FERRARI GETTING READY TO FIGHT

Ferrari have all guns blazing right now and although last weekend their new firepower failed to hit the target there were signs that, given the right place to play, they could genuinely take the fight to Mercedes.

In the next stage of a strong development process that began with a major aerodynamic upgrade in Spain, the Italian team used three ‘development tokens’ to upgrade the performance of their combustion engine before Canada, which in theory should offer a significant power increase.

The unique nature of the Monaco and Canadian races, however, means that we may still by waiting to see the full effect of Ferrari’s hard work.

The scarlet cars were notably closer to Mercedes in Friday practice, but when Sebastian Vettel dropped out in Q1 due to an ECU issue the opportunity for them to show their true pace was lost.

Raikkonen was struggling with the car but he was still closer to the Mercedes’ in qualifying than Vettel has averaged so far this year. Had the German been in the top-ten shoot out, things could have perhaps been very interesting.

In the race, Raikkonen missed out on third place due to a spin but had otherwise lapped less than half a second slower than Mercedes. Still some way to go, you might think, but Canada never really tells the full story.

“I'm sure this circuit layout is one of the most difficult for us in the aspect where we are a lacking a bit,” said Raikkonen.

The encouraging thing for Ferrari is that even in Canada, and even with Vettel out the picture, Mercedes were feeling the pressure.

There, just as in Bahrain, they were pushed hard enough to suffer their own problems (in this case brakes for Nico Rosberg and fuel consumption for Lewis Hamilton). They were never really in danger of losing, but on a more levelling circuit it suggests they could get into uncomfortable territory – particularly as they are still trying to let their two drivers compete.

And then there’s the Vettel factor.

Despite qualifying issues meaning he wasn’t really in the race from the start, his fightback through the field was admirable, and at times showed some of the pace that could have been useful at the front.

And it is only when he is at full force – hopefully at the next race in Austria – that we will truly see whether Ferrari’s performance push is going to pay dividends.

CRACKS FORMING AT McLAREN HONDA?

After a points score in Monaco it was back down to Earth with a bigger bump than expected for McLaren in Canada – and worryingly for the partnership there were signs of division opening up in the camp.

A terrible weekend saw Jenson Button suffer a penalty-inducing fifth engine change and ended in a double retirement, with Fernando Alonso saying the car made him “look like an amateur.”

What resulted wasn’t quite a Red Bull vs Renault style slanging match, but Eric Boullier certainly took the gloves half off.

"We keep talking about issues and obviously we hope to be listened to [by Honda] more,” he said before adding: “They do listen. We have discussions every day. I don't want to go into anything in public...”

Hmmm. What to make of that.

To openly suggest cracks in the working relationship at this early stage is a worry.

“There is some way to improve faster and we should go that path. Of course, it is easy to blame the partner, but as a partner we also have to be supportive,” he added. “We need to help them to accelerate this recovery time...”

Boullier’s comments were very ‘them and us’. Some of McLaren’s key shareholders were in Canada, which could be a reason for the need to emphasise where the problems lie, but by all accounts it is not just Honda struggling and Boullier himself admits the car needs attention too.

That said, it seems McLaren are ready to put resources behind Honda to speed up the improvements.

“If you want to [get better in the] short-term you need to bring more experienced resources,” he said. “We have some software, IT, whatever it is, we have this experience, so McLaren can actually offer Honda support..."

The problem is Honda may well be too proud to accept it.

TEAMS CAUGHT BENDING THE RULES

The introduction of a new FIA wing test in Canada delivered blatant proof that some teams had, quite literally, been bending the rules.

The sport has already clamped down on flexible front wings with stringent testing – which enable them to flatten out and reduced drag at high speeds - but it now appears the increasing number of flaps attached to these complex devices have been enabling teams to achieve the same effect and still pass the test.

But now they have to cope with a 6kg load being applied to the trailing edge of the front wing flap without deflecting more than 3mm – and many teams had to amend their designs to pass, clearly showing that they had not been running to the spirit of the law beforehand.

It is no surprise, as teams always explore the loopholes, but it was interesting to see the enforced admission of guilt as the new test arrived.