Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica have slammed the condition of the Canadian Grand Prix track after watching McLaren's Lewis Hamilton take pole position on Saturday.
Hamilton blazed around Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, lapping over six-tenths of a second faster than Kubica's BMW Sauber. Raikkonen, of Ferrari, took third almost a second behind the Brit.
However it was the loose tarmac on various parts of the track rather than Hamilton's superb display that most concerned Raikkonen. The Finn later referred to the surface as ‘a joke.’
‘The car has been good all weekend but going into qualifying is quite a joke with the circuit,’ Raikkonen said. ‘The circuit breaks down and it is like you missed the corner because there is so much sand.
‘I lost so much time in Turn 10 I couldn't turn around and went straight on. We had the car to fight for pole. We will see how it is in the race, but it will be a nightmare.
‘We have a lot of laps and it broke up today after two laps so it will be interesting. I have had a very good car all weekend, then suddenly because the weather heats up a little bit, the circuit didn't last very long.
‘The problem is black patches, they redo it every year and every year they break down.’
Kubica was equally unimpressed with the track conditions, although he was happy to have made the front row of the grid.
‘It has been a very difficult qualifying with the track which is breaking down in a couple of corners,’ said the Pole, enjoying his best ever Formula One season.
‘It is easy to make a mistake there so you cannot carry much speed. It has not been easy so we are happy with second place. It will be difficult race and if the track is breaking down now then it will be harder tomorrow.
‘It is very slippery and easy to make mistakes so we have to watch out.’
Perhaps the most unfortunate driver of the day was Australian Mark Webber who crashed his Red Bull into a wall just moments after qualifying for the top ten qualifying shoot-out.
Webber was forced to head back to the garage for good and afterwards he indicated that the loose tarmac had been the cause of his spin.
With dry conditions expected for Sunday, the crumbling track surface could become an even more serious concern during the grand prix itself.
