Ferrari Challenge Montreal

A great week end of racing for CG and Axis in Montreal.

Two second place finishes, two fast laps and two survived brushes with the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's infamous Wall of Champions!

Both races were won by Ricardo Perez, F1's Sergio Perez's cousin and an experienced touring car racer in his native Mexico, with CG glued to his bumper.

Montreal, 7 June – The drivers of the North American Ferrari Challenge, fueled by the glamorous and exciting Formula One backdrop, put on a true racing spectacle in the fourth race of the 2014 season.
In the first leg of the two classes, there was some hard racing all the way to the flag. Damon Ockey (Ferrari of Ontario) started in pole, and tried to defend his position from the attack of Ricardo Perez (Ferrari of Houston) who finished first despite several attempts to overtake him by Carlos Gomez (Ferrari of San Francisco). In the end, the Trofeo Pirelli podium was completed by Emmanuel Anassis (Ferrari of Quebec).
Of the Coppa Shell drivers, the victory went to Chris Ruud (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) who led from the start all the way to the finish line. James Weiland (Ferrari of San Francisco) maintained his position as well, arriving in second place. Robert Herjavec (Ferrari of Ontario) moved swiftly ahead of the pack and finished third.
The second and final race of the Ferrari Challenge weekend will take place tomorrow morning at 11:15 AM and will precede the official 2014 Formula One Grand Prix of Canada which will start at 2 PM.

Race 2 saw a hefty shunt when Chris Ruud and Ugo Colombo tangled exactly where Massa and Perez would later in the day.   Colombo walked away from the 150 mph hit, a testament to Ferrari engineering and safety design of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Montreal, 8 June – A glorious Ferrari weekend continued today with the second Ferrari Challenge race taking place just hours before the official start of the 2014 Formula One Grand Prix of Canada. The Trofeo Prielli and Coppa Shell drivers prepared the ground this exciting race Sunday morning.
In the Trofeo Pirelli class, Ricardo Perez (Ferrari of Houston) maintained his ground, fiercely battling for his first place win against Carlos Gomez (Ferrari of San Francisco) who finished second with the fastest lap time in today’s race. Damon Ockey came in third after a daring overtake in the first turn of the race, competing against his Ferrari of Ontario teammate, Marc Muzzo, to ultimately take the podium.
Robert Herjavec (Ferrari of Ontario) was all smiles as he finished on top of the podium today, taking victory in the Coppa Shell class. Herjavec took the lead from Chris Ruud (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) after a collision with Ugo Colombo (The Collection) at the end of the straightaway. However, Ruud was able to maintain his podium standing, finishing behind his teammate, Jon Becker, for a third place finish.
The fifth round of the North American series of the Ferrari Challenge will stay in Canada to take place at Mont Tremblant in Quebec on June 27-29.

Ferrari Challenge Montreal: The Epic Week End.

It was an epic, epic week end for Team Axis in Montreal as CG raced in both IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup and Ferrari Challenge before the Formula One paddock, a tracktard's dream.

Exclusively for you Axis readers, we have onboard pictures from the Sunday Challenge race. Read Carlos' story and catch part 2 of the race after the jump. 

Along with Montecarlo, Montreal is my favorite venue for an F1 race. A track in a beautiful setting, close to a walk-around friendly city makes the whole experience better (and definitively wife approved, so you get an eager companion for the race weekend)

A year ago, the 2011 F1 weekend in Montreal was the very first race in my then brand new Porsche GT3 Cup but the big monsoon we got that day left me wanting a good dry race for 2012 in that non-ABS beast.

I have always been curious about racing Ferrari Challenge, especially since the 430 Scuderia has been my favorite and the best street/track car I've owned. I do love the midengine platform as I have tracked and raced mid engine cars (Lotus Elise, Exige S, Cayman S) for the last 8 years, which is a lot longer than what I've been racing Porsche 911s.

Lucky for me, one of my NGT Motorsports teammates who now races Ferrari Challenge, could not make the Canadian races this year so, one last minute phone call to him and another to Scuderia Corsa and we were all set to race in Montreal.  Ferrari Challenge is sanctioned by GrandAm so my having a Rolex GT license from the Daytona 24 eased everything.

Ferrari, being an active Formula One player gets two races during the F1 weekend while our IMSA Porsche schedule gets restricted to only one so, despite a bit of overlap and the need for some quick car changes it was very feasible to race both series on the same week end.

Had to show up as early as Thursday for the mandatory Ferrari PR events. All dressed up in our official driver suits (provided by Ferrari) we went to the start finish line to have our picture taken with the F1 team. Alonso, Massa, Domenicali and Marco Mattiacci, head of Ferrari N.A. were there with us and a had chance to chat briefly. Coolness factor so far: 110%!

Back to civilian clothes for a track walk with Ferrari driver's coach Didier Thyes. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is relatively simple to learn. It's a sequence of three basic chicanes where the trick is to get on the power early on exit, two left - right complexes that require a lot of patience on exit of the second part (Turn 2 for example), One slow hairpin (probably slowest corner on any track I've raced on) and just one fast corner that requires commitment and throttle modulation (Turn 5).

Baku, Moans and Groans.

(photo : Ferrari)

Who would have thought that a track which produced the highest ever speed for a Formula 1 car,  378 kmh (234.8 mph) followed by a braking zone into a tight 90 degree turn flanked by concrete barriers would produce a dull race with no accidents or safety cars?



That was the biggest surprise of the inaugural European GP in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Street tracks usually result in either dull processions or giant clusterf...s.  Baku promised a yet untried variant for F1,  a Macau for big boys,  with cars trimmed as much as teams dared having to scrub  170 mph or so into turn 1

As Vettel put it after the race, it's a track that requires proper "equipment" yet the race was as short on spectacle as it was on spectators.

(Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas)

In reality,  the most necessary equipment was a Mercedes power unit.   It is obvious on this track how much Mercedes has been cautious in the past in deploying its full power potential.  It certainly seems like the Germans have a vast reserve to call upon whenever another team gets too close.  On a track with a two plus kilometer straight, Ferrari and Renault powered cars had little hope, the Silver Arrows could only beat themselves.

Which they partly managed to do in Baku.  

We get attacked by the Hamfosi any time we dare say anything about the spiritual heir of Ali and Senna ,  suffice it to say, he had a doozy of a week end, starting with him calling other drivers "moaners" on Friday and ending with him complaining about the new radio restrictions.   We'll leave it at that.

I would recommend you read the editorial on Formula1blog.com.  Eloquently put.

On the subject of press coverage:  After Canada, Ferrari got creamed for "blowing a sure victory"  this was both in the international media and in particular with the often bloodthirsty Italian press.     In reality, it's not at all certain Vettel would have been able to keep Hamilton behind in Montreal.  
But everyone is Ross Brawn on Monday.

In Baku, Red Bull made the same "error" but ended up with a much worse result.   Will they get the same thrashing?    Maybe in the Australian press.

(photo: Getty/Red Bull)

Ferrari actually had a fairly good week end, Vettel second,  Raikkonen fourth despite a two stop strategy and a questionable penalty.

It's an interesting stat that as of the start of the  European phase of the championship, Vettel has scored 63 points, Hamilton 60 and Rosberg 41.

Chances are the fat lady will sing Wagner or God Save the Queen but, she has not sung yet.

(photo : Ferrari)

Rosberg wins the mental game in Monaco.

Nico Rosberg (photo: Mercedes AMG F1)

Not really much in the way of highlights on track in Monaco, the real battle was the mental one.

More than just staying in front, what Rosberg was able to do was turn Hamilton mind games against him.

For all his undoubted talent, Hamilton has a fatal flaw: he often misses the opportunity to keep quiet.   So, despite his advantage coming into the race in Monaco, he had felt the need to more or less knock Rosberg in the media: how he should dominate Nico.  How Nico was born privileged among yachts and hotels while he was born poor and had to sleep on couches  (never mind his having a motorsports career nurtured by Ron Dennis since age 12).

Rosberg made his jujitsu move Saturday and Hamilton began to unravel, culminating in that veiled threat  to pull "a Senna" on Rosberg.

In reality Rosberg had the measure of Hamilton all week end, Lewis was never faster and ended up losing his cool during the race, blaming the team for not bringing him in just before the second safety car.   Later in the race Lewis continued to exchange tense messages with his pit.   Finally that bizarre episode with something hitting him in the eye.   After the race, the two did not exchange any words or shake hands.

It's not inconceivable that soon we will hear accusations Mercedes is favoring Rosberg because he's German but curious Hamilton was the first to break ranks by using extra power to stay ahead of Nico in Spain.

Kimi Raikkonen (Photo: Ferrari)

If Monaco was a Rosberg track, Montreal has been a Hamilton track so it should be interesting there in two weeks, we'll see if Lewis will just shut up and drive or if he will feel the need to have at Rosberg in the press again.   But most of all let's hope the other teams catch up so will not have to hear these two complaining about each other all season.


As for the rest, a real shame Raikkonen's race got destroyed by Max Chilton who somehow managed to run into him during the second safety car, puncturing a tire on the Ferrari.

If Chilton was the pits, Jules Bianchi was the star managing to finish eighth and giving Marussia their first points.

Not a good race for Renault power with Vettel out early and trouble at Toro Rosso and Lotus... though one might suspect Lotus faked a failure on Maldonado's car as a preemptive cost saving measure.

Grand Prix de Monaco - La course de Raikkonen en caméra embarquée

#493743505 / gettyimages.com

Vettel Gives The Finger In Canada

Sebastian Vettel dominates the 2013 Canadian GP in true old school Schumacher style.

RedBull Photo

Vettel lapping everyone up to sixth position did not make for the most entertaining race,  it was a real crushing performance from the first corner for Red Bull in Canada.

Casino de Montreal

I can't figure out why I've been cool towards F1 recently,  after all, seven winners in seven races,  that's special.   Perhaps because once again after Monaco we had another objectively dull race.   Sure Hamilton fans will be jumping up and down and I don't mean to take away from his drive which was  great but, reality is that most passes were in the DRS zone or in the pits.
I simply don't find that exciting any more.

Couple with a nagging feeling tires are a lottery, that there is an an element of luck in getting a consistent set of PZeros  on any given race day.  

Having  said that, kudos to Hamilton who drove the right strategy to perfection despite more pit stop shakiness.

Epic fail from Ferrari who cannot hide behind performance excuses for the newly developed F2012 any more.  Not after Massa qualified sixth and was moving up, like the old Massa until the new Felipe (or should I say, the new Button) returned.

Why Ferrari would be covering Vettel  behind rather then Hamilton in front remains a mystery.  Why when the writing was on the wall they did not stop,  even more.  Alonso may come away from Canada only two points behind Hamilton but  that may be the championship right there.  Strategy seems to be Ferrari's weak point right now.

Ferrari's wasn't the only epic fail of the day, Button, Webber, Mercedes.

Mixed feelings aside, being at the track in Montreal was great  (and a full report on the Axis CG epic week end in Ferrari Challenge and Porsche GT3 Cup is coming...) ,  sure you miss a lot in the chaos but you also get  things you just miss on TV.

A good example is sound and how exhaust notes change though out a week end.  In qualifying the Renault engined cars, Red Bull in particular, had a clear honking resonance as they accelerated out of turn 2 and a buzzing sound on the overrun.   These were absent in the race.

I put the question to someone who would know and they confirmed that indeed RBR used different maps in qualifying and for the race, different ones at different stages of the race too (and not always the correct one at the correct time).  This of course, all in an effort to preserve tires.  Think of it as traction control through engine mapping.  I never did get a good explanation about the buzz on the overrun though....

Also with some access to the pit you  catch small details you never would otherwise.   Ferrari's Pit signal board box contains the names of all the 2012 runners and one more,  Robert Kubica.

And all of a sudden your faith in the humanity of Formula 1 is restored.

Please comment on Ferrari's strategy or your view on the championship so far,  love to hear from you guys.

Axis Invades Canada: 2 Axis cars to race in Montreal

Photo: Bradford Speers

There will be two Axis of Oversteer branded cars competing on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this coming week end.

Ferrari searching for the next Lewis?

Or is it the next Gilles? Maybe there is more to it than that.

Ferrari, on the same day it announced a two year contract extension for Felipe Massa, announced an "option" on 11 year old Canadian Lance Stroll. Lance has done very well for himself in karting and will be entering Ferrari's new driver development program, the "Ferrari Academy".

Stroll is the son of Lawrence Stroll, the Montreal fashion industry mogul behind Tommy Hilfiger, collector of rare Ferraris including a 250GTO, a 330 P4 and an FXX, gentleman racer, owner of the Circuit Mont Tremblant and friend of Michael Schumacher, who has advised on young Lance's career path. Tommy Hilfiger was a Ferrari sponsor from 1998 to 2001.

Finding talent at a young age is key, finding fully funded and connected talent, genius!

(Ferrari.com, vroom.it)

Meet the Axis of Oversteer Ferrari 458 Challenge.

Yup, it's wicked.

The Axis of Oversteer / Capital Managers Ferrari 458 Challenge will make its debut this week end in Montreal, competing in the Ferrari Challenge support races, Saturday and Sunday.   At the helm around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be our own Carlos Gomez, aka CG, making his second appearance at the Canadian track.

Wrapped in chrome and dayglo orange, I don't think anyone will have trouble spotting this 458 either from the stands or in their rear view mirrors.   Many times in single make series, liveries can be a tad dull,  we think we don't have that problem with this one!

If you are going to be at the track, cheer for the Axis car and please do send us pictures!

Below is Carlos last year in Montreal,  he had to start last on the grid and finished 5th overall.

Ferrari will introduce B-spec car for Silverstone

Bit of a scoop by Autosprint: Ferrari will introduce major changes in the F150 for the British GP in July.

The upcoming Montreal and Valencia are two tracks in many ways similar to Monaco, basically point and squirt and where the F150th's "falta de carga", as Alonso would say, in not a factor. Silverstone is another story and that's where Ferrari is to make its final stand. If the Pat Fry curated update does not work then Ferrari will start putting eggs in the 2012 basket.

Question is, will Alonso manage to drag the present car into enough points in the next two races for the revised Ferrari to even matter?

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No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Enzo Ferrari always said to finish first first you have to finish. It's not really that simple but, it is. That and you need to be lucky as well as brilliant.

Fernando Alonso was all that. He is a pit bull, he never gives up and that is why he is head and shoulders the best driver in the current F1 field.

Even if you are the biggest Alonso hater in the world you have to bow to his performance today. Even without Vettel's retirement his march from eleventh on the grid to second was astounding. You can't deny that outside pass on the impressive Romain Grosjean on the restart, you can't deny how he managed these mysterious Pirelli tires, attacking when necessary, holding back when needed after the first lap charge.

Nobody guessed Valencia would be exciting but it was, unlike Monaco and Montreal which were very exciting last season.  Certainly nobody put money on a Ferrari win even if there were clues to their race pace.

Clearly, this was going to be Vettel's race, he was just insanely fast in the first phase of the race. But hey, things happen even to bulletproof Red Bulls. Was it really an alternator?  Was it the exact same failure on Vettel's and Grosjean's RS27 lumps? As a rule, whatever you are officially told is never the real reason.

Grosjean is now a force to be reckoned with, no doubt about it. His pass on Hamilton was "magnifique". Lotus is in a groove.

Speaking of grooves, or maybe, anti-grooves, there is something really wrong with the world of F1 when Mclaren can't build manual jacks that work!  Two failed on Hamilton's second stop? Really Mclaren, it's a jack!
Imagine if it had been Ferrari who had such a comical string of pit stop failures, you would be reading about it everywhere, not just as a side note.  Where are the calls for Whitmarsh and Michael's heads? Mclaren is failing and Williams is going fast...I'm just saying.

Maldonado and Hamilton...Maldonado was obviously at fault but Hamilton was just dumb: why fight there and in such a high risk way? He had to know he was a sitting duck.
So much for Hammy 3.0,  the one with the eyes on the Championship.   However, Lewis should never have found himself in that position, forced to push because of the botched pit stop. But he also made an unforced error locking up into the final corner probably delivering a death blow to his Pirellis.

Red Bull has an interesting pickle to sort: in the Championship their best placed driver is Mark Webber not Vettel.  Awkward.    I had to laugh at Helmut Marko blaming the safety car on "America" and implying there was a conspiracy to stop Vettel. . Hilarious.

I'm guessing Button and Massa must have spent the evening in a bar sharing FAIL tapas. Massa certainly had an eventful race but getting passed by Petrov in a Caterham must not have done his psyche any good.
 Button's bad performances could be down to his not coming to terms with the unpredictability of the Pirellis and a constantly changing car but it's a big failure on the team's part not to have found a solution for him yet.

Schumacher on the podium was almost a relief, certainly for him. With Kimi, Schumi and Alonso, a podium filled with Ferrari DNA.

We have to go with the BBC highlights as I'm currently internet impaired, thanks for your patience and feel free to comment, yes even the rabid Lewis fans!

Would Mercedes really give Red Bull a competitive engine?

via Autosprint

That was the first thing that came to mind when the rumor of a deal that would have brought Mercedes power to Red Bull Racing.

However, a recent issue of Autosprint lays out a scenario that is, at the very least, intriguing to follow.

Let me summarize:

Next year Red Bull Racing would run a Mercedes Power Unit while junior team Toro Rosso would continue to use Renault.

The deal was started at the Monaco GP and would see Aston Martin come in as a sponsor on the RBR cars,  taking the place of Infiniti.    The engines would not be re-badged as Astons.

When Sergio Marchionne, in Montreal, declared he would be happy to provide Ferrari power to Red Bull, he was trying to derail a deal which had yet to be finalized because for Ferrari a Mercedes powered Red Bull is a problem, on track but also commercially.  There is the missed opportunity to sell €22Mllion worth of engines (yeah, that's for two engine supplies to one team!) and the added exposure F1 would provide Aston Martin, a direct competitor in road cars.

A deal between RBR and Mercedes, Autosprint continues, had been in the works years ago but had been blocked by McLaren.

The final turning point came at the Austrian GP with Dietrich Mateschitz  threatening to leave F1 because of Renault.  This shook not just Ecclestone who desperately needs a rival to the Silver Arrows for 2016 but also Mercedes who have interest in seeing the series thrive (as long as they are on top anyway).


Enter Aston Martin. In late 2013, AMG Mercedes signed a deal to supply engines for Aston Martin road cars and Mercedes has promised to acquire a 5% stake in the British car maker which is currently devided between an Italian private equity firm, Investindustrial, at 37.5%, The Kuwaiti Sovereign fund and David Richards among others.

Adrian Newey and Red Bull Technologies will, as part of the deal,. to be collaborating with Aston Martin on a future top of the line car..

grandprix247.com

Niki Lauda had dismissed the notion at Silverstone but Toto Wolff was quiet.  Rumors have Lauda vehemently against furnishing a team with financial and technical capabilities to be a direct competitor with Wolff taking a longer term view with the welfare of the series in mind.

The deal became possible, always according to Autosprint, because Renault has finalized the purchase of 51% of Lotus (We have only been able to independently confirm top level talks have been taking place but nothing has been finalized yet).

The stake in Lotus would eventually increase but Renault is said to have asked Ecclestone for a dispensation so that the team may officially enter the 2016 season as Renault without the economic (revenue share) penalties of entering as a new team.    2016 cars would sport the traditional yellow and black of the Regie.

Winners and losers?  Red Bull gains the best engine available, Mercedes gains the best available client team, gets to monetize engines it was uncertain Lotus would fully pay for and gets to look magnanimous in front of the sport,
Renault would be largely free of the now damaged relationship with Red Bull and with Lotus gain a team which has good infrastructure and is free of much of the debt that saddles other available teams.   Renault would also be in the position to take better advantage of the exposure or running their own team.

Loser?  Certainly Ferrari who in 2016 will have Sauber, Manor and Haas as clients.


Will it happen?  Would Mercedes take the risk?  Would Red Bull accept the possibility of getting  a B-Spec unit?

Stay tuned, meanwhile here is Rosberg's pole position lap in Hungary last season.

Hamilton rules Canada but should Mclaren have been disqualified?

Without a doubt, the best car and best driver won in Montreal. Hamilton was faultless and, for once, on top of his tire consumption the key strategic issue of the race.

On Saturday, Red Bull gambled that conceding pole on Saturday in exchange for starting on the preferred hard compound when heavy on fuel would pay off in the race. As it turned out, Webber would have gotten pole on those prime tires save for a last second heroic lap by Lewis Hamilton which put him a colossal 2/10th ahead.

Talent aside, where did that 2/10th come from? Mclaren deliberately sent Hamilton out with a car that did not have enough fuel to make it back to the pits with the mandated one liter of fuel required to pass technical inspection. This is why they asked Lewis to shut the engine down on his in lap and strand the car.

Comically, Mclaren'ss party line was that the lack of fuel was a "misunderstanding" but obviously Woking employs a team of sporting regulation lawyers in full time radio contact because, in the 1:15 sec it took Hamilton to do his lap, they had already figured out there was no stated "rule" for the car to return to the pits under it's own power and that they would only incur a fine for not making it back in the required 1:30 seconds as stated by an FIA "memo". This is precisely what happened. After the race Martin Whitmarsh warned other teams should not try this in the future as the FIA is sure to crack down on running cars effectively under weight and stranding them by the side of the track... Some calculated Mclaren saved 2.3kg of fuel with this trick and that 2.3 kg in Montreal equals, you guessed it, 2/10th.

Regardless of the controversy, Hamilton deserved the win with a Mclaren ideally suited to the track with no fast corners, long straights, hard braking and requiring mechanical grip coming out of the chicanes. Button played it cool and towards the end he might have pressured Hamilton save for the usual "it's not team orders" call from the pits. Mclaren also benefitted from the old "unsafe release" rule having fallen out of favor and the stewards allowing side by side racing in pit lane again.

Montreal is also a good track for the downforce challenged Ferrari and Alonso put up a good fight. It might have been his race but for run ins with traffic. Buemi, the team should have told him was due to come in. The Lotus blocking his in lap was a big one which allowed Hamilton to come out of the second pit stop round ahead. Finally, Alonso made that inexplicable move to the dirty side of the track after misjudging Chandock's lack of speed and allowing Button to cruise by for second. Third is a good result after the Turkish disaster but there are once again many regrets.

Red Bull were the big losers and once more, it was mechanical reliability which clipped their wings. Webber had to give up the front row because of a gearbox change and Vettel first could not capitalize on their tire choice at the start and later had to nurse the car home to fourth. The team's tire strategy for Webber, I'll be frank, seemed more designed to make sure he finished behind Vettel than anything else.

All and all, a great race to watch with three world champions on the podium. Very cool. Bon retour au Quebec!

end of post

Do you believe in a Canadian peace?

We've been friends a long time&as friends we have our ups&downs. Today we spoke&we're cool, still friends #noproblem pic.twitter.com/xhZlf4qMv9
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 30, 2014

Do you buy it?     Not a chance.   I'll get the usual flack from the Lewisistas but it's fairly clear that motivation behind that tweet owes more to bad press Hamilton has received in the last 10 days since Monaco than any new found détente.    If his behavior after the race could most charitably be described as petulant,  his comparing himself (once again) to Senna was  just plain ridiculous and Lewis got a global hammering for it.


It will be interesting to see if Lewis can thrive in this high tension situation he's creating for himself.  Everyone is sure he will dominate in Montreal, it's "his" track, he's won there three times and more than any other driver currently racing.   But here's the kicker: if Rosberg manages to to beat him, it will be a big psychological blow and maybe the turning point of the season.

That said,  it will take something unusual to stop Hamilton.

As for everyone not in a Mercedes,   despite what they might say publicly, for many it's time evaluate if to let 2014 drop and concentrate efforts on 2015.  That really means Ferrari and Red Bull.  Mclaren is probably doing that already and other teams are probably just doing what they can to stay afloat.

It's rumored Ferrari will bring a significant engine power boost via software,  that the core of the problem with their engines is that they were too conservative and worried too much about reliability (which has been good so far).    We'll see.

As for Renault, the big concern is Red Bull  running out of components:  As of Monaco Vettel had used 3 Internal Combustion Engines out of the 5 allowed,  3 Turbos, 3 MGU-K, 3 MGU-H and 4 control electronics PSU.   There are 13 races to go so the math is not in favor of the German.

Hopefully tires will play a role mixing up the cards a bit and the race will not be a procession.

Hamilton lifts and coasts his way to victory in Canada.

Photos: Jim Hunter

Formula 1 succeeded in  turning what has historically been an exciting and entertaining race, the Canadian GP,  into one of the dullest races of the season so far.



Saving fuel was something World Endurance Racing used to do back when it was boring, even they have figured that out.   If the WEC did sprint races fans would abandon F1 in droves at th is point.    As it is,  we're told there were less stands erected on the Ile de Notre Dame this year.

Rosberg said afterwards he "pushed like mad" which is at odds with radio messages from his engineers telling him to save fuel and brakes every time he got anywhere near DRS range of Hamilton.   Rosberg seems way too passive accepting his fate.

amazing fans in montreal. Merci! wasn’t a perfect weekend for me. here is my video for you. #CanadianGP https://t.co/wzhvOlZ9zo

— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) June 8, 2015

then there was this:



What's wrong with a fuel gauge and why is one driver allowed to get information on his teammate but not the other way around?

Bah.

The only entertainment today came courtesy of Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel both starting from the back after having mechanical issues in qualifying.

Vettel's race, 18th to 5th without the aide of a safety car,  was especially impressive.    We'll never know if he,  had he stated third, might have put enough pressure on the Mercedes duo to push them over the fuel consumption / brake wear limits.

Raikkonen was certainly not able to.  It's likely his carbon copy of 2014 spin on his out lap was caused by some odd engine behavior but then again, Kimi is being paid big money for his skills.  
I can understand his frustration but did he need to fry his rear tires once he spun? National Donut Day was Friday, not Sunday.
No wonder he could not catch the Finn who will replace him at Ferrari next year....



The comedian award of the race has to go to Romain Grosjean:



And then there's Mclaren-Honda

One day we might learn the truth about the McHonda spectacular failure of 2015 and Alonso, one of the most talented and worst managed driver in F1 history, wanted that bicycle and now he's got to pedal it but you have to feel for him, his frustration perfectly encapsulates that of many fans with this current Formula.



So Ferrari is the best hope for F1 redemption in Austria, nothing necessarily against Mercedes but it sure is boring watching those two not really race each other.