A lap at Montreal with Raikkonen
This weekend the Canadian Grand Prix is scheduled at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit at Montreal. It's the 9th GP of the 2006 season. McLaren-Mercedes star Kimi Raikkonen takes us for a ride along the circuit in his MP4-21.
Kimi Raikkonen "You reach 297km/h in fifth gear along the short pit straight, before braking hard for the left-right weave of turns one and two. Located just before the pit lane exit, turn one is taken at 133km/h in second gear, and is immediately followed by the Coin Senna. This right-hand hairpin is negotiated at 71Km/h in first gear. You push hard on the throttle as you exit the Coin Senna for the short straight that leads to the chicane of turns three and four.
You drop from 258km/h in fourth to negotiate the right-left flick at 148km/h in second. Exiting turn four, you sweep flat out through the long right-hand curve of turn five, reaching 258km/h in fifth before once again braking hard for the left-right flick of turns six and seven. The first left-hander is taken at 90km/h in second with your speed increasing to some 142km/h in second for the right of turn seven. Full on the throttle on the exit as you power along the Place de la Concorde, achieving speeds of up to 298km/h in seventh gear, before dropping back through the gears for the right-left sequence of turns eight and nine.
Entering the bumpy braking zone under the bridge for turn eight, your speed decreases to 113km/h in second gear. The slightly faster turn nine follows and this can be taken at 155km/h, still in second gear. Exiting turn nine, you blast along the sweeping straight that leads to the L'Epingle hairpin.
Having reached speeds of 299km/h in fifth gear, you brake hard for the 180-degrees right hander, which swings you round onto the Droit du Casino. Accelerating along the main straight, you reach 334km/h in sixth gear as you approach the hardest braking point on the track. You pull 2.5G as you brake sharply to negotiate the final two corners that take you back to the start-finish straight. The right-left complex of bends is negotiated at 144km/h in second gear and you have to be careful not to jump the kerbs too aggressively. "
