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Canadian GP : The teams are setting up in the new paddock

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Khatir Soltani
The ten Formula 1 teams are currently setting up in the new paddock of the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit, home of the Canadian Grand Prix.

The new installations are quite remarkable. The teams have more room than ever before, and their working conditions have immensely improved. However, the garages are now fully closed, and it is almost impossible to see what's going on inside. The drivers will also be able to hide inside the glass-covered hospitality units.


The Bridgestone tires are being fitted to the wheels and the cars are now fully assembled. On a regular basis, the shrieking sound of a V8 reminds everyone here that the island has turned into a Formula 1 circuit for the weekend.

We met some old friends in the paddock, including Renault's engine boss Denis Chevrier the Ferrari motor engineer at Force India. He told us that the new technical regulations have made things quite difficult for them, and more expensive for the teams.

"This afternoon, I have to determine the type of inlet trumpets we'll going to use," he said. "Las year, it didn't matter because we were using variable length trumpets. With the new rules, the trumpets have to be of a certain length. So, we manufactured new sets of trumpets and we have to change them by hand, which is a ling task."

"Same thing with the new, standard ECU, the engine management. The engine must not rev above 19,000 rpm. That's not easy because a Formula 1 engine has virtually no inertia. Because of the bumps and the movement of the throttle, it's very difficult to cut the engine at exactly 19,000 rpm. Sometime, it jumps to 19,1000 or 19,200. But that doesn't mean that we're cheating! And each team has to spend a lot of time with the FIA officials trying to explain how things work."

This afternoon, the teams will define the final set-up of the cars (that depends on the weather). The first drivers have started to arrive in the paddock, including the two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.
photo:René Fagnan
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada