"Cato Batista" 09/06/2012 15:55:51 ID #177
Ladies and Gentlemen,

McLaren doesn’t look to be the fastest car but certainly Hamilton feels at home in Montreal, he has been on pole 3 of the 4 times he’s raced here. Ferrari has brought a number of changes and is showing good form, at least in QF trim. Vettel was fourth in light fuel but Red Bull have reasons to be very concerned, they can’t get more than 12 good laps out of the super softs, at least 3 or 4 less than everybody else. If today’s practice sessions were an indication of what’s to come, we are on for a fabulous treat! the top 13 drivers were within the same second.

P1 – HAM (1.15.564) VET ROS ALO WEB HUL KOB PER SCH BUT
P2 – HAM (1.15.259) ALO MAS VET DIR KOB SCH HUL BUT ROS

Coming from Monaco this is the complete opposite kind of race track: low downforce, high top speeds, stability under braking a critical issue. With almost identical top speeds between the top 5 teams in the 4 speed traps, the difference in lap times is coming from the ability of the chassis to climb the kerbs and the skill of the driver to get close to the walls. Hamilton did his best lap in option tyres compared to the next 7 drivers in prime rubber, the McLaren clearly doesn`t have an edge over Red Bull and Ferrari, but the question mark is still pre-race favorite Mercedes and their prodigious top speed; they did not show their best cards today, working instead in solving their premature rear tyre problems, and so far they are the best in the long runs and looking pretty strong for Sunday`s race. I wonder if they are not concerned about QF concentrating instead on preparing their race.

The rain came just 5 minutes before the end of P2. The forecast is for dry QF and race to the relief of all the teams.
It was a long, tiring day of traveling, but all the attending CFA members are now in Montreal. We are ing to the track tomorrow morning to enjoy QF to the full,it promises to be the most exciting of the season. We will keep you posted.

The lottery continues, this is my ticket: Cato – HAM VET ALO
Try yours, good luck!