2013 Canadian Grand Prix - Qualifying

Canada always throws up an exciting race, in my opinion it is the best Grand Prix to watch because of the unpredictability. The 2011 race was my absolute favourite of all time, and I hope this years will be just as good!

Q1 started under wet conditions, a few drivers such as Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Marussia's Jules Bianchi tried slicks but soon found themselves straight off the track.

Ferrari Mishaps

When Ferrari called both their drivers in to change their tyres, they didn't look to closely at each drivers track positions. Felipe Massa wasn't prepared to leave his pit box when team mate Fernando Alonso came in to change his tyres. The encounter looked awkward but hilarious!

However the second mishap wasn't so funny. In an even wetter Q2, Massa had a second qualifying disaster when he took his car onto the slippery wet lines in sector 1. The result was a huge sideways smash, clocking in 5 G's and a red flag for the session.

Massa after the accident.

Felipe was able to walk away unharmed, the frustration in the car was adamant after he banged on his steering wheel immediately. After a Monaco crash that seen him sent to hospital, this isn't what the resurgent Massa needed. A dry race will be his only hope if he is to salvage anything.

Phenomenal Bottas Shows His Salt

Just whenever the critics start hitting him, he throws a huge left hook back. Valtteri Bottas not only shocked the world in Q1 & Q2 by setting quick times, but he managed to grab P3 in Q3 after setting a blindingly quick lap.

I have always believed the boy is talented but being held back by his team and car, but something went very very right for the Williams team today, and I am very glad it happened to him and not Pastor Maldonado, that would have been an opportunity wasted.

Strong Push From Raikkonen and Alonso

Sebastian Vettel was the overall quickest driver by nailing pole position, but the man sitting in second place in the championship could only achieve P9 and then got set back further by a grid penalty. There is no doubt in my mind that Kimi Raikkonen will throw us up a strong push tomorrow, providing a hugely entertaining race.

That is until he gets stuck behind a Mercedes and forgets how to overtake. Kimi give us those final two laps in Monaco again, but make them last a whole race. Please?

Likewise, Fernando Alonso will need a monster drive from P6 if he is to achieve anything. Because his car is so kind to his tyres (like Kimi) he is not so effective in wet weather conditions. This is bad because the weather is ridiculously unpredictable. 

I couldn't honestly begin to fathom a prediction for tomorrow. Common sense dictates Vettel, but the motorsport fan in me says Kimi could achieve greatness if he would just bloody take a chance. Being Mr. Conservative won nobody a title ever! Alonso is the in the better position and if it's a dry race, I think he'll start on the harder compound. I don't know, I'm not a doctor.

Lewis Hamilton didn't look to happy with P2. That's maybe because he knows he'll slip away down the field and hold up Raikkonen!

Thanks very much for reading! Please let know what you think in the comments section!

RESULTS (NOT INCLUDING PENALTIES) (AUTOSPORT):

Pos Driver                Team                 Time           Gap   
 1. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m25.425s  
 2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes             1m25.512s  + 0.087s
 3. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault     1m25.897s  + 0.472s
 4. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m26.008s  + 0.583s
 5. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m26.208s  + 0.783s
 6. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m26.504s  + 1.079s
 7. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m26.543s  + 1.118s
 8. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m27.348s  + 1.923s
 9. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m27.432s  + 2.007s
10. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m27.946s  + 2.521s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m36.811s                                   Gap **
11. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari       1m29.435s  + 1.786s
12. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes     1m29.761s  + 2.112s
13. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m29.917s  + 2.268s
14. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m30.068s  + 2.419s
15. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari       1m30.315s  + 2.666s
16. Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m30.354s  + 2.705s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m24.776s                                    Gap *
17. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m24.908s  + 2.590
18. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault     1m25.626s  + 3.308
19. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m25.716s  + 3.398
20. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth    1m26.508s  + 4.190
21. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth    1m27.062s  + 4.744
22. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault     1m27.110s  + 4.792

The Story So Far... Part One

We're a good way through the season now and I think it's time to look at the progress of all the teams and drivers. I had promised to do a driver a day but that would have interrupted Canada which is shaping up to be the most exciting Grand Prix yet again.

Nobody could have guessed who would have won the first race, and no one could have predicted the controversy we have already faced. But we've had a new Monaco winner, progression from some teams and regression from others. Over the next few days I'll be taking a close look at each team and how they have performed so far. Please enjoy!

Marussia
Currently chilling above Caterham in the Constructors Championship which is their goal, I'd say their season is off to a blinder. KERS has appeared to boost their performance and the attitude around the team seems to be rather positive. Keep this up and good things will happen. The disappearance of the 10th place money prize could either make or break their existence in the future however.

Max Chilton
Like a typical pay-driver, he hasn't met the standard. I love the fact he's a Brit, however his performances compared to the rest of the back markers (especially when it comes to qualifying) is poor. I can see him getting better though as the season progresses. The boy will learn but unfortunately he'll always just be a cash flow to Marussia. When they no longer need it, he could find himself replaced.

Monaco proved a low point when he miscalculated the gap between him and Pastor Maldonado, resulting in a major collision. Regardless, Max achieved his best position (twice) and unlike the other three back runners, Max has finished every race so far.

Jules Bianchi
It nearly didn't come together for the young Frenchman! He was overlooked for the Force India seat after they elected to go for Adrian Sutil. In my eyes (and hopefully the masses) they made the wrong decision. This guy is quick. Pure speed and class. He relishes having an unheard of second chance and he is refusing to waste it.

Bianchi constantly out qualifies his team mate and his Caterham counterparts, and places his team in 10th place because of his P13 finish in Malaysia. The guy will not be at the back for long. Someone like Sauber who love young aces like this guy will want him. When Paul di Resta moves up the grid, Force India should definitely give Jules first preference. 

What's even more promising is the fact he is a member of Ferrari's Driver Academy. Future World Champion?

Caterham
Despite having the nicest livery, I've been really disappointed. Caterham's goals just keep on getting bigger and bigger, but their achievements keep getting smaller and smaller.

It's not come together for them yet despite major updates in Spain. A huge design flaw is holding them back, and an inexperienced driver line-up isn't helping matters.



Charles Pic
Last year, I thought Pic's move from Marussia was a smart one. Little did I know Pic would take two steps back. I don't think he's driven badly, I think it's the car holding him back.

If Tony Fernandes would get serious about F1 and stop dicking about with ridiculous second rate soccer ball teams, then we might have Caterham spectacle to watch.

It's impossible to judge based on the awful performance of that CT03, but at least he's remained relatively incident free.

Giedo van der Garde
Not amused lad, not amused (said Nathan to VDG).

He's not impressed me one bit, in fact I think he is very dangerous. His ridiculous move in Bahrain on Jean-Eric Vergne resulted in him t-boning the Toro Rosso driver, this is on top of many instances of poor control and lack of mental confidence.

Why he's driving instead of Heikki Kovalainen I will never know. Caterham are probably trying to milk his cash and then bring the Flying Finn back. Anybody is better than this Dutch clown.

NOTE: I am a firm believer that both these teams are bluffing to prepare for next year. With a Russian Grand Prix due in 2014, the Sociologist in me is saying that Russian President Vlad. Putin will want a Russian driver on the grid (Vitaly Petrov).

Williams
To say they have gone backwards is fair in many respects, but bare in mind, the blocks to the bright future for Williams are there. I've discovered them here.

The best thing they could have done was deport that useless waste of space [Bruno] Senna out of the sport, and thank Christ they did.

Pastor Maldonado
The Pastor Disaster that we seen in the early stages of last season seemed to have disappeared towards the end, and his no incident streak has continued since. The big accident in Monaco wasn't his fault and he has seemed to calm down overall as a driver.

However while cutting down the number of incidents, he has also cut down strong results. While not being helped by the abysmal form of the car, Maldonado failed to out qualify his rookie team mate for some time.

Pastor has failed to finish half the races and hasn't even looked like scoring a point. Constantly complaining about the car isn't going to help matters, but focusing on 2014 is key. Not that Maldonado is safe for next year...

Valtteri Bottas
Is his great form a surprise? Not to me. I called it well before the start that this guy would be an enigma and while not totally evident as of yet, signs and patterns are strongly emerging.

His results have been impeccable, winning the qualifying battle with Maldonado and coming close to scoring his maiden point in Malaysia have all shown signs of supreme driving talent.

It's a pity the only thing holding him back is a crap car. I really hope it doesn't dictate his 2014 drive. If it does, the sport will have passed up on a great star, and a definite future world champion.