish! The race started with a bit of a question mark: How would the tyres last in the hot conditions? Mostly for this reason we split the strategy for our two cars. Honestly, I thought two stops would be the way to go. Kamui was planned to have a shorter first stint than he did, but then we realised the tyres were holding on well. Unfortunately he came back on the track behind Paul di Resta and lost some time there. He couldn’t drive at his own pace, otherwise his result could have been better. With Sergio, who started on the harder compound, we went for a longer first stint without knowing if one stop would be enough. But then things turned out nicely, and we pitted him on lap 41. At the pit stop we managed to overtake Kimi Raikkonen, and then he was able to attack some cars in front of him who’s tyres were degrading. Sergio did some good overtaking, but the key really was that he was able to manage the tyres very well. That’s one of his skills. He drove an absolutely fantastic race which delivered the well deserved reward for the whole team.
drJeckyll Маруся за неделя
Шарл Пик:
First of all, I’m happy to finish the race - my first time here - and although it has been a tough weekend, I think from the perspective of the team, and me personally, it has been a good experience to learn where we need to improve. Our pace here has not been good compared to our closest two competitors, so we have to understand more about why that was. For my side, the start went well and we maintained position, then Timo and I had a good race. From there, it was all about looking after the car and getting to the finish. Next stop is Valencia, a track I’ve raced at before, so I will lose less time to acclimatisation and be able to spend more time preparing the car. I got pole there in GP2 and I have a good feeling for the track – another different type of street circuit – so I think it will suit me and the car much better. Some work in the simulator next week should also help us prepare well.

Тимо Глок:
Not a great race for me. In general the first stint was quite okay I think until I suddenly lost power for some reason; I think the engine temperature went quite high. After 14 laps I was suffering quite badly with rear tyre degradation and the combination of the two issues was quite difficult to manage. We had to come in quite early for the pitstop and then I came out in blue flags and was unable to use the new tyre effectively. I could at least recover the ground I lost to Charles and close the gap, but at the end I suffered so much with the brakes; they were getting longer and longer on pressure and it was too dangerous to continue, so I had to retire. This was my first DNF and in general Canada has not been that great for us this year, which is a shame because it’s a track I love. Now though I’m looking forward to Valencia and to seeing what we can do to improve there.

Джон Буут:
Our car and the Montreal circuit have been at odds for much of the weekend and it is frustrating that we were unable to improve that situation for the race today. Nonetheless, we’ve learned a great deal about the package and where we need to focus our efforts to get us back where we were versus our immediate competitors. We were pleased to bring Charles home after a difficult period for him, but obviously the luck ran out on Timo’s side, whom we retired with brake issues for precautionary reasons. We now head back home and on to what we hope will be a better second phase of the European season, where we have a couple of ‘home’ races coming up for Timo and the team.
drJeckyll Мерцедес за неделя
Нико Розберг:
Sixth place is a decent result today and it’s important for both me and the team to keep scoring points for the championship and maintain our consistency. It was a mixed-up race and it was difficult to find a rhythm, particularly at the start, but by the end, the gap to the leading cars was not that big. It could have gone better this weekend, and we just need a little bit more performance to be competing at the front. However we are making good progress and increasing our understanding of the tyres all the time.

Михаел Шумахер:
Unfortunately, our weekend in Montreal didn’t turn out trouble-free for me and a hydraulic problem with the DRS forced me to end my race early. At first, I didn’t know exactly what the problem was; I overshot the corner, ran through the grass and asked myself what was going on. Then the team told me about the problem and I saw it in the mirrors. Of course it’s disappointing for all of us but it’s not a question of pointing fingers; stuff like this happens. I know the team are doing their best and that it probably hits them even harder than me. We’ll be back on the attack in Valencia.

Рос Браун:
We had a very quick car today, as Nico's performance in particular showed, but a combination of failing to achieve our potential in qualifying and a messy race cost us positions at the flag. We asked both drivers to be cautious with the super soft tyres in the first five laps to ensure we didn't push them too hard, but when we gave them the go-ahead, it was clear that Nico - who was running in clean air - was extremely quick and one of the fastest cars. Michael was caught in a train of cars in the lower half of the top ten, and although we tried something different by stopping early in order to get him into clean air, it didn't quite work for us. He then suffered a hydraulic issue which left his DRS jammed open and it was not possible to fix it in race conditions. I can only apologise to Michael for a further technical failure. As for Nico, his race was running to plan and he was gaining on the leaders when he ran across Massa, who was running out of tyres and defending vigorously before his final stop. This cost Nico both track position and time that proved crucial in the closing laps. Ultimately, that's part of racing, but the real lesson from today is that achieving our potential in qualifying, and running clean races, is vital for strong results.

Норбърт Хауг:
It was a great, exciting race this afternoon, during which Nico was able to lap at the same speed as the leaders after a tricky opening few laps. Nico was 14 seconds behind first place at the end of the race – the same gap as we saw after 10 laps. Our team has taken an important step forward and got the most from the tyres in track temperatures that exceeded 40 degrees, which was demonstrated by Nico several times setting the fastest laps of the race during his stints. We got the tyre management right here, as in Monaco, and we are working hard to push this process further forward. After seven races, Nico is 21 points behind the championship leader – he has scored on average just three points fewer than leader Lewis Hamilton, which is not too big a gap. Michael was running well after his early stop until he was forced to retire with his rear wing flap stuck open. It’s clear to everybody in the team that we must achieve the same levels of reliability on his car as we have with Nico, who has completed every racing lap so far this season. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes on their victory today – it was the 300th race for McLaren and Mercedes, a milestone which adds extra significance to Lewis’ appearance on the top step of the podium.
drJeckyll Ред Бул за неделя
Себастиан Фетел:
It was a difficult race today. We found ourselves in third place, quite far away from Lewis. He decided to box again, but Fernando and I took the decision to stay out. I felt pretty comfortable on the tyres and obviously we were hoping to get the place back, but as it turned out it was the right thing to go for the second stop. We decided a few laps from the end to do a pit stop – a stop here is not so long, about 15 seconds – and in the end it was the right decision. Before the stop we were three four seconds behind Fernando, but we ended up six seconds ahead of him. It was a good call considering what you can lose with only eight laps to go. It’s easy now to analyse and know everything, but I think we learned a lot today and we’ve seen that races can be interesting until the very last lap. All in all it was a good weekend. We had a very smooth run up to qualifying and a very good qualifying – in the race we maybe lost some of that edge, but we were there or thereabouts. We have another winner today also, I think Lewis deserved to win today, no doubt, but we have learned more and will make step forward in Valencia.

Марк Уебър:
I knew it was going to be mixed up today, but not that mixed up. In the first ten laps, we had a small issue with the engine which we had to manage, but then I settled into the pace. We pitted and came out behind the one stoppers. It’s hard to get it right here – if you push to try and pass you kill the tyres but if you wait, then you find you’re on the same strategy and finish behind them anyway. I think ultimately we were quick at times today and it’s good that we finished in the points. With hindsight we could have done a different strategy, but it’s easy to say that now and I’ve had worst days than today.

Кристиан Хорнер:
A tricky race. Having been in the lead at the start, it was obvious early on that we were a little bit harder on the tyres, which necessitated Sebastian to pit earlier than we wanted. That permitted Hamilton and Alonso to get the jump on us. Then there was a dilemma as to whether we do a one or two stop race. We were going well on the tyres and at that stage it seemed our best option was to do a one stop. But then the tyres really started to go away from us, so we made a late call to go on to the super soft tyres, which enabled us to get back up to fourth position, behind the one-stopping Grosjean and Perez. With Mark, again we were running okay early on. He had an engine hesitation in the first few laps, but then he settled into a good rhythm. Again we were heavy on the tyres towards the end of the stints and it was clearer with Mark to go to a two stop earlier, but unfortunately the one stoppers managed to get ahead. So, a tactical race, a tricky race, but nonetheless we have still managed to salvage respectable points today.
drJeckyll Уилямс за неделя
Пастор Малдонадо:
Today the car felt very consistent and was pretty well balanced, but unfortunately starting so far back after qualifying meant that I could not really have a good run at finishing in a points-paying position. Our one-stop strategy meant that I had to manage the tyres carefully but when I did get to push in the final few laps the car was quick. The car’s performance in long runs is something we can be optimistic about heading into the next race, we just need to focus on improving our qualifying pace so we start from a better position.

Бруно Сена:
It was a difficult race today because I lost a lot of time on the first stint on the supersoft tyres and from that point on it was just a case of trying to look after the tyres as much as I could during the second stint. We have learnt a lot from this race and I am looking forward to the next one in Valencia, where hopefully we can get the most out of the car’s potential.

Марк Гилън:
It was a tough race today for both cars and ultimately we didn't have the pace that we expected to have and which we showed during our long runs on Friday. Both drivers did a good job managing the tyres on their one-stop strategies. We must now learn from the transition in pace throughout the weekend in order to better understand how to optimise the car, and especially the tyres, in changeable track conditions.
drJeckyll Катерам за неделя
Хейки Ковалайнен:
That was an uneventful afternoon for me. I had a good start, passed Senna early on but then struggled a little with the tyres which maybe held me up a bit. Our pace today was not quite what we thought it would be and we were being lapped a little earlier than we had anticipated, but that was really the only issue for me today - other than that it's been a good weekend.

Витали Петров:
For me that was a good race. I battled with my team mate right to the flag and had a couple of good stops that gave me a chance to keep the pace up through the whole race. The tyre deg wasn't too bad, despite the track temperature, and we didn't have any problems with the car, so for where we are right now that's a good afternoon's work. We have some improvements coming in the next few races and the aim is for those to help us get to a point where we can race one or two of the teams ahead - that's another positive sign of progress so we're definitely going in the right direction.

Марк Смит:
Today we saw good strong races from both drivers and solid work in the pitstops without any issues. The final positions were about where we expected on this type of track at this stage of the season so I am happy that we have had another decent Sunday and continue to have problem free Sundays and keep edging ever closer to the midfield.