F1 briefing: Ferrari will ‘falter’ says world champion Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes given a ‘major wake-up call’ and
Sebastian Vettel slams critics over ‘boring’ Canadian GP

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Hamilton finished fifth in yesterday’s Canadian Grand Prix – a
race that was won by Ferrari ace Vettel – and is now one point
behind the German in the title race. Ahead of the next F1 Grand
Prix in France in two weeks’ time Hamilton has urged his Mercedes
team to keep the pressure on Ferrari.

Hamilton told Sky Sports: “There is no reason to lose
control, we just keep doing what we’re doing, keep our heads down,
keep motivated and keep pushing because they will falter. 

“We have to keep applying the pressure. We didn’t this
weekend, but I’m really going to make sure I come back stronger in
the next race. Ferrari ultimately have had a slightly better
package. All round they’ve been doing a slightly better job so
we’ve got to do more.”

Mercedes get ‘wake-up call’ in
Canada

The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has been a happy hunting
ground for Mercedes in recent years, but a frustrating weekend in
Montreal has given them a “major wake-up call” says team boss Toto
Wolff.

Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton
finished second and fifth in Montreal and the result saw Ferrari’s
Sebastian Vettel regain the lead in the championship.

Speaking to F1.com, Mercedes chief Wolff said: “I think
this is – we’ve had it in the past – a major wake-up call for every
single member of the team. Everybody needs to assess how to improve
performance in order to optimise on those marginal gains, because
those marginal gains are going to make all the
difference. 

“We were coming to Montreal expecting our car to be really
strong and we’re leaving Montreal seeing we haven’t been where we
thought we should be.”

Vettel: the World Cup will also be
boring

Critics have called the Canadian Grand Prix boring but
race winner Sebastian Vettel has warned the “short-sighted”
detractors that the Fifa World Cup will also have its fair share of
dull matches.

Vettel told Sky Sports: “I don’t know why people today are
so short-sighted. We had seven races this year, I think some were
phenomenal, some were boring. Next week the World Cup is starting
and I promise you that a lot of the games will not be exciting –
but still people will watch it – but some games will be
incredible.”

Miscommunication led to chequered flag
error

Model Winnie Harlow waved the chequered flag a lap early
at the Canadian GP because of “a miscommunication between local
officials”.

Harlow mistakenly waved the flag when Sebastian Vettel
crossed the line, but the Ferrari driver had only completed 69 laps
instead of the regulation 70.

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting told Autosport: “The chequered flag was shown a lap
early because of a miscommunication with the guy that they call the
starter here, who starts and finishes the races. 

“He thought it was the last lap, he asked race control to
confirm it, they confirmed it, but they thought he was making a
statement when he was asking a question. He just showed it a lap
early, or he told the flag waver to show it a lap early, so it
wasn’t anything to do with the fact that it was a celebrity flag
waver.”