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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.
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted June 4, 2015 | In Formula1, MotoGP, Sport News, Sport Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
Lewis Hamilton has finished both Friday practice sessions for the 2015 Canadian Grand Prix as the fastest driver. It wasn’t as simple as it seemed for the British driver however after he had a minor collision with the wall after aquaplaning off track in wet conditions in second practice.
After an awful end to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton was looking to bounce back at the sight of his first Grand Prix win in 2007. He outlined his intentions early on by taking the fastest time in a dry first practice session. Despite a spin at the hairpin, Hamilton would go on to finish 4 tenths faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg. The pair had been separated by a mere hundredth of a second prior to Hamilton setting a better lap.
A trend of recent races has been for Mercedes to lead the way ahead of Ferrari. This was not the case in first practice as Mercedes powered teams Lotus and Force India took 3rd and 4th with Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg. They were both over a second and a half slower than the Mercedes duo however as the Silver Arrows demonstrated their straight line capabilities and overall pace at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Sebastian Vettel, the usual closest challenger to Hamilton and Rosberg, finished the session in 5th for Ferrari ahead of Felipe Massa and Daniil Kvyat; the first Renault powered car on the time-sheet in 7th. Pastor Maldonado put the second Lotus-Mercedes car inside the top 10 in 8th place, with Fernando Alonso just behind in 9th in the McLaren-Honda. Max Verstappen, who fought back against criticism for his Monaco GP crash in the run up to this weekend, completed the top 10 for Toro Rosso. He will take a 5 place grid penalty for the collision with Romain Grosjean 2 weeks ago.
One McLaren finished inside the top 10, the other outside with problems once again. The session had barely gotten under-way before Jenson Button was crawling back to the pits stuck in 2nd gear. He would get back out on track later on to complete 25 laps in 15th place.
Manor F1 team come to the Canadian Grand Prix with sponsors on their cars for the first time this year. Airbnb and TFI Friday have signed as backers and have their logo’s on the cars of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. The pair seemed to have reasonable pace in a straight line, as the pair were only 1.5 seconds off of 18th placed Marcus Ericsson for Sauber; a smaller margin than previously seen.
Canadia practice 1 time-sheets:
POS |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
Laps |
1 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
1’16.212 |
34 |
2 |
Nico Rosberg |
Mercedes |
1’16.627 |
38 |
3 |
Romain Grosjean |
Lotus |
1’17.721 |
35 |
4 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Force India |
1’17.871 |
34 |
5 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Ferrari |
1’17.905 |
25 |
6 |
Felipe Massa |
Williams |
1’17.985 |
28 |
7 |
Daniil Kvyat |
Red Bull |
1’18.021 |
30 |
8 |
Pastor Maldonado |
Lotus |
1’18.026 |
41 |
9 |
Fernando Alonso |
McLaren |
1’18.128 |
34 |
10 |
Max Verstappen |
Toro Rosso |
1’18.257 |
24 |
11 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Williams |
1’18.325 |
40 |
12 |
Kimi Raikkonen |
Ferrari |
1’18.439 |
26 |
13 |
Sergio Perez |
Force India |
1’18.503 |
28 |
14 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
Red Bull |
1’18.775 |
24 |
15 |
Jenson Button |
McLaren |
1’18.786 |
25 |
16 |
Felipe Nasr |
Sauber |
1’18.948 |
30 |
17 |
Carlos Sainz |
Toro Rosso |
1’19.065 |
23 |
18 |
Marcus Ericsson |
Sauber |
1’19.165 |
32 |
19 |
Roberto Merhi |
Manor |
1’20.616 |
33 |
20 |
Will Stevens |
Manor |
1’20.624 |
27 |
The 2nd 90 minute practice session got under-way with every single car getting out on track very early due to rain closing in on Montreal. Most of the drivers went out on track with the faster super-soft tyre compound, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton soon coming in to switch over had they started on the slower compound.
Ferrari duo Vettel and Raikkonen topped the session after making their way out onto the super soft tyres very early. Nico Rosberg soon put in his effort on the faster compound but could only get within a tenth of Vettel. Ferrari continued to show good pace on the brief long run race simulations they conducted. The simulations seemed to suggest that whilst Mercedes will have the edge in qualifying tomorrow, Sunday’s race could see Ferrari a little closer.
Lewis Hamilton was one driver who originally came out on the slower soft compound. He was soon asked to come in for a tyre change as the rain was getting closer. When the team bolted on the red walled tyres it took a few laps for him to put in a good lap. His first competitive lap was spoiled at the final chicane after Hamilton missed the first apex and subsequently clattered the 2nd kerb. He managed to keep himself from becoming the first victim of the ‘wall of champions’ this year and would go on to set the first time in the 1’15’s this weekend. This put him at the top of the standings as he had been in the 1st session.
The rain began to fall just over half an hour into the session. As the rain got heavier, more cars peeled into the pits. Soon the track was quiet once again with no cars circulating. The conditions were initially neither wet or dry enough for any meaningful data collection. Once the circuit was wetter, Mercedes decided to put their two drivers out on track. Lewis Hamilton was on intermediate tyres, but the conditions looked as though they were too too much for the tyres to take. This was proven correct as Hamilton aquaplaned slowly off the circuit at the hairpin and into the barrier. The contact was minor, but it was enough to break the front wing and force Hamilton to walk back to the pits. The red flag soon followed as a crane lifted the #44 car away and the safety car headed out for reconnaissance laps.
The track was soon open once more, but no one would head out for the rest of the session. Due to the rain, no one would improve on the times set in the opening half hour of running. Hamilton would keep his P1 ahead of Vettel, Raikkonen and the 2nd Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. Lotus continued to show good dry weather pace in 5th place with Pastor Maldonado and 7th with Romain Grosjean. Valtteri Bottas was sandwiched in-between the two Lotuses, with team-mate Felipe Massa just behind in 8th. Red Bull completed the top 10 with reigning Canadian Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo following team-mate Daniil Kvyat. The Russian’s car was scrutinized by mechanics with a suspected brake issue at the rear of the Red Bull.
Canada practice 2 time-sheets:
POS |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
Laps |
1 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
1’15.988 |
16 |
2 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Ferrari |
1’16.304 |
13 |
3 |
Kimi Raikkonen |
Ferrari |
1’16.310 |
14 |
4 |
Nico Rosberg |
Mercedes |
1’16.440 |
15 |
5 |
Pastor Maldonado |
Lotus |
1’16.600 |
14 |
6 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Williams |
1’16.849 |
14 |
7 |
Romain Grosjean |
Lotus |
1’16.864 |
14 |
8 |
Felipe Massa |
Williams |
1’17.041 |
13 |
9 |
Daniil Kvyat |
Red Bull |
1’17.092 |
9 |
10 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
Red Bull |
1’17.111 |
10 |
11 |
Marcus Ericsson |
Sauber |
1’17.261 |
12 |
12 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Force India |
1’17.309 |
9 |
13 |
Sergio Perez |
Force India |
1’17.367 |
15 |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
McLaren |
1’17.627 |
19 |
15 |
Carlos Sainz |
Toro Rosso |
1’17.772 |
18 |
16 |
Felipe Nasr |
Sauber |
1’17.846 |
16 |
17 |
Max Verstappen |
Toro Rosso |
1’17.911 |
17 |
18 |
Jenson Button |
McLaren |
1’18.135 |
19 |
19 |
Roberto Merhi |
Manor |
1’19.531 |
11 |
20 |
Will Stevens |
Manor |
1’19.734 |
10 |
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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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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