Montreal GP 2010: Friday Practice

Rybot and I took a taxi all the way down to the track, which was not cheap, but the most effective way to get from the hotel before the practice sessions. Our driver was a friendly but emphatic Lebanese man who, as we found out, had immigrated to Canada around 20 years ago. He was happy to have the tourists from the race in town, and was generally discontent with the way government ran. This motif and personal history for drivers was pretty much repeated throughout the weekend.

When we arrived, we found the entrance, but to pick our tickets up we had to go about a mile in the opposite direction. The lines were unorganized and long, and while we waited to get our passes for the weekend, we chatted up some of the other enthusiasts and ended up befriending a guy named MJ who's section was right next to ours - and also had the same hike around the island to reach the grandstands. He soon became the third stooge in our wanderings about Montreal.

Here's the view on Turns 1 and 2 from our section...the starting line is just of to the right .

Down the western side of the track, here's the straight outside of Turn 9.

At the opposite end of the track from us is the hairpin, where Robert Kubica had the most gnarly crash in 2007. Or pretty much any year. Seriously, if not for the safety features and incredible science that goes into making these cars, he'd be dead as hell.

Here's a sweet animated overhead view of the track, showing the speed and gear driver would take the turns at. What a beautiful place! Here, Mark Webber does a full virtual lap in a simulator.

It's not just the drivers who have to warm up - the pit crews even have their practice!

What's it like to see the track from the driver's perspective? This guy took his motorbike on the course and takes you on a lap!