2012 Canadian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Alonso leads the championship on 76 points after Monaco. Vettel and Webber are tied for second on 73, Hamilton is fourth on 63, and Rosberg fifth on 59.

Previous race

Webber won in Monaco ahead of Rosberg and Alonso — Red Bull’s first win of the season. Alonso reclaimed the championship lead he had held after Malaysia.

Between-race developments

One week before Canada, the FIA declared several Red Bull Racing components illegal, forcing the team to redesign them before the race. The FIA also required changes to Red Bull’s axle design, with Charlie Whiting ruling that holes in the axles violated technical regulations.

Student activists in Quebec have threatened to disrupt the Grand Prix over tuition-fee increases. CLASSE, the most radical protest group, announced plans to prevent the race from proceeding; an anti-capitalist group described the event as representing “sexist, anti-environmental, elitist and economic values.” Organizers cancelled the usual Thursday Open Doors Day. Police conducted raids on 18 homes and arrested 11 people suspected of vandalism ahead of the weekend; a nude protest during Friday brought 37 arrests.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the yellow-banded soft compound as the prime and red-banded super-soft as the option — the same combination as last year. The DRS zone has been shortened from 650 to 600 metres, with the secondary zone along the pit straight removed; the FIA explained that overtaking had been “too easy” at this venue in 2011.

Practice

FP1: Hamilton was fastest, around 0.1 seconds ahead of Vettel and Rosberg. Button retired early with an oil leak and finished tenth. Kovalainen crashed at Turn 9, causing a red flag. An HRT mechanic was struck by de la Rosa in the pit lane and hospitalized, though with no serious injuries.

FP2: Hamilton again led ahead of Alonso and Massa. Button re-joined after his team resolved the oil leak. Senna crashed at the final chicane, destroying an experimental Williams rear wing. A red flag halted the session.

FP3: Vergne crashed at Turn 1 on his opening lap. Rosberg lost an entire hour of running due to fuel pick-up problems. Vettel was fastest by 0.006 seconds from Alonso, with Hamilton third. Räikkönen was investigated for a dangerous pit entry and fined.

Weather

Fine, dry, and warm conditions are forecast — approximately 29°C air temperature, 45°C track.