Jun.12 (GMM) Even if the forecast rain does not materialise, the Canadian grand prix looks set to be an interesting one.

So far in 2010 with the refuelling ban, the tendency has been for teams to adopt simular one-stop strategies for all the cars.

But after a two-year absence from F1, the low-grip and cool Montreal surface on Friday was chewing up the tyres as drivers practiced.

“According to the current data, I think two stops will be the minimum,” Bridgestone’s head of tyre development Hirohide Hamashima admitted.

Some drivers were complaining that the soft tyres were lasting just a few laps on Friday, and even the ‘prime’ is quickly degrading and graining.

When asked if some drivers might buck the apparent necessity for multiple stops on Sunday, Renault’s Robert Kubica told Turun Sanomat: “Actually I think two stops will barely be enough.”

With drivers needing to begin racing on the tyre with which they set their fastest qualifying time, it is conceivable that some will gamble on a quicker lap with the fragile soft tyre.

Envisaging a mixed-up grid, Hamashima said: “Someone will take a risk and it might be a little bit of a different story to past races.”

Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen smiled: “I think it will be an interesting weekend.”

Jun.9 (GMM)  Jenson Button has played down claims that McLaren’s risky gamble with its fuel loads was the reason for the near-disaster during the Turkish grand prix.

It has emerged that because Lewis Hamilton and teammate Button chased the Red Bulls so hard at Istanbul Park, the drivers were instructed throughout the race to conserve fuel.

Button’s race engineer at one point described the situation as “critical”, shortly after Hamilton had slowed down too much and triggered their wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead.

Afterwards, Hamilton lamented the poor communication and Button was accused of ignoring veiled team orders, sparking the rejoinder that McLaren could have avoided the entire situation by simply running a less aggressive fuel strategy.

But speaking to the Toronto media on Tuesday, 30-year-old Button said the team is right to run the cars as light on fuel as possible.

“If you’re running with two and a half extra kilos in the car, that’s one tenth a lap, which over the course of the race is five seconds.  So you try to be as close on fuel as possible,” he insisted.

It is believed that Hamilton’s winning car had just one litre of fuel left in the tank after he pulled into parc ferme, while Button’s MP4-25 contained only slightly more.