CANADA - Montreal - the place to be - 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada, 10.-12.06.2016 - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZINE 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada, Preview, Interviews

McLaren Honda F1 Team
Fernando Alonso:
“Canada is a great circuit – very demanding and requires absolute concentration at all times. It goes from very slow-speed corners to high-speed corners really quickly, which means a lot of pressure is put on the brakes and power units. It’s a pretty tough circuit on the cars generally, so reliability will be the first thing we need to focus on, to make sure there are no gremlins or technical issues that could jeopardise our performance.

“Monaco was a positive result for us; to get both cars home in the points and to keep the chasing pack behind us was very satisfying, but we know there’s still a lot of work to do. We’re definitely making progress, but until we’re fighting at the front, we still need to keep pushing and constantly developing. Montreal is a completely different challenge to Monaco, so I hope we can quickly adapt our package to this circuit and maintain our recent form, but it will certainly be a tricky and unpredictable weekend.”

Jenson Button
“Although this is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar, and very power-hungry, one of the strengths of our chassis is stability under heavy braking, so we shouldn’t be fearful of going to a circuit like this and finding ourselves on the back foot. Our development rate is steep and there’s huge work going on behind the scenes to constantly improve the performance of our whole package, so I’m excited to see how we perform in Canada, given how different the circuit’s characteristics are compared to Monaco.

“It’s no secret that I absolutely love this circuit, and it’s the scene of one of my best race wins, in 2011 – definitely up there among my favourites. It’s a real racer’s circuit: tough on cars, tough on drivers, and usually produces stunning racing, whatever the weather. Leaving the final corner unscathed after passing the ‘Wall of Champions’ always feels like an achievement – let’s hope we can achieve that 70 times on Sunday!”
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SAHARA FORCE INDIA F1 Team

Vijay Mallya
VJM: “Monaco was a very significant weekend for us. It’s one of the most famous races in the world and I felt incredibly proud to see Checo standing on the podium. It’s a memory that will stay with me forever. It was a brilliant team effort and a much deserved reward for all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes to keep pushing us forward. There was some late drama too with Nico snatching sixth place on the line in a race where the strategy didn’t allow him to show his true potential.

“The Monaco performance means we come to Canada full of confidence. The 23 points we claimed in Monaco lifted us to fifth place in the championship. I’ve been saying all season that our luck needs to change and I hope that Monaco represents a turning point. We now have some momentum and I believe we can push on and keep racking up the points in the races to come. Montreal should play to our strengths and I’m feeling optimistic that we can get both cars well inside the top ten in qualifying and the race.”


Sergio on Canada
Sergio Perez aims to build on the momentum of his Monaco podium as he prepares for Canada.

Sergio: “There is no better confidence boost than a race like the one we had in Monaco. It was a perfect weekend and a very satisfying result considering some of the bad luck we experienced at the start of the season. When I was a kid I always dreamed of standing on the Monaco podium and it was very special to be there celebrating with my team.

“Montreal is one of my favourite circuits: I was on the podium there in 2012; I had one of my best races in 2014 and I feel positive ahead of this year’s race. It’s an old school track and, while the layout is much faster than Monaco, it shares some of its characteristics: it’s a circuit that rewards bravery and punishes mistakes, a place where the driver can make a difference.

“In the past there have been some unpredictable races in Canada and you always have to keep an eye on the weather. I think we can be quick there and the changes we’ve made to the car recently have made a big difference. I have a good feeling with the car; it’s giving me confidence to really push and that’s very important for a track like Montreal.”


Nico on Canada
Nico Hülkenberg gets ready for one of the highlights of his year, the Canadian Grand Prix.

Nico: “The week in Montreal is always one of the best of the year. You can see how much Canada loves Formula One because the whole city embraces the race and the locals give us a very warm welcome. There’s a huge buzz around town and a lot of events that create a special atmosphere.

“I really enjoy driving in Montreal. It’s a challenging track – you need to attack the kerbs and get really close to the walls. There is also a big emphasis on braking performance and traction out of the low-speed corners. The tyre choices are at the softer end of the range, so there will be some aggressive strategies, but these tyres worked well for us in Monaco. It’s hard to overtake there, but the final chicane is definitely the best opportunity.

“Monaco was a frustrating weekend for me. Despite scoring a very good sixth place, we missed a big opportunity to be even higher up. The car felt great all week and we really found the sweet spot. I think we can carry this performance into Canada and be just as competitive. It’s almost a street track and you need to really lean on the car to get the lap time.”
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SAUBER F1 Team:
Marcus Ericsson (Startnummer 9):
„Ich freue mich auf die kommenden Grand-Prix-Wochenenden. Zuerst sind wir in Montreal, wo ich die Strecke wie auch die Atmosphäre rund um den Kurs ganz besonders mag. Eine grossartige Veranstaltung. Unmittelbar danach geht es zum Europa-Grand-Prix nach Aserbaidschan. Für die Formel 1 ist es gut, neue Strecken und neue Länder im Rennkalender zu haben. Über Baku und Aserbaidschan weiss ich noch nicht so viel, aber ich reise gerne, um Neues kennenzulernen. Die dortige Strecke kennen alle noch nicht. Deshalb ist das übliche Begehen der Strecke vor dem Rennwochenende dieses Mal wichtiger denn je. Ich hoffe, dass wir dort möglichst viele neue Fans gewinnen können.“

Felipe Nasr (Startnummer 12):
„Vor uns liegen nun arbeitsreiche Tage. Denn nach dem anspruchsvollen Kanada-Grand-Prix fliegen wir sofort nach Baku zum Grand Prix von Europa. Ich reise stets gerne zu neuen Rennstrecken und an neue Orte, weil es da immer viel zu entdecken gibt. Bemerkenswert finde ich, dass der Baku City Circuit mit rund sechs Kilometern die zweitlängste Strecke nach Spa-Francorchamps im Rennkalender ist. Wir fahren dort auch auf einer der längsten Geraden, die es unter den aktuellen Grand-Prix-Kursen gibt. Nach allem, was ich gehört habe, stellt dieser Stadtkurs im Zentrum von Baku eine neue, aufregende Herausforderung dar. Ich hoffe, dass uns dabei möglichst viele Fans am Rennwochenende unterstützen werden.“
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Mercedes AMG Petronas
Lewis Hamilton
I still can't quite believe I've got my 44th Formula One win. It's taken so much hard work from so many people throughout my career to reach this point - way too many to name - and it's a very special landmark for me and my family. I have to say how grateful I am to my mechanics for sticking at it and sticking with me after what's not been an easy start this year. It felt great to be back on the top step after a tough run and hopefully it was a big confidence boost for them too, because they've been doing a great job all season. There's a long way to go yet, though. We've seen from these opening six races that anything's possible and these swings inevitably go both ways. We are the greatest team - but we have more pressure from our rivals than ever before, so it's important we keep pulling together and refining any weak areas. I've proven that I'm just as strong as I've ever been and I will be for the rest of the year, so I'm looking forward to the next chapter. Montreal has always been a good track for me, so hopefully I'm able to shine like I did the first time I went there in that great city atmosphere.

Nico Rosberg
I expected and prepared myself for some difficult races after the awesome start to the season. This is where experience helps me. In the last Grand Prix I hopefully got all of my bad luck out of the way in one race, so onwards and upwards again from now! I'm looking forward to heading over to Boston for a sponsor event first and then on to Canada. It's an awesome track and I'm sure our car will be great there too. It will be interesting to see where Red Bull are this time. We are hoping to get a little bit ahead of them again, so let's see.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
Monaco brought us mixed emotions. For Lewis, it was just what the doctor ordered. For Nico, a whole lot of bad luck in one race made it a tough afternoon. But the main thing we took away was the very real threat from Red Bull. It took a bold strategy, a big push from Lewis and an even bigger slice of luck with Daniel's slow pit stop to get us that win. I've said this many times before - but we have no breathing space in this Championship. Maintaining any advantage is a constant battle - and the pressure is only getting bigger. This unpredictable season has been great for the sport and shows that Formula One is alive and well. But, for us as a team, there is clearly work to do. There remains room for improvement in our reliability - but the push for more performance has become increasingly important too. We saw the 50th Formula One win for the Silver Arrows in Monte Carlo, which is a great achievement. But if we are to build the long-term success that puts Mercedes-Benz up there with the iconic names of this sport, we will need to push harder than ever.

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)
We came away from Monaco pleased to have won there for a fourth consecutive year - but not entirely satisfied after a tough afternoon for Nico. We've put a lot of effort into understanding why that was and have some good insights to take forwards into future races. Montréal is an unusual circuit, with plenty of low-speed corners linked by a good number of straights. It's a track that is therefore very demanding of both the Power Unit and the brakes. It's also a tricky circuit in terms of tyres. We'll see the second appearance of the UltraSoft compound this weekend - which should mean a notable drop in qualifying times relative to 2015. However, the track is far more aggressive on tyres than Monaco, so understanding how best to use the UltraSoft for the race will be one of the main challenges. We're all looking forward to being back in Canada. It's always a great event - one where the city really comes alive - and it's good to see so many North American Formula One fans. Lewis has a fantastic record at this circuit, we saw arguably one of Nico's greatest drives there in 2014 and the team secured a fantastic 1-2 in 2015, so we should be set for an exciting weekend.


Fotos: Copyright McLaren Honda F1 Team,  all rights reserved