Canadian Grand Prix – qualifying

June 9, 2007 by paul
Filed under: Uncategorized

Alonso was quickest in both of Friday’s practice sessions, and teammate Hamilton was fastest in this morning’s session, so it’s looking promising for the McLaren team.

Qualifying notes after the cut…

Kovalainen had an engine failure in this morning’s practice, so he’ll be penalised 10 grid places for an engine change.

Track temperature 51°C; air temp 26°C; wind 2.1m/s; humidity 48%

Qualifying session 1:
DC is first on track, followed by RS
DC aborts his lap – apparently he has a problem with his brakes
RS 1:18.929
JT 1:18.410
GF 1:17.860
HK smacks the wall in Turn 4 and loses his rear wing – it’s not his day!
Red flags are out to allow the marshalls to clear HK’s debris
HK limps back to the pits – looks like damage to the rear suspension as well
Session due to restart at 1310 EST
Session restarts with just over 8mins remaining
Red Bull also working on DC’s brakes
FM 1:16.756
FA 1:16.562
(LH goes P2 – 1:16.576)
5mins left; 7 drivers yet to set a lap time
3mins left; bottom 6 are HK, DC, NR, AW, VL, TS
KR 1:16.468
HK on track with almost 2mins to check out the car
1min left; DC on track – he’s the only one yet to set a time
DC pushing hard to get out of the relegation zone
(DC up to P16)
Chequered flag is out
(JB up to P13)
Bottom 6: P17=AD, 18=RS, 19=HK, 20=AW, 21=AW, 22=CA.
(Remember HK will also get a 10-spot penalty for the engine change, so he’s right at the back of the grid.)

Qualifying session 2:
No-one’s rushing to go out … DC’s first, 2mins in to the session
DC 1:27.679
DC’s off track again – problems braking in to T1 again
JT 1:16.935
VL bounces off the kerbs and barely misses the wall as he exits the final corner
GF 1:16.617
MW 1:16.257
TS goes way off track through some tall grass
LH posts fastest S1 (21.1) and S2 (24.0) sector times … and 30.2 in S3
LH 1:15.486
(FM goes P2 – 1:16.138)
FA sets fastest S1 (21.1) but is slightly slower in S2 (24.1)
5mins left; bottom 6 are: TS, VL, JB, SS, DC. FA (who’s on his first flying lap)
(FA goes P2 – 1:15.52)
Only RK and DC on track at the moment
3mins left: bottom 6 are: RB, TS, VL, JB, SS, DC
1min left
(DC only up to P14)
Incident involving car 9 (NH) under investigation (presumably for cutting the chicane) … and they’ve already taken his lap time away, so he’s now in P16
Chequered flag is out
NH posts 1:15.960 for P3!
Bottom 6 are: P11=TS, 12=VL, 13=RB, 14=DC, 15=JB, 16=SS
The 10 drivers competing for the front of the grid are: LH, FA, NH, FM, NR, MW, GF, RK, KR & JT

Qualifying session 3:
LH heads the queue waiting to leave the pit lane
JT pit-car radio: “I can’t go any quicker than that” (his Q2 time was 1:16.600)
KR passes LH as they exit the pits, before they join the circuit proper
KR 1:18.766
LH 1:18.236 … but he cut the chicane
NH 1:18.134
LH 1:17.871
NH 1:17.677
10mins left
LH 1:17.540
Problems with MW’s stop – slow to remove the rear right tyre warmer
KR & LH both pit – almost everyone else has already been in
5mins left; order is LH, NH, KR, NR, JT, FM, GF, RK, FA, MW
MW 1:17.261
LH 1:16.316
(KR P2 1:16.498)
FA 1:16.163
3mins left – time for a final pit stop
1:30 left – order is FA, LH, KR, NH, FM, GF, MW, RK, JT, NR
(NR up to P5)
Chequered flag is out
LH 1:15.707
(KR P3 1:16.411)
(NH P3 1:16.266)
FA looked to be in line to re-take P1 but he wiggled just feet before the line – was that deliberate?