NewsOnF1 - 3 - 6 June News

6-June: At the Thursday press conference for the Canadian Grand Prix, Mark Webber indicated that he enjoys the challenge of having to learn so many different tracks this year and said "I enjoy the challenge. Obviously you've got to pull your head in a little bit during the first session, the track being quite green and still trying to get grip with the tyres."
He is wary of the last corner here but wants to get out on the track as soon as he can and said "I had a look around on Tuesday, it's a lot tighter in places than you think. The barrier is very close to the circuit. It also looks pretty interesting. It looks like they've done a lot of work on the last chicane with the tyres there. I've seen a lot of cars crash there so it means a lot of respect for that. I'm looking forward to getting out there."
Mark is hoping that Minardi overcome their financial problems and said "The team is obviously in a difficult situation at the moment. There's a lot of stuff going on at the moment which is not good for us, but I'm just keeping my head down and concentrating on what I can do. There's not a lot that Mark Webber can do about the situation so hopefully everything will turn out OK."

Jarno Trulli was relieved to have finished in the points for the first time this season at Monaco and said "Yes, a little bit, especially because from the beginning of the season, I felt I could finish races and then have retired so many times from races so to finish in the points was a great thing for me. It was a great weekend, we never had a problem and we performed very well. I can say that we probably could have achieved even more because our package was really strong in Monaco, but unfortunately qualifying didn't go so well so in the race, we were struggling a little bit. I say struggling but we were right behind the top teams, but in Monaco it's difficult to overtake, difficult to race to attack and being in some position, but fourth place was definitely a good result for us."
He is hoping to do well on this track as well and said "The Michelin tyres were strong here last year. The team is definitely going up and they are always bringing new parts on the car. It's very promising, so I'm confident we can go well."

Juan Pablo Montoya indicated that the tyres will be crucial here and said "I think from what we saw last week (at Monaco), the tyres can be crucial for qualifying. A lot of races can be decided where you qualify. I think it will play a big part as always, but for BMW and everyone it's a good track."
On his crash here last year, Montoya said "I had two crashes - one in Monaco and one here last year - and I was just trying to compensate for the job we were not doing with the engineers. I think it was a difficult point for me because I was telling the team I've got this and I've got that and they say you can't have that sometimes. Rather than have that, you couldn't really have that and it got to a point where I said just change it and from then on things started to go better and they changed this to suit my driving and that really helped.
This year I am a lot more experienced, the team understands me a lot better and it just makes things a lot easier."
Montoya admitted they need to improve their launch and traction control and said "I lost two places in Austria at the start. I don't know what's going on. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't so it's not very consistent at the moment. We have to figure it out. Everybody's working on it but it's not the only thing we're concentrating on, it's one of the things. One of things we need to improve is traction control. It was really strong last year, I think it will be really strong again. We need to have the edge that we had before."

David Coulthard indicated that he doesn't expect to be on the front row here despite winning in Monaco and said "We expected it to be our best opportunity in the first half of the season because of the areas where we think we improved the car over last year. We had more downforce and it's only logical that if you hang all the wing on it around the streets of Monaco that that's going to help you. Naturally we wouldn't expect to be quite as strong around this circuit although we do have some improvements and we do have a little bit more horsepower for here. You never know, the tyres could be a big factor. There are a lot of straights here, you don't run a lot of downforce on this track. We're not exactly sure where our performance is going to be. We would be very surprised if we were on the front row but obviously that's going to be the goal."
Coulthard indicated that he doesn't rate his race at Monaco as one of his best ever and said "Not really. I've driven stronger races, but while Monaco is obviously a big challenge for a driver, you've always got to be one per cent below what you think you can do, because if you take it to 100 per cent and find that that was maybe just a little bit too much for the tyre on that particular corner you're going to hit a barrier. So it was maybe one of my better races in terms of self-control and just accepting that that was where the tyre was at that time and there's no point in pushing beyond that point. It was a drive of maturity if I can use that word. To have a really satisfying Grand Prix is the one where you push 100 per cent the whole way, where you pass people and do all that sort of thing and then come out winning. I can think of some races where I've done like that."

Giancarlo Fisichella who finished on the podium in 4 out of the 6 times he raced here is hoping to continue his good record at this track and said "I did very well in the past. I was on the podium four times. Of course, I've got a good feeling. I like this circuit, I am hopeful for the weekend because in the last two races I have been quite competitive, I've been in the points, so I'm looking forward to it."
Fisichella wants more development on the car to be able to continue scoring points and said "In the last few races we've had new parts, put on a new suspension, a new front wing and it was better. Now we are pushing, but we need more development."
As for the rumour that Eddie Irvine could return to the Jordan team, Fisichella said "I just heard the same story just now. It would be great. I think Eddie is a very good driver, he's a nice guy, very friendly. He did well in the past so it would be nice.
Takuma doesn't have experience. Sometimes he looks quick, but maybe too aggressive. He's had a couple of bad accidents. I think he's been unlucky. I'm sure it's going to be easier for him in the second part of the season."

6-June: "Williams or Ferrari ?" is the title of the 16th issue from the Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2002 season. In this issue, the Heretic looks at the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix - Issue 16

5-June: Michael Schumacher is hoping to win in Canada this year after finishing second to brother last year. He is counting on a strong Bridgestone tyre to give him the edge over the Williams team. He said "Nothing is certain. There are too many factors involved and tyres are obviously enormously important on a track like Montreal, which is not a true permanent race track. We saw in Monaco that tyres can be the decisive factor. On the other hand, we also did well in Imola, a circuit which did not suit us last year. Therefore I think we can be reasonably optimistic for Montreal. We just have to wait and we will only have a clearer idea after Friday’s first practice session. Last year, we did not go so well in Canada, but hopefully things will be different this time around."

Ralf Schumacher who won here last year is hoping for a repeat performance. He is counting on the power of the BMW engine as well as the Michelin tyres and said "I had a good result there last year and if it is possible, I would be obviously very pleased to repeat the outcome. Due to the rain and many stops, the last test we had in Silverstone wasn't really the best preparation, but still, it took us forward a little bit. As the Monaco qualifying session has shown, we are there at the top as well, even though we must admit that Ferrari made a big step forward in the race. If we will manage to transfer our good qualifying performance to the race, then we will have a very good chance of winning."
Team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya who crashed out of the race last year is also optimistic of his chances and said "The circuit is quite technical in the way you need to be very precise where you put the car on the track, and to get best results, you have got to be very gentle with the car, all of which makes it good fun. Last year I raced there for the very first time and in spite of the result, I quite liked it. We should look good for this year's race, thanks to the BMW engine - which will be able to give his best on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit - and probably also to the Michelin tyres, which behaved well there already in 2001. I am looking forward to this race."

4-June: The Quali-flyer's predictions for the 'Real Race' in Canada ... Report

3-June: "The Showdown" - The Canadian Grand Prix Preview is now available ... Race Preview

Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix Schedule:

Session	Time (Local / GMT) - Current local time
Friday Practice Session 1 Friday Practice Session 2 Saturday Practice Session 1 Saturday Practice Session 2 Qualifying Session Warm-up Session Race	11 AM Montreal Time / 3 PM GMT 1 PM Montreal Time / 5 PM GMT 9 AM Montreal Time / 1 PM GMT 10:15 AM Montreal Time / 2:15 PM GMT 1 PM Montreal Time / 5 PM GMT 8:30 AM Montreal Time / 12:30 PM GMT 1 PM Montreal Time / 5 PM GMT
Go to the Canadian GP Page