Formula 1 – News Update before the Canadian GP

The wall of Champions invites you!

Formula 1 is back in North America. Canada it is. The Welcome to Quebec sign beckons on the champions’ wall at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve. The Canadian GP has been a spectacle right from the time it began, although controversy had put the race in peril in the past few years with sponsorship problems, local administration problems and such like. Well, it’s back after a break and its here to stay. Here are some of the bits making news apart from the Massa – Ferrari deal.

The Start/ Finish line in Montreal

Trackside: Parts of the circuit resurfaced, new surface to last longer.

News from the Race organizers is that several sections of the Circuit have been resurfaced ahead of this weekend’s race, with some areas having suffered from heavily worn tarmac even before the last race began in 2008. With both the 2006 and 2008 races having featured severe tarmac degradation, causing a number of cars to run wide at the hairpin in particular, new tarmac has been laid and is not expected to suffer from such issues this year.

Also, the gravel traps at Turns 6 and 8 have now been replaced with more modern asphalt run-off areas and several additional guardrail posts have been installed around the circuit. Worries around the water pipelines running below the circuit have been quashed for the moment, although we will have to wait to get the official views on that as well.

From World Champion to Race steward

Race Control: Emerson Fittipaldi to don Steward’s Avatar

This year, in every race, a former F1 driver will officiate as the 4^th steward, giving a much deserved drivers’ perspective in Race control. Thanks to this initiative, many a time you won’t see random penalties doled out like we had towards the end of the 2008 season in almost every race. Of course, former champion Damon Hill’s role in Monaco this year produced lots of cross-talk after the penalty on Schumy. In Montreal this year, Emerson Fittipaldi – the Brazilian heavyweight and Brazil’s first WC in 1972 & 74 with two great teams, Lotus & McLaren Racing. Wait and watch if he manages to rustle a few feathers as Damon Hill managed to!

AT&T Making their presence felt in F1

In the paddocks: Telepresence in F1; courtesy Williams F1

For many of us, this is just a piece of news as anything else, but F1 today is as much about the tech stuff as it is about racing, so something new is always exciting. How many of you have heard of Telepresence? If you watched the recent G.I.Joe movie, you would’ve noticed the communications module used in the movie (if you managed to stop staring at Sienna Miller). Williams F1 has announced that it is now making use of technology known as ‘Telepresence’, which allows team members to engage in real-time High Definition (HD) video conversations with colleagues at the squad’s factory in Oxfordshire, England as well as other locations around the world. The equipment is provided by team title sponsor AT&T, which has recently completed a full installation at the base in England. Being the first to bring the technology into the already highly technologically advanced and gadgetry filled world of F1, this marks another first for F1. Owing to this awesome comm. tool, now people from the base can connect with the team at the circuits and pass on real time information while being face to face rather than communicating over Emails or a regular run off the mill phone! And with this, cost cutting will also be achieved as the number of staff visits to the circuits. As always in F1, soon everyone will start following the lead set by the AT&T Williams F1 team.

Kubica heads home in the Renault

And across the Atlantic; Poland welcomes Renault and Kubica.

Renault F1 will be taking their Roadshow F1 car and go to Poland with local boy Kubica at the wheel. The trip to the Poznan Circuit will be a particularly special as Robert Kubica grabs to the chance to demonstrate the 2009 R29 in front of thousandths of home fans. The first Polish driver in F1 will be able to relish the feel of driving at home on the 17^th of July, the weekend between the British and German Grands Prix. This is Renault’s second visit after a street demo in Warsaw 2 years ago.

Images: Dotben, Toni P1 & F1photos.org