Kimi Raikkonen has admitted he travelled to Australia recently unsure if he would be immediately back up to speed in formula one.
The 2007 world champion spent the last two years rallying, after Ferrari ended his last F1 contract a season early.

“I always felt I could make a return to grand prix racing,” said the Finn ahead of his second race of 2012 with Lotus.

“But, I can confess now, I got some good answers (in Australia) to my own minor doubts how quickly you can adapt the racing rhythm after being away for some time. The speed is there,” added Raikkonen.

The 32-year-old has previously won the Malaysian grand prix with McLaren and Ferrari.

With the fifth place in the first free practice session in which Red Bull is almost always with a lot of fuel on the road, pointing to Sebastian Vettel, that he could be competitive in Montreal. The Germans lacked less than half a second to Jenson Button, of the McLaren F-shaft system and Mercedes-Power has two advantages that fall on the long straights particularly significant.

“This track is an interesting test for us,” says team boss Christian Horner. “It should help the Mercedes team and the teams with F-bay system – and we have not both, so we must try to extract otherwise lap time out of our car. When we are fast, then it should be in this be no more World Cup races, in which we have to fear us. ”
For Red Bulls great strength is the high contact pressure, which affects mostly in fast curves, on straight lines but does nothing. In the first free practice at least another five were missing Red Bull to ten km / h top speed. At least, appear after the collision of Istanbul smoothed the internal waves to be. Furthermore, the decision was taken that Vettel and Mark Webber continues to be free to go against each other.

“Both drivers agree that it was a bad outcome for the team and for themselves, as both have lost points,” said Horner. “But it was wrong to let them go against each other? I think not. If we want processions, we would apply to drivers immediately after the start to hold the positions, but that’s not what Red Bull is – and it is also not what we mean by Grand Prix racing. ”
“Therefore we will continue to allow our drivers to drive against each other, but we expect them to respect themselves as teammates, as they have done in the past so many times,” Horner for the record. He also admits that it was a mistake to discuss the question of guilt in public, but for a new team like Red Bull are just such situations, even a “discovery trip”.

“We are a young team, but the progress we have made over the past five years is remarkable,” said Horner. “Two cars in front have to compete for the Grand Prix victory is the reward for the hard work in the factory, and behind the scenes. But I must admit: from team perspective, from an individual perspective and from the driver’s view you can still learn something. ”
(TotalMotorSports)

Many countries complain of declining audience figures at the Formula 1 race, but after the Turkish is pleased to now, the Canadian Grand Prix on a regular Plus. In Montreal today, even had the tickets be set because the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is now completely sold out!

Even at today’s pit walk, thousands Formula 1 fans, even though it was raining heavily in part. But the Canadians have always had something left for the Grand Prix racing after a year and are downright hungry. What is more, much more fans than in past years have come from Europe to the famous flair in Montreal once even able to witness live.

“There are thousands of fans that the Canadian Grand Prix have ever seen on TV and were now ready to fly across the Atlantic to a Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montreal-style witness,” said organizer François Dumontier of the Octane Group. “We welcome them, just like all the other fans. And I invite all of Montréal to come too!”

As the tickets were issued last December, there was in Quebec immediately a run on the Formula 1 Montreal will be the first Grand Prix to be completely sold out this season. Therefore, the organizers have decided to commence with the advance booking for 2011.

(GMM)  Jean Todt has become the latest pundit to call for Michael Schumacher to be given more time to impress on his F1 comeback.

After the opening four races of 2010, many vocal members of the world of grand prix racing expressed disappointment and criticism of the seven time world champion’s performance.

But FIA president Todt, who is a close friend of the 41-year-old German’s after his long former career as Ferrari team boss, expressed a different attitude during a visit to Spain on Tuesday.

“Just with his presence, there are a lot of people going to the circuits this year; the interest in the championship has grown considerably,” he is quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“As for his results, I’d say it’s too early to judge.  Don’t forget that he has returned from a long period of inactivity,” added Todt.

In the pages of Spain’s El Pais, the Frenchman is quoted as also saying: “Even a great champion needs a good car to be competitive”, while in Diario AS Todt reportedly added that Schumacher’s return demonstrates “that he still has the same passion for racing”.

“It’s no secret that Michael and I are friends so I would rather see him at the wheel of a F1 car than a motorbike which is much more dangerous.

“When we are closer to the end of the season we will know more about whether Schumacher’s performance was the same as before.  We have to wait,” said Todt.

Schumacher’s long time manager Willi Weber, albeit originally advising his former protege against returning in F1, also thinks the winner of 91 grands prix has “presented himself well” so far in 2010.

“That he was not going to drive all the others into the ground was always clear,” Weber told eurosport.de, “even though the race in Shanghai was not satisfactory.

“But I think that no later than 2011, Michael will be back up the front,” he added.

Bridgestone’s Hirohide Hamashima thinks the main problem for Schumacher at present is the tyres.

“The tyre of 2006 was developed mainly by Schumacher,” the Japanese told Switzerland’s Blick.  “Now that the front tyre is a lot weaker, it doesn’t really fit his style.”