Grand Prix 2012 Canadian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Going into the 7th race of the season we are now hitting new territory as far as different race winners are concerned as for the first time in history 6 different drivers have won the first 6 races with 5 different constructors as Red Bull are the only team to have had more than one driver win a race with victories in Bahrain and Monaco, the way things are going there could easily be 10 winners from 10 races with people like Hamilton, Raikkonen, Grosjean and Schumacher yet to win this season, and with Canada pretty much being Hamilton's best track, it could easily be 7 winners from 7 even though McLaren have been floundering in recent weeks.

Despite this downturn in form, Lewis Hamilton lies just 13 points off Fernando Alonso who no-one would have predicted to have been leading the championship after 6 races going into the opening race where Ferrari had a car which struggled to even get near the top 10 let alone fight for wins and podiums, but improvements with the car allied with supreme driving and consistency from Alonso has seen him top the table from Vettel who's clever strategy in Monaco nearly get him onto the podium despite starting from 10th on the grid.

While Ferrari have made the biggest improvements (even Massa has been better, even though one race a season does not make) it seems McLaren have surprisingly made the biggest backwards step. In Melbourne they had the quickest car and they romped to a comfortable 1-2 and many wondered if they were going to have a Red Bull type domination season, but Button hasn't won since that race and Hamilton hasn't won at all even though he has 3 pole positions so far (2 if you discount the one in Spain) but while Hamilton has made the best of a bad job on the Sunday it has gone even worse for Button who is struggling to even make the points and his performances are a shadow of his 2011 form. Hamilton has improved considerably but surely the pit stop problems and other issues will be getting to him if it costs him a shot at the title, it'll be 5 years since he won the title if the 2012 title slips away and with contracts soon to be under negotiation it could play a part in what he decides to do.

If the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix is even half as good as the 2011 race we are in for a treat, I dont think there will be a race like the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix ever again and ranks up there as one of the best I have ever watched and the 4 hour marathon was certainly worth the 2 hour rain delay in the middle. But even in the dry Canada serves up great racing with recent years being a testament to that and with the unpredictable nature of 2012 so far this seasons race will not be an exception and while overtakes in Monaco were only just in the teens, there could be nearly 10 times that in Montreal. Some say that this seasons unpredictability can be a bad thing, but really, it's so much better than the Schumacher years of the early 2000s and even better than 2011 as while there was very exciting racing in 2011, for a lot of races so far this year that action has been extended to the very front as well which is where the casual viewer could determine the entertainment value of a certain race.

For Galahad 's superb circuit write up - http://cliptheapex.com/pages/circuit-gilles-villeneuve/
 
I notice from that media pack that Williams have the 6th garage in the pitlane - but by rights they should have the 9th garage, based on their performance in the 2011 WCC - anyone know why this is? Have they gained dispensation as they have more equipment? Or some other reason?
 
I don't know if it's anything to do with this but some of the teams who finished ahead of them have been re-branded under new names, and as such might be considered as new entrants?
 
Thanks Incubus, but I'm not sure it's that - The order is:
RED BULL RACING
VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES
SCUDERIA FERRARI
MERCEDES GP PETRONAS F1 TEAM
LOTUS F1 TEAM
WILLIAMS F1 TEAM
SAHARA FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM
SAUBER F1 TEAM
SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO
CATERHAM F1 TEAM
HRT F1 TEAM
MARUSSIA F1 TEAM
 
I think the order is determined by teams who finished ahead getting first pick. For example at Monaco Virgin have the box nearest the exit. Maybe that garage is undesirable for facilities or maybe it is a bit smaller.
 
The order has been determined by WCC position for as long as I remember. The only exception to this was for McLaren in 2008, when they should have had the smallest garages (Since they had finished last in the constructors championship in 2007, due to disqualification), but as they had so much kit, the other teams agreed to allow McLaren to have a bigger garage... At certain races, the WCC will be at the start of the pitlane, and at others they will be at the end, but generally speaking, it's according to WCC order - I was just wondering if anyone had come across a reason why Williams were out of place!
 
I'm looking forward to actually seeing the race this year as Auntie switched channels mid race last time and our Sky box didn't keep up. I only saw the first 20 laps :(
 
Ah, I've finally got on top of it - the press kit is wrong. - or at least that's what it appears - the teams are listed in the order that they finished the 2010 WCC, rather than the 2011 WCC - Williams were in the 6th garage last year.... Nothing like presenting it in amateur hour from the FIA.... (See Page 16 of the media kit)
 
9tv2iu
 
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