Ricardo Zonta got the Canadian Grand Prix off to a strong start for Panasonic Toyota Racing when he set the second fastest time on the opening day of free practice in Montreal.

Brazilian Zonta lapped the 4.361km Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1m14.858s, just 0.19s behind McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa, who set the opening day pace.

“The car’s balance was good but the track changed quite a lot from the beginning of the day to the end,” Zonta explained. “That makes it more difficult to make a conclusive tyre choice and we will have to analyse the data. But in terms of general competitiveness I think we can look forward to a strong race.”

Montreal has been totally resurfaced since last year and that complicates preparations for the race because there is no previous data for the tyre companies to work with. The track evolves significantly throughout the weekend at all venues and this always has to be taken into account, but the effect is amplified by chemical reactions that are a by-product of any freshly-laid surface.

Montreal also places heavy demands on braking and it is important to get the traction control calibration right because there is a lot of acceleration out of slow corners and excessive wheelspin can mean heavier rear tyre wear.
Race drivers Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli finished the day 9th and 11th with laps in 1m16.364s and 1m16.638s respectively.

“The track was a little slippery at first but we ended up with a pretty clear idea of the direction we are going,” Schumacher said. “I expect us to be competitive again and a good points finish is what we should be aiming at.”
Trulli added: “It was a typical Friday working on tyre choice and set-up. The new surface meant that grip was a little bit scarce but it was the same for everyone.”

Behind the West McLaren Mercedes and Panasonic Toyota Racing third drivers, championship leader Fernando Alonso (1m15.376s) was third quickest with the first of the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team cars, ahead of the McLaren race drivers Juan Pablo Montoya (1m15.625s) and Kimi Raikkonen (1m15.679s) and Giancarlo Fisichella’s (1m15.846s) Renault.

Technical Director, Chassis, Mike Gascoyne confirmed that all three drivers had completed their Friday programmes with no mechanical issues on any of the cars. And John Howett added: “We may not have delivered podiums at the last couple of races but we had bad luck with the Safety Car in Monte Carlo and then again with Jarno’s starter at the last race. Without that, I am confident that Jarno would have been on the podium at Nurburgring and I also believe that we are still very competitive and can push for more podiums.