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By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted June 5, 2014 | In Formula1, MotoGP, Sport News, Sport Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were the two fastest drivers in Friday practice for the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
Fernando Alonso was surprisingly the fastest man in the first practice session at a circuit that many expect to be dominated by the Mercedes engined cars; particularly those belonging to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The gap may have been by a mere few thousandths ahead of the Silver Arrows pair, but it is encouraging nevertheless as many feared that the Ferrari and Renault cars may be disadvantaged this weekend.
Sebastian Vettel was 4th fastest after the first 90 minute session, with the team refusing to take this as a sign of potential pace this weekend. The Red Bull cars are famed to lack top speed in favour of increased down-force, which was evident with both cars failing to appear in the top 10 fastest cars in the speed trap before the final chicane. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was 6th fastest, with both Red Bulls split by Valtteri Bottas in the Williams.
The two McLaren’s of Button and Magnussen were 7th and 8th fastest, with Kimi Raikkonen and Jean-Eric Vergne in 9th and 10th. Kimi had suffered problems in this first session, with a radio message revealing that the team had noticed his engine was knocking, forcing him to return to the pits for a lengthy spell. He later returned to the track and set his time to put him in 9th. Vergne had also suffered technical problems during the session.
The 9th and 10th placed drivers weren’t the only ones to hit problems, with Marussia’s points scorer Jules Bianchi hitting the wall at the turn 4, forcing his retirement from the rest of the session.
Only one driver was substituting for a regular racer in this session, with American GP2 driver Alexander Rossi taking the wheel of Kamui Kobayashi’s Caterham for this event before returning to the cockpit in practice for the US Grand Prix in November. Rossi ended the session in last place but was only half a second slower than Ericsson in the sister car.
FP1 results:
POS | Driver | Team | Time |
1 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’17.238 |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’17.254 |
3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’17.384 |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1’18.131 |
5 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1’18.361 |
6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1’18.435 |
7 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1’18.446 |
8 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 1’18.516 |
9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’18.578 |
10 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1’18.643 |
11 | Nico Hulkenburg | Force India | 1’18.733 |
12 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1’18.959 |
13 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber | 1’19.108 |
14 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1’19.142 |
15 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1’19.177 |
16 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1’19.340 |
17 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1’19.575 |
18 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 1’19.804 |
19 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 1’20.200 |
20 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 1’20.844 |
21 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham | 1’21.404 |
22 | Alexander Rossi | Caterham | 1’21.757 |
The Mercedes drivers returned to their usual 1-2 positions in second practice, with Lewis Hamilton a tenth of a second faster than Nico Rosberg. The advantage between the Mercedes cars and their rivals was not as big as once feared, with Sebastian Vettel only 3 tenths off of Rosberg in the Renault powered Red Bull.
The two Ferrari’s of Raikkonen and Alonso were 4th and 5th, with Kimi having an eventful session which included a strange spin on the exit of the hairpin.
The Williams and McLaren cars came in two by two in positions 6 to 9; with Massa and Bottas followed by Magnussen and Button. Magnussen was involved in a potentially messy situation at the final chicane where he almost collided with Adrian Sutil while slowing to start a lap. The incident was briefly investigated but no penalty was given.
Jean-Eric Vergne was in 10th fastest once again after suffering a trip down the turn 3 escape road after a lock-up. Marcus Ericsson had also taken a trip down that escape road earlier on in the session after suffering a technical problem. Team-mate Kamui Kobayashi was back in his car after lending it to Alexander Rossi in FP1. It was seemingly taking a while to get back into the rhythm for the Japanese driver after several lock-ups at the hairpin and at the final chicane, along with a major sideways moment at turn 2. He ended the session ahead of his Swedish team-mate, with Jules Bianchi last after completing only 4 laps following from his affair with the turn 4 wall in FP1.
FP2 results:
POS | Driver | Team | Time |
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’16.118 |
2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’16.293 |
3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1’16.573 |
4 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’16.648 |
5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’16.701 |
6 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1’16.774 |
7 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1’16.893 |
8 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 1’17.052 |
9 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1’17.059 |
10 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1’17.180 |
11 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1’17.626 |
12 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1’17.644 |
13 | Nico Hulkenburg | Force India | 1’17.712 |
14 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1’17.819 |
15 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1’17.868 |
16 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber | 1’17.964 |
17 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 1’18.340 |
18 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 1’18.693 |
19 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1’18.732 |
20 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham | 1’20.244 |
21 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham | 1’22.418 |
22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 1’32.127 |
By Jordan Groves Formula 1 correspondent for RTR Sports Marketing
Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
A graduate in Public, Social and Political Communication from the University of Bologna, he has always been passionate about marketing, design and sport.
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Read MoreIn an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
When first approaching a sponsorship or sports marketing project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Sports is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
Sports is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A sports marketing and sports sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which sport, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the real heart of sports sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a sports marketing project you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase on the Web, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
We have been involved in sports sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
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