MONTREAL — While the race was full of incidents, the action started earlier than Sunday at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Race officials reprimanded Mark Webber for “brake testing” Scott Speed on the last lap of practice on Friday.
“We managed to fall over each other,” Webber said. “He was a little bit asleep initially, and then we managed to wake each other up.”
The pair had been running together and getting on each other’s nerves for the last couple of laps of the session.
“I was very close the rear of him, and he braked 100 meters earlier than the previous lap,” Webber said. “So, I thought that I was going to harpoon him big time. I managed then to get my stuff together and get down the inside (of Speed), and then went round the next corner quite slow.”
Speed’s Toro Rosso rammed into the back of Webber’s Red Bull.
“Something like that I have not witnessed since go- karts,” Speed said.
“Brake checking an F-1 car, that is a new one for me! At the end of the day we are a small team, and we don’t have a bunch of new noses and bargeboards to throw on the car. It is definitely going to change our program, and that is a shame.”
Webber sheepishly said: “Boys being boys, you know.”
In another “clash,” there will be no boxing bout between Heikki Kovalainen and Nelson Piquet, Jr., despite the former saying he didn’t like the latter.
A television reporter asked Kovalainen whom he admired more, Nigel Mansell or Nelson Piquet, Sr. They were bitter rivals at Williams in the 1980s. The Finn jokingly said Mansell because he didn’t like Junior, and that “fact” was soon spread across irresponsible Web sites.
Here in Montreal, Kovalainen said it had all been in jest.
“Nelson and I talked about it and laughed about it,” he said. “It was supposed to be a joke, not having a go at him. It is all fine. I have absolutely nothing against him. He has done a good job for the Renault team, and so no boxing match. We can have it if you want, but I am going to win that! So, there is no point.”
In yet another corner, rumors once again swirled around Ralf Schumacher that he wouldn’t be invited back to drive for Panasonic Toyota Racing in 2008.
Schumacher says he is not worried and we shouldn’t worry, either.
“I think there is a lot of talk due to the results I’ve had recently,” he said, “and I think that’s only normal, but you don’t need to worry about me.”
Some speculation even has Ralf being asked to leave before the end of the season, although this would no doubt be expensive for Toyota.
“You should know that not everything you read is quite true,” he said. “At the moment, we are simply concentrating on getting some results. Neither myself nor the team has been brilliant so far, and that is what we are concentrating on. Nothing else has been discussed anyway.”
While some sources close to the team say that Schumacher is on probation and on the verge of losing his job, Ralf insists he will be around for the rest of the season.
Other rumors, meanwhile, connect Adrian Sutil with Toyota. The rookie says he has had very casual talks with several teams, but none have made firm offers.