Brake problems according to the team.

 

It was dire. Completely Ericsons fault.

However, they pay millions per year and go a long way to keeping Hinwil staff employed so I suppose they can mess up now and again.

Rosberg's brake issues were his own doing. Drive slow, lose temp, don;t work, drive slower, lose more temp, less grip, less brakes etc etc.

It's just a bad day at the races. He'd have set that car up for maximum dry qualifying, and then had a soaked race. These cars operate in such narrow windows, it is fair to see it happen. Button was complaining too.

 

Apparently Justin Bieber was supposed to do the post-race podium interviews at Monaco, but was deemed to be inappropriately attired. Half way through the race Martin Brundle was informed that he was to do the interviews, and had to quickly borrow a jacket. And yes, I do know that there isn't actually a podium per se at Monaco.

Justin Bieber. Doing the post-race driver interviews. Jesus wept.

Anyway. Canada.

A circuit which is only used a couple of times per year, and suffers extremes of weather. And is partly shaded by trees. So it's hardly surprising that it doesn't start to develop grip until the race is well underway.

The main interest on Fridays is how many drivers miss the final chicane, and if they do make it, how close they can get to the "Wall of Champions". Fernando Alonso gets an honourable mention for skimming it without actually hitting, while on opposite lock.

Down at Red Bull, the new Renault engine seems to be living up to they hype, while I suspect the team are being especially nice to Daniel Ricciardo who, for the first time ever, was shown after the finish at Monaco not actually smiling while in the presence of cameras.

Vettel and the Red Bulls are all within a second of the Mercedes after FP2. Which probably means that Mercedes haven't turned up the wick yet. For the Honda optimists Button was seventh, Alonso eleventh.

Timings are civilised for this one, with Sky's Qualifying coverage tomorrow starting at 5pm and the race coverage at 6.30pm on Sunday.

 

That is also partly because the lap time is low at about 1:14, so the differences are much reduced.

 

Indeed, and this year there are three tyre compounds available, one of which is the Ultra Soft, which debuted in Monaco. So far, lap times are around a second quicker than last year, and will improve further as the track rubbers in.

Although the weather for Qualifying and the race is predicted to be relatively chilly. As at Monaco it may be a case of who can get the tyres into their narrow operating window.

 

Mercedes no longer have the power advantage that they have enjoyed since the introduction of the hybrid power units in 2014.

Ferrari's new turbo and Renault's recent combustion chamber upgrade have brought the three major engine suppliers almost into parity. Canada is a power circuit, and there was very little to choose between them. And again it was apparent that in traffic, the Mercedes is vulnerable, so Saturday becomes more important than ever. As does not getting tangled up at the first corner.

Bodes well for the second half of the season. Especially if Honda can come up with some more power. And reliability.

 

I disagree with pretty much all that.

Here's why:

1) Merc have the power advantage. And you can bet that they'll be looking at their upgrade developments to decide what will best used from the tokens. No need to introduce something when you're in the lead. Add to that the Ferrari engine is a bit prone to expiring. The Renault engine is still waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off. Parity is a word you've used with no value in relation to any of the engine manufacturers!

2)The Merc isn't 'Vulnerable' in traffic. Today we saw several cars having issues with traffic and Seb being overly vocal about it. Kimi too. So Ferrari are 'Vulnerbale' in traffic. The truth is, like overtaking, the approaching proximity to another car causes a reduction in downforce and a drop in laptime. Same as all the other cars.

3) Honda will be nowhere still, they're waiting for next season. The next half will be the same as this half.

 

Only time will tell!

Regarding #2, I don't think imc27 was referring to "traffic" as in the backmarkers. The commentators on my feed was saying that they thought the Silverarrows was having problems in the dirty air and that's why Rosberg couldn't get by compared to past races in which MB dominated.

 

All the cars don't work as well when they are following another car. You cannae change the laws of physics!

Rosberg made pretty light work of overtaking until he was having to save fuel when he was behind Verstappen.

Some quotes from the live commentary from F1.com

 

He had a bit of a tyre advantage against Ricciardo, although not much on Max.

Ricciardo pitted on lap 39 and Rosberg on lap 52, although Max pitted on lap 50.

Some great defending by Max on Rosberg at the end.