Canada preview quotes - Mercedes, Lotus & Red Bull

Round seven of the championship sees the paddock crossing the Atlantic to Montreal’s Isle Notre-Dame and the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2013. Lewis Hamilton took victory for McLaren last season, but can he do the same for Mercedes this year? Those involved discuss their prospects for the race…

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2012 Qualifying - 5th, 2012 Race - 6th
“The Canadian Grand Prix is always a great event as the fans in Montreal are so enthusiastic. The whole city really loves the race and it's such a lively place to be over the weekend. We receive so much support out in Montreal and it's great to see that enthusiasm. The circuit itself is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar and I love the challenge of driving there. It's a very difficult layout to drive because of the low downforce levels required for the long straights and it will be tough on the tyres. Monaco was a fantastic weekend for the team and I'm so proud of the victory that we achieved there. We'll be hoping to maintain that momentum in Canada this weekend and will be going all out for another strong performance.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2012 Qualifying - 2nd, 2012 Race - 1st
“The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has been a strong circuit for me and I've been lucky enough to win there three times in my career, including last season. It's always a great weekend in Montreal with a fun atmosphere in the city and at the track. The circuit itself is really special; it's very high-speed, great fun to drive and it's definitely a track where late braking helps. It's not too far off a Monaco-style circuit where you need a similar set-up to bounce off the kerbs so we should be quite competitive, although looking after the tyres will be our main challenge. There's a really good feeling in the team at the moment following Nico's win in Monaco and we're continuing to work hard to make sure we have the potential for more victories this season.”
Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus
2012 Qualifying - 12th, 2012 Race - 8th
“I have won (in Canada) which was pretty good, but I have experienced some setbacks there as well. Many times the race has been quite a lottery as there seem to be different things which affect it. The weather can change a lot, sometimes the tyres or the track aren’t working very well, sometimes there are a lot of safety cars, or sometimes another driver runs into the back of you when you’re waiting at a red light. As for the place itself, I’ve always liked Montréal. It is one of the nicest cities we visit all year. What do you need for a good result in Canada? A good car. Like at every circuit you need to get the set-up exactly right. You need a well-balanced chassis in the medium downforce configuration and you don’t want to be too hard on brakes as there’s a lot of aggressive braking there. It’s something I quite enjoy, the stop and go style of the circuit. Qualifying is important at every circuit, but not as essential as it was in Monaco to get a good result. It’s not easy to get past, but there are one or two places to overtake.”
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
2012 Qualifying - 1st, 2012 Race - 4th
“Why do I like the Canadian Grand Prix? The circuit has a nice rhythm and it’s one of the best races we have all year. The atmosphere and fans are great, the whole city lives F1 for the whole week and that makes us feel very special. I like it. Obviously one of the craziest moments was in 2011. There was so much rain; I haven’t seen that much rain carry on for so long since! During the race we had a big break and were in the lead. The race was difficult and with half a lap to go, I made my first mistake of the race which cost us the win. But that’s racing and it’s probably great for the fans to watch when they don’t know who is going to win until the last moment.”

Mark Webber, Red Bull
2012 Qualifying - 4th, 2012 Race - 7th
“Canada is a really good race. It’s a popular Grand Prix for fans and drivers; the fans are very passionate and it’s always an interesting Grand Prix because it’s another street circuit. There are some very good restaurants in Montreal, the whole city stops for the race and the atmosphere is a bit more traditional I would say. I haven’t been on the podium there yet, so I need to sort that out. It’s not a favourite memory, but I remember when (Nigel) Mansell retired on the last lap when he was in the lead. Also when Jean Alesi won his only race there, that was good.”

Acropolis Rally: Citroen's protest against Volkswagen rejected

Citroen's protest against all three Volkswagen Polo R WRCs contesting the Acropolis Rally was quashed by the stewards, ensuring Jari-Matti Latvala remained victorious in Greece.
The French team questioned the presence of a second battery in the boot of the Polo R WRCs, but the event stewards decided at close to 1am local time to declare the protest unfounded.
The case centred on Article 255A of the FIA Sporting Code, which precludes a competing car from running with two batteries.
The stewards found in favour of Volkswagen after the German team pointed to another ruling (Article 252 - 7.3) which allows a spare battery to be run in the car as a spare part.
The stewards' decision stated: "They [Volkswagen] explained that while the battery is installed in the right-rear corner of the car, it is not connected and can only be connected after disconnecting the battery in use. They also claimed that they had clarified the use of a spare battery with the FIA Technical Delegate last year and therefore used this installed battery.
"The stewards then heard the FIA technical delegate as a witness, who confirmed he had been asked by Citroen to look at the spare battery installation of cars seven and eight in parc ferme.
"He also confirmed that he has clarified with Volkswagen that this spare battery was in conformity with Article 255A and it was considered to be a spare part, He produced pictures of the spare battery showing that it was installed and not connected."
After concluding only one battery was in use and one must be disconnected before the spare could be connected and that no regulations had been broken, the stewards found in favour of Volkswagen.
Having spent much of the evening awaiting the decision, Volkswagen took the unprecedented step of communicating the stewards' announcement.
The Volkswagen press release said: "The Citroen Total Abu Dhabi Team launched a protest against the classification of the three Volkswagen Polo R WRCs. This protest was rejected due to a formal error.
"The manufacturer then filed a further two protests against Volkswagen Motorsport and Volkswagen Motorsport II (Andreas Mikkelsen's car). These protests also exhibited mistakes in their content, but were accepted by the sports commissioners. Both sides were summoned to a hearing to explain their viewpoints.
"The protests were directed at batteries, which, exclusively during parc ferme periods, are left in the cars overnight as spare parts and are then removed the following morning before leaving the service park. This has been common practice in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) for years.
"A technical delegate of the FIA approved this procedure prior to the 2013 season, upon explicit inquiry from Volkswagen.
"After extensive consultation, the sports commissioners dismissed the protests as unsubstantiated."
Citroen will not appeal the decision.

Acropolis Rally: Latvala seals first victory for Volkswagen

Jari-Matti Latvala claimed his first World Rally Championship win since joining Volkswagen as he completed a dominant run to the Acropolis Rally finish.
When a fuel feed problem took Latvala's championship-leading team-mate Sebastien Ogier out of contention on the very first stage, the Finn became VW's main hope.
At first he looked unlikely to step up to the challenge, running third behind Dani Sordo's Citroen and the initially dominant Evgeny Novikov's M-Sport Ford.
But on Saturday morning Latvala quickly claimed second from Sordo and then benefited when Novikov clipped a bank and picked up wheel, tyre, suspension and brake damage.
After that, Latvala cruised to a commanding victory, a minute and a half clear of Sordo.
Thierry Neuville drove a mature rally to third, salvaging a podium for M-Sport Ford despite Novikov's disappointment.
In his wake, almost every other WRC contender was fighting back from delays.
Andreas Mikkelsen overcame miscellaneous problems to snatch fourth from Nasser Al-Attiyah thanks to a string of stage wins on the final morning.
Mads Ostberg and Mikko Hirvonen hit trouble on Friday evening and were left several minutes behind before the rally had really begun.
They recovered to sixth and seventh, although Martin Prokop believes he was credited with an incorrect time on the penultimate stage and should be ahead of Hirvonen.
Novikov could only salvage ninth, while 10th was Ogier's limit when he rejoined under Rally 2. He did at least get the powerstage bonus points.
Robert Kubica clinched his biggest rallying success yet with a commanding performance in WRC 2.

Leading finishers:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car        Time/Gap
 1.  Jari-Matti Latvala  VW            3h31m01.2s
 2.  Dani Sordo          Citroen        + 1m50.0s
 3.  Thierry Neuville    M-Sport Ford   + 2m14.1s
 4.  Andreas Mikkelsen   VW             + 3m55.1s
 5.  Nasser Al-Attiyah   M-Sport Ford   + 4m12.6s
 6.  Mads Ostberg        M-Sport Ford   + 5m48.7s
 7.  Mikko Hirvonen      Citroen        + 8m00.7s
 8.  Martin Prokop       Czech Ford     + 8m01.2s
 9.  Evgeny Novikov      M-Sport Ford   + 8m11.8s
10.  Sebastien Ogier     VW            + 10m10.3s

WRC retirements:

     Khalid Al Qassimi   Citroen              SS8

Leading powerstage results:

 1.  Sebastien Ogier     VW              20m38.5s
 2.  Evgeny Novikov      M-Sport Ford       +9.9s
 3.  Andreas Mikkelsen   VW                +11.6s
 4.  Jari-Matti Latvala  VW                +13.2s
 5.  Mikko Hirvonen      Citroen           +13.4s

Acropolis Rally: Jari-Matti Latvala dominates at end of day two

Jari-Matti Latvala stretched his Acropolis Rally lead to over a minute by the end of day two in Greece.
With second-placed Dani Sordo electing to play it safe in the rough terrain and guarantee a runner-up spot, Latvala was able to pull comfortably clear without pushing too hard.
The Volkswagen and Citroen will go into Sunday's decisive four stages separated by 1m04s.
Thierry Neuville retains third in the best of the M-Sport Fords, having also opted for a conservative approach.
His team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah continues to resist Andreas Mikkelsen for fourth.
Every time the Norwegian has got close, either Al-Attiyah has raised his pace or Mikkelsen has hit problems, including a puncture on the day's final stage.
Mads Ostberg is now up to sixth, but Mikko Hirvonen's recovery has been stymied by further issues, including a puncture and a broken wheel. He is eighth.
Erstwhile runaway leader Evgeny Novikov won two stages on Saturday afternoon as he got back up to ninth place.
Sebastien Ogier is also back in the points after his Friday problems. He got ahead of WRC 2 leader Robert Kubica for 10th overall on SS10.

WRC Acropolis, Day 2, SS 5

 

Stage data: SS5, Kefalari (18.40 kilometres)

Stage description:
Another repeat from 2012. The opening kilometres are on wide roads through pine forests and stunning scenery. But at the midpoint it becomes narrower and rougher, before dipping and diving among the trees as it heads to the finish.      
How the action unfolded: 
Jari-Matti Latvala was quickest through the 18km Kefalari test to claim the 50th stage win for Volkwagen’s Polo R from 95 stage starts this year.
The Finn extended his Acropolis Rally lead to 18.8sec over Dani Sordo, who was second quickest in a Citroen DS3 WRC.
However Latvala, who has won all of the stages this morning, was feeling less than comfortable in his new position as rally leader.
“It’s demanding,” he said. “Before I was the guy who was trying to catch the people ahead, now they are trying to catch me. So the game has changed a bit. I wasn’t very relaxed in there. I have a rhythm but it could be better.” 
Sordo completed the stage in a time 3.2sec slower than Latvala’s. “I seem to be losing a lot of time in the slow corners so I took it carefully to try and find out why,” the Spaniard explained.
“I need to learn this for other rough rallies like Sardegna. I need to get better in these sorts of stages. I’m happy though, it’s good.” 
Sebastien Ogier was third fastest, and making the most of the opportunity to test his Polo R in the slippery conditions at the field of the field. “We tried to push but it’s not easy. We tried to adapt our set-up to the conditions,” he said.
Ogier’s team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen delivered a heroic Acropolis performance, driving his Polo R through most of the 18km mountain stage with no brakes.
“We lost them after about three kilometres,’ the Norwegian explained. “I pushed the pedal and it went straight to the floor. After 12 or 13 kilometres the brakes started to come back a bit but then, snap, the pedal went to the floor again. I don’t know what it is, but it’s impossible to drive like this.” 
Mikkelsen’s problems cost him around 40 seconds, dropping him more than one minute behind third-placed Thierry Neuville in the overall standings.
Neuville was fourth-fastest through SS5. “I was following Andreas’ splits, so when I saw that he slowed I did too. There is no point to risk doing anything more,” he said.
After his broken wheel on Friday, Mads Ostberg experienced more problems and the Norwegian arrived at the finish control with the left-hand front wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS out of alignment. “Something happened on the start line, from the beginning, I don’t know what exactly,” said the Norwegian.
Meanwhile Evgeny Novikov continued to lose time as a consequence of his rock-strike on the previous test. “The brakes are still broken,” he explained. “We can’t fix it because we don’t have any parts until service.”