Grand Prix 2019 Canadian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Back in 1991 Nigel Mansell had been persuaded not retire after his time at Ferrari and re-joined Williams. What took him back to Williams was the first Adrian Newey design Williams F1 car, the FW14. The 1991 car did not have the infamous active suspension of the FW14B but it was still a very advanced racing car.

The car proved fast but unreliable in the early races. Patrese took a second place in Brazil and Mansell the same in Monaco, in the other races the Williams failed to finish.

Then came Canada.

Patrese put his car on Pole, 0.4 seconds quicker than Mansell. At the start of the race Mansell took the lead and there he stayed for 68 laps. Meanwhile Patrese was having trouble with his gearbox and was passed by Nelson Piquet in the Benetton and Stefano Modeno in the Tyrrell.

Mansell was cruising at the front. On lap 65 he set the fastest lap and was stroking the car home. On the final lap he was over a minute ahead of Piquet and looked set to take his first victory on his return to Williams. As he approached the hairpin for the final time the car slowed, it rounded the hairpin and as Nigel attempted to accelerate down the straight towards the chicane the car simply wouldn't go. The Englishman vented his frustration and beat the steering wheel as the machine dribbled to a halt in front of one of the main grandstands. He got out and left the car where it was.

How could Mansell lose the race so close to the finish? When the car got back to the pits the engine started, the gearbox worked fine and it probably could have done another race. Unfortunately Nigel had let the revs drop too low as he approached the hairpin which lost electrical and hydraulic power causing the gearbox barrel to get stuck.

Meanwhile his nemesis, Nelson Piquet, over half a lap behind, kept it all together and cruised past to take what would be his last victory in F1 in his last season in the sport.

What of 2019? Expect a Mercedes front row with Hamilton on pole. Lewis will take a lights to flag victory and, I suspect, a Grand Chelem. Enjoy.

 

[Ruslan]

Canada is unique in that its described as a fast Monaco . There are not many slow twisty corners nor any fast corners so neither mechanical grip or downforce is critical. Its mainly accelerate and heavily brake , the long back straights where Ferrari have the advantage is giving them up to 0.4 seconds of a lap.

So if Vettel gets cleanly away then he can control the race but if Hamilton can get in front of him then potentially Vettel could be in for a tough afternoon following the dirty air. It will be interesting to see if LeClerc is keeping up pace with the two of them how Ferrari will react now if he demands to move over Vettel

Yea, I think the first lap will be critical (not that this is a particularly earth-shaking observation in modern F1). The race may become very processional after that first lap.

 

[F1Brits_90]

So why did Vettel outqualify Hamilton? Is it

1. Because Vettel ran a great lap?
2. Because Hamilton ran a not-so-great lap?
3. Because Ferrari finally got the tires to work?
4. Because Ferrari simply had too much power at this track for Mercedes?

for me 1 & 3

vettel was really hooked up & in the zone. but as we mentioned yesterday on different thread with thicker gauge of tyre. i worry that this is a yr that world champion will be 1 with the warmest tyres not most downforce. as you look 3 places ferrari have been competitive have all been hot, bahrain baku & Montreal when they can get in the working range. as ferraris pace dropped as soon as sun went in

 

[Il_leone]

to add a bit of spice Mercedes have discovered a hydraulic leak in Hamilton's car

 

[Speshal]

• Tires under ambient conditions grudgingly (for once) cooperated.

Shame track temp is currently 49 degrees....

 

[FB]

Utter crap, F1 has just become a complete joke.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

No fan of Vettel but that was harsh on him.

 

[Publius Cornelius Scipio]

Hamilton v Ricciardo, Monaco 2016, Hamilton got away with it

 

[cider_and_toast]

Daylight robbery. Bloody awful decision

 

[The Artist.....]

Publius Cornelius Scipio - that’s because it was a merc that was the offender.... Mercedes, for some reason, get away with daylight robbery. Cf team order to Force India last year!

 

[Publius Cornelius Scipio]

Let's try and look at the positive side of things: Hamilton clerarly understood that what happened was wrong and Vettel clarified that he didn't have anything against Hamilton, that is positive. In a sense both Vettel and Hamilton are the victims in this situation (Hamilton is a victim IMHO because this is a stain on his career, sadly I think that such a thing will be remember for a long time).

Mercedes is not a victim though, franklly I think that they have killed F1, Ferrari (and Red Bull) will be allowed to win a race this season, maybe even the next race, but it's totally fake now, F1 in 2019 for me has lost any credibility

 

[FB]

Hmm, not sure Mercedes have killed F1. No more than Ferrari and Schumacher did in the early 2000's anyway. The other teams need to improve, they have the budget, they have the drivers they aren't doing as good a job. This particular decision is totally inexplicable though.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Probably how most people feel what the race result should of been.

 

[F1Brits_90]

i support all brits in F1 of course i support hamilton (& 40 i had on hamilton on you bet) but im a F1 fan like to see fairness. but vettel didnt deserve that. i dont see what more he could do, he was trying his hardest keeping it out of wall at turn 4 which wouldve taken both out with oversteer on way in & out if he broke on the grass he wouldve slid into hamilton. i was expecting the " you emmanelle"

i thought the stewards were more lenient this year & giving more racing incidents

& also can you help us which prost?? driver crashed into turn 4 early 00s that brought out the red flag

 

[The Artist.....]

F1Brits_90 - Olivier Panis crashed at T4-T5 in 1997, breaking his legs.

 

[Publius Cornelius Scipio]

Hmm, not sure Mercedes have killed F1. No more than Ferrari and Schumacher did in the early 2000's anyway. The other teams need to improve, they have the budget, they have the drivers they aren't doing as good a job. This particular decision is totally inexplicable though.

I think that the point you made is very intresting because while we all agree that during the Schumacher era Ferrari got some preferential treatment (tyres made especially for them, Barrichello treated as the butler, etc) the same is not true of Mercedes, it's very difficult to ear the very same people who used to criticise Bridgestone for helping Ferrari criticising Pirelli for doing exactly the same for the benefit of Mercedes. Also, while Ferrari got some very favourable decisions they never wrote the rules after working for nearly 2 years on a certain formula, to my knowledge that has never happened before.

Furthermore I don't think that Ferrari has the budget to challenge Mercedes: Ferrari has a turnover of 3,4, billion euros, Mercedes has a turnover of 93 billion euros

 

[F1Brits_90]

F1Brits_90 - Olivier Panis crashed at T4-T5 in 1997, breaking his legs.

that could be it thanks, never been the best at years. also strange i remember that as wouldve only been 6 at the time

 

[FB]

Furthermore I don't think that Ferrari has the budget to challenge Mercedes: Ferrari has a turnover of 3,4, billion euros, Mercedes has a turnover of 93 billion euros

I'm not sure what numbers you are working from Publius. Daimler AG have a turnover of €167 billion FIAT €110 billion. If you want to compare their divisions, AMG and Ferrari, I will have to do more digging through the Daimler accounts.

 

[cider_and_toast]

This isn't about Ferrari and Mercedes, this isn't about Hamilton or Vettel.

This is about F1.

The decision was an absolute crock. F1 is over regulated and has become an absolute farce.

I can do no better than quote (again) this open letter to FISA by Colin Chapman from 1981.

"When this will be over I shall seriously reconsider whether Grand Prix racing is what it purports to be: the pinnacle of sport and technical achievement. Unfortunately this no longer appears to be the case and if one does not clean it up, Formula 1 will end up in a quagmire of plagiarism, chicanery and petty rule interpretation forced by lobbies and manipulated by people for whom the word sport has no meaning"
Colin Chapman. April 10th 1981

 

[FB]

Anyway, Vettel was robbed.

 

[Ruslan]

Well, if I was a steward, this is not the decision I would have made. But...I understand why they made that decision.

Clearly both Hamilton and Toto Wolff understood immediately that there was an issue here. Could Vettel have stayed off the racing line when he came back on the track (this is probably best answered by former drivers)? If he had done that then I gather no penalty.