Latest F1 news in brief

As long as Dad's checks keep on coming Stroll will get all the time and patience he needs

Stroll needs 'time and patience' – Bottas
Mercedes, not Ferrari, using team orders – Surer
Zanardi thinks Kubica return possible
Vettel is 'logical' title favorite – Zanardi
Lowe exit not cause of Mercedes slump – Wolff
Carey Reveals Plans For Online Streaming Platform
Video: Ferrari previews the Canadian GP

Stroll needs 'time and patience' – Bottas
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas has joined those who think struggling F1 rookie Lance Stroll needs more time to prove himself.

18-year-old Stroll, derided by some as a 'pay driver', has made notable mistakes so far in 2017 and is off the pace of his experienced teammate Felipe Massa.

Bottas told Le Journal de Montreal: "It's never easy for a driver to come into F1, and in his case, it's even worse.

"He is only 18 years old and the cars are much more efficient. Let's say he did not choose the right year to make his debut," said the Finn, who was set to be Stroll's 2017 teammate until he was called up by Mercedes.

He continued: "It's never easy for a rookie to compete with the world's top drivers who have a lot of experience.

"So you have to give him time and have patience before making a judgment about him," the former Williams driver added.

However, Bottas thinks Stroll is with the right team to support his push to get up to speed in F1.

"I know the environment well at Williams," said the 27-year-old. "He is well supervised and the managers there are used to facilitating the work of young drivers. I've been there."

Mercedes, not Ferrari, using team orders – Surer

Ferrari not using team orders? We know Mercedes is.

(GMM) Marc Surer thinks it is Mercedes, not Ferrari, who have been using 'team orders' so far in 2017.

As the 'big two' teams' title battle ramps up, some including Lewis Hamilton suspect Kimi Raikkonen was deliberately dropped behind his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel in Monaco.

But Surer, a former F1 driver turned German-language pundit, said: "Up until now you can't accuse Ferrari of absolutely anything.

"On the contrary," he told the German broadcaster Sky, "in China it was Vettel who was stuck for an eternity behind Kimi. Still, the reds did not intervene.

"Mercedes, on the other hand, clearly did a team order in Bahrain — even openly on the radio. I think it's good how Ferrari is doing it.

"Later in the year they will still need Kimi, so if they intervene already, you break his morale," Surer added.

However, Raikkonen was obviously angry after Monaco, but Surer thinks Ferrari will have been able to explain what happened with his race strategy afterwards.

"I think Kimi would have understood what happened," Surer said. "He was just angry at first that he lost the race, but Vettel was clearly faster in Monaco, so end of story."

Indeed, many believe Vettel is now the favorite to win the world championship, with Surer thinking Lewis Hamilton needs a change of focus as he fights back.

"If Lewis wants to be champion, he has to pull himself together," said the Swiss. "Fly less around the world and focus more on the race.

"Suddenly Bottas is in front of him, which he did not expect at all, but the Finn is a serious worker who gets the best out of the car, as Rosberg did before him."

Zanardi thinks Kubica return possible

Alex Zanardi

(GMM) Alex Zanardi thinks it is possible Robert Kubica could return to formula one.

Not long ago, former Renault and BMW driver Kubica said he thought returning to F1 would be "impossible", as the disability to his right arm is permanent.

"I have to do all of my (arm) movement with my shoulder," he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

But this week, the now 32-year-old Pole completed 115 laps of the Valencia track after his last F1 team, Renault, invited him to test the 2012 Lotus car.

"I don't know what the future holds," Kubica said afterwards, while engineering boss Alan Permane insisted it was a "one off" outing for Kubica.

But Germany's Bild newspaper says there are rumors Renault might be lining up Kubica, a former Canadian grand prix winner, as a replacement for struggling Jolyon Palmer.

Another former F1 driver, Zanardi, knows all about returning from physical adversity, having lost his legs in a 2001 Indycar crash and gone on to race again and also win Paralympic gold.

When asked by Corriere della Sport about Kubica's test, the 50-year-old said: "I read that he did more than 100 laps, so he would be able to make a return to the sport.

"And in my opinion, it was not a random thing that Renault let him test the car. I hope he does (return), because he is a very good driver, a very good person, a very nice guy, and it would of course be a great story," Zanardi added.

Vettel is 'logical' title favorite – Zanardi

Vettel is on his game in 2017

(GMM) Alex Zanardi has joined those who think Ferrari's decade-long title drought could finally end in 2017.

"I do not need a crystal ball to say that Vettel is in the running for the championship," the former F1 driver and Italian told Corriere dello Sport newspaper.

"Sebastian is leading the championship by 25 points from Hamilton, so it is logical that the prediction at this time is on his side," the 50-year-old added.

But Zanardi, 50, also admitted his surprise that Ferrari has managed to work its way back to the top of F1 so quickly, after failing to win a single race in 2016.

"I think it was a miraculous recovery that no one would have predicted," he said. "But the men from Maranello will not be satisfied until they have gone all the way and so they will continue to push.

"The whole organization there has a crazy hunger for victory and logically as Italians we are all hoping," Zanardi added.

Lowe exit not cause of Mercedes slump – Wolff

Paddy Lowe

(GMM) Toto Wolff has denied Mercedes' performance took a hit in 2017 due to the departure of Paddy Lowe.

Before the season, technical boss Lowe switched from the triple back-to-back world champions to Williams, and since then Ferrari has pulled out a small lead as the fastest team in F1.

When asked if the situations are linked, Wolff told Sport Bild: "Paddy is an excellent engineer for whom I have great respect.

"But success in our sport is not about individual well-known personalities, but rather about having a balanced structure with the right people in the right places," he said.

"And, in my opinion, that's what we have at Mercedes. It's in times like these that you realize how strong a team is and I could not be prouder of how all of them are dealing with the current situation," Wolff added.

"We have our feet on the ground, everyone is focused on solving our troubles and we are enjoying the duel with Ferrari. That is what motor sport is all about — to compete against the best."

Wolff also rejected any talk that, as Mercedes' dominance starts to dip, a weak link in that need to pull together as a team could be Lewis Hamilton.

"Lewis' attitude and his personal maturity have impressed me this season," he insisted.

"We had good conversations in the winter. Everyone put his cards on the table, we talked about what worked and what has not worked in recent years, and since then he has taken a strengthened management role in the team.

"I also feel that he loves this fight against Ferrari," Wolff explained. "Lewis has a very positive influence on the team and is more motivated than I have ever seen him. Which is just as you would expect from a champion of his quality."

Carey Reveals Plans For Online Streaming Platform

Chase Carey

Formula 1 is "planning to develop its own online streaming platform as part of a wider evolution around the sport’s broadcast model," according to Tony Connelly of THE DRUM

F1 CEO Chase Carey revealed the company "intends to launch its own OTT streaming platform where fans can pay for a Netflix-style service with dedicated F1 content."

Carey described OTT as a "tremendously important opportunity" and highlighted the need for the sport to better utilize digital platforms.

He said, "We were really a non-player in the digital platforms, so whether it's free, pay or digital, we want to make sure we're engaging with them all."

He said that the service "would cater to dedicated fans looking for a deeper insight into the sport and the on-track action as a means of making the offering attractive enough to convince fans to pay for the service."

Such a service is "unlikely to appeal to less dedicated fans of the sport" and "could potentially impact on the value of F1’s current TV deals."

However, new owner Liberty Media believes that "strengthening the performance of F1’s digital model will make it more appealing and ultimately help grow its commercial revenue." THE DRUM

Video: Ferrari previews the Canadian GP
Three famous circuits have hosted the Canadian F1 Grand Prix, with the first race dating back fifty years. The “Gilles Villeneuve Circuit" might be the most recent venue, following on from Mosport and Mont-Tremblant, but it is also the best known. It was built on the Ile Notre-Dame, with the paddock running alongside the rowing basin used in the 1976 Olympics and the first GP was held here two years later.

Gilles Villeneuve won for Ferrari and a few years later the facility was named in his honor. Gilles used to own a house nearby, a small wooden cottage, painted white and he would also live in a caravan near the track.

Scuderia Ferrari feels very much at home in Montreal. The trip across the ocean that splits the European season is much liked by everyone in the team, as the capital of Quebec is always welcoming and is home to an Italian community of around 200,000 people.

From Monaco to the Gilles Villeneuve circuit is a long way and not just geographically: the 4.361 kilometer track is one of the shortest on the calendar, but it is also very fast. It has several straights split by hairpins and chicanes.

Fuel consumption and engine power, as well as good traction out of the slow corners are the technical themes of a pretty special race. The nature of the track surface leans towards the use of the softest compounds in the range.

Seb Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will each have just one set of Softs, three of Supersoft and nine of Ultrasoft. Dry conditions are forecast for qualifying and the race with temperatures no higher than 24 degrees.

Ferrari looks ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix by analyzing the characteristics of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.