Grand Prix DB provides each driver’s statistical rating prior to the start of the race. A rating of 1.00 is the highest possible score. Here are the Grand Prix DB Power Ratings for the French GP:

Robert Kubica, 0.90
Felipe Massa, 0.83
Kimi Raikkonen, 0.82
Lewis Hamilton, 0.75
Mark Webber, 0.72
Jarno Trulli, 0.71
Nick Heidfeld, 0.71
Heikki Kovalainen, 0.66
Fernando Alonso, 0.60
David Coulthard, 0.53
Timo Glock, 0.53
Nico Rosberg, 0.49
Rubens Barrichello, 0.49
Jenson Button, 0.48
Kazuki Nakajima, 0.43
Sebastian Vettel, 0.37
Giancarlo Fisichella, 0.36
Nelson Piquet Jr, 0.32
Sebastien Bourdais, 0.26
Adrian Sutil, 0.19

Statistically speaking, Robert Kubica is in a strong position to retain his points lead going into the race. But the reality is much different. BMW Sauber has opened the defense of their Driver’s Championship lead by having their worst qualifying of the season. Their strategy for Sunday is damage control. However, as has been the case throughout 2008, the team is poised to capitalize on others’ mistakes. Already, Kubica will be promoted two places on the starting grid, thanks to the mistake-prone McLaren team. Lewis Hamilton is serving his grid penalty from Canada, and teammate Heikki Kovalainen has just been penalized five grid spots for blocking Mark Webber in qualifying. Kubica will start the race in the fifth grid spot.

Reviewing tape of Kovalainen’s block on Webber, it is obvious that the team committed another act of brain fade. Webber was clearly on a hot lap. Kovalainen did the right thing in letting Kaz Nakajima by, but the team failed to inform their driver early enough that Webber was immediately behind. It was an easy decision for the stewards to make.

Meanwhile, judging by Hamilton’s mood in the post-qualifying press conference, it is likely that McLaren ran him on a relatively light fuel load to boost his performance in Q3. Unusually, Hamilton made mistakes on both his qualifying laps in Q3, and now the team are in a big hole. He will start behind the heavy fuel-loaded Nick Heidfeld, and if he cannot manage to find a way past the German at the start, his strategy will be severely compromised.

In any other season, Fernando Alonso would seem a good bet for the podium. However, in 2008 the big question is whether or not either of the factory Renaults will make it to the finish, via either mechanical failures or driver errors. Alternatively, continuing progress by both Red Bull and Toyota have put their drivers in positions for strong results.

Finally, it appears that Ferrari have begun to put some of their recent failures behind them and proceeded to dominate the qualifying session. While Felipe Massa is still the hottest driver on the circuit, Kimi Raikkonen looked absolutely composed in qualifying. Massa clearly took chances in Q3 to better his teammate, but he ended up losing time instead of gaining. Raikkonen also saved a cool-down lap’s worth of fuel by aborting his final qualifying lap after it was clear he didn’t need to complete it. Instead, he pulled into the pits. The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is not known for a high rate of mechanical DNFs and Ferrari look set for a big result on Sunday.

I suppose the question cannot be ignored. After Robert Kubica’s great win last weekend, can BMW Sauber win the title? Well, if we are talking about the Constructor’s Championship, I can comfortably say, “No.” Over the remainder of the season, it will be difficult for any team to overcome Ferrari. There is not much debate there.

The Driver’s Championship possibilities are more difficult to predict. History is littered with examples of drivers who have won the title without the season’s fastest car. However, the list gets much shorter when we are considering the season’s third fastest. On many weekends, BMW Sauber is just that the third-fastest behind Ferrari and McLaren. Occasionally, they have been second fastest, and perhaps Kubica has flattered the car’s potential with a few monster qualifying laps. But those weekends are few and far between. The team must close the gap to the top two teams on a “typical” weekend to realistically allow Kubica to contend for the championship.

Nevertheless, Kubica leads the points thanks to his consistency. And if it weren’t for Kazuki Nakajima drop kicking him in Australia, that lead would be even bigger. (By the way Hamilton fans, Kaz was given a 10-spot gird penalty in the following race for causing an avoidable accident.) But mere consistency is usually not enough. The most recent example being Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s 1999 season. His consistency put him in a realistic position to contend with three races left in that season. Then while leading the race, a heart-breaking electrical failure eliminated him from the European Grand Prix and put an end to his championship aspirations.

So could the 2008 season be different? Interestingly, instead of coming out with statements that they’re disappointed but are redoubling their efforts to fight for the championship, certain McLaren team members made statements that bordered on the bizarre.

Lewis Hamilton following the Canadian GP: “Going forward the mood is strong. The fact is we destroyed everyone this weekend. With the car we have right now there is no stopping us.”

Hamilton on the next race in France, where he will be served a 10-spot grid penalty: “I feel quite confident that we can still win there. That’s my job,”

And the number 1 quote that makes you go, “Hmm” comes from McLaren team doctor Aki Hintsa: “We can measure the mental stress levels in the drivers as well as fatigue. The autonomic nervous system — the bit that governs the physical effects of stress — is much stronger in Lewis this year.

“We have sophisticated ways of measuring these things and Lewis has improved physically as well as mentally since the start of the season.

“His statistics are very impressive and this will not affect him one little bit.

“When he knows the car he has is the quickest on the circuit he is pretty much unbeatable — an incredible specimen in any sport.”

In Montreal, there is no doubt that Hamilton was very strong. However, in the period leading up to the safety car period, the fastest laps were being turned in by Kimi Raikkonen. Not only did he record the race’s fastest lap, but he also took chunks out of Hamilton’s lead. And on face value, a straight comparison of Q2 versus Q3 lap times suggests that Raikkonen may have been carrying more fuel on board for the first stint. Furthermore, Raikkonen is a driver who has a great knack of finding traction, and he seemed to finally adapt to the critical exit of the hairpin, the place where he lost so much time in qualifying. Considering that Hamilton would have slotted in behind Kubica and Raikkonen had all three continued after the safety car period, it is presumptuous to say that Hamilton “destroyed everyone.”

By itself, Hamilton’s first quote could be dismissed as fightin’ words. However, when he follows it up by proclaiming that he is confident he will win in France, one begns to wonder if Hamilton and McLaren are in a proper state of mind. The final confirmation comes from Dr Hintsa’s esoteric argument regarding Hamilton’s mental fitness. Taken together, McLaren appears to be in total denial for the upcoming races, where Ferrari and BMW Sauber should be at their best. McLaren and Hamilton came away with only half the points they were probably expecting from the Monaco-Canada combo. The prospect of now having to contend with Kubica in addition to Raikkonen and Felipe Massa must have them feeling defensive about their immediate prospects.

All it takes is for Kubica to edge ahead of the McLaren drivers for the championship to become a true four-way battle. If BMW Sauber can rise to become the second-fastest team on the grid, then they do have a realistic chance of defending the Driver’s Championship lead. Earlier in the season, both myself and Ron Dennis dismissed BMW Sauber’s challenge. Now, seven races into the season are enough to show that I was wrong. The next challenge is for the team to prove to the world that they can rise to the occasion and compete wheel-to-wheel with the best.

To his credit, Kubica is realistic about the championship. He plainly stated, “Of course it’s a good feeling but I think it will be difficult to defend this position.

“Realistically speaking, we are missing a bit of performance to Ferrari and McLaren.”

When it comes to the championship, Kubica really does not have anything to lose. Hardly anyone would have predicted he would be leading the points at this stage. This is what makes him a dangerous contender if the team can provide the necessary support. Alternatively, as the unbeatable specimen, the destroyer, Hamilton is suddenly positioned as the one with everything to lose.

Everyone who follows F1 knows that Lewis Hamilton blew the pitlane red light in Montreal and plowed into Kimi Raikkonen. Careless? Yes. Stupid? No. Nevertheless, Hamilton has paid the price in the form of ten spot grid penalty for the next race in France.

No, the people who are stupid are those Hamilton supporters and members of the press who cannot distinguish the difference between Hamiton’s mistake in Canada and Raikkonen’s mistake two weeks earlier in Monaco. Their argument essentially is that either Raikkonen should have been equally penalized or Hamilton equally exonerated for their respective accidents. They’re arguing that somehow these accidents are comparable and should be treated as such. Martin Whitmarsh went as far to say, “There was a different view taken in Monaco so we’ve got to work with what we’re given.”

Whitmarsh was equally puzzled as to why his drivers were punished at the Malaysian GP for blocking during Q3. His concerns were also shared back then by certain Hamilton supporters and members of the press.

Incredibly, these same people profess to actually be knowledgeable about autoracing. I ask, how can these people be so ignorant?

The first incident involved slow drivers on the racing line who did not make much of an attempt to get out of the way during qualifying hot laps. It is dangerous, period. In the long ago past, drivers have been killed or seriously injured under these types of circumstances. A penalty was warranted.

In the most recent incidents, Raikkonen’s accident occurred on the actual race track at race speeds. Hamilton’s accident occurred in the pitlane, under the speed limit of 80 km/h. For those who cannot distinguish between the two incidents, they must have forgotten how difficult it is to drive a proper high performance car in anger on a racetrack. It certainly ain’t no Sunday cruise with grandma. What it is, is driving on the edge where there is a fine between control and loss of control. Accidents happen.

The pitlane, although technically part of the race track, is governed by a different standard. There are fuel tanks and other equipment as well as hundreds of crew members who are exposed to danger should a car lose control in the pitlane. This is why governing bodies do their best to ensure that accidents don’t occur. This is why there are speed limits. Red lights are placed at the end of F1 pitlanes for various reasons, but they absolutely must be observed.

The only similarities between the two incidents are that Raikkonen was involved and the offending party crashed into the car in front. But this is where the similarities end. And if certain F1 followers cannot figure this out, then perhaps they should not follow F1 anymore.

This weekend, Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage make his feelings known about the future of IndyCar.

“IndyCar officials have to understand that it will take 80 percent ovals to truly succeed,” Gossage procliamed to ESPN.com. “Otherwise, this is nothing more than a niche sport.”

Even as a hardcore road racer myself, I have to agree with what Gossage stated. Mind you, it would be foolish for IndyCar to drop events like Long Beach, Edmonton, or Australia. But for the most part, Gossage is correct. IRL has won the war over CART/Champ Car. And even though it may not have been the fans who have spoken, certainly the best funded team owners and a majority of the sponsors have. And big time auto racing is nothing if not an investment capital-hungry enterprise.

Truth is, road racing is a niche sport in the USA. Yet in Europe, Asia, and South America, it probably amounts to a billion dollar industry. Actually, I have not taken the time to do the number crunching, but there is no doubt that outside of the States, formula car road racing is huge. In fact, huger than huge. Gynormous! OK, you get the picture.

Back to Gossage’s words As his track plays host to the IndyCar series this weekend, we have had a chance to see the effects of the unification so far this season. The fields are larger and fans’ interest seems to have increased. Also, it is clear that the IndyCar technical package and their drivers have developed into specialized oval warriors. I have to admit, the Milwaukee race was fun to watch. These events have the potential to gain a new following and perhaps win back old, previously departed fans.

Road racing offers a much more complicated picture. F1 is larger than IndyCar can ever dream of being. And the development of GP2 in both Europe and Asia, and A1GP in the international scene are likely to soak up any potential markets for IndyCar road racing beyond its “niche” events.

Remember, the new A1GP car is based on the former Ferrari F2004, which was a great racing car. And the series is in the planning stages of A2GP regional series that will also feature Ferrari cars. It is doubtful that a spec series could associate itself with any more prestigious a name than Scuderia Ferrari. The biggest blow to American open wheel road racing would be if A1GP/A2GP were to take over some of the former Champ Car circuits.

IndyCar is not poised to make a successful run at a larger schedule of road racing events. The technical package does not provoke the kind of excitement that the former, short-lived Panoz Champ Car did, or even the older Lola and Reynard packages did. Without the proper tools, the league cannot make a proper 50/50 oval and road racing series. However, it is clear that IndyCar is very capable of putting on oval spectacles, with lots of action and even a healthy dose of wheel bangin’. To thrive, IndyCar must rely on what it does best, and in the real world, that means ovals, ovals, and more ovals.

Over the years, Champ Car finally successfully combined a minimal-gizmo, high-horsepower engine concept with a less aero-driven, well mechanically-adjustable chassis. And the result was a series featuring very entertaining road and street races, with drivers visibly able to “hang it out” with opposite lock and all sorts of braking techniques to get the cars turned into corners. This season, with F1 banning traction control and engine brake assist, fans are treated to a fantastic display of car control by some of the world’s best drivers. There is no doubt that lower open wheeled series, like A1GP and GP2, will evolve to offer road racing at a higher level than IndyCar. After all, IndyCar will always require a compromise technical package to race on both ovals and road/street circuits. That alone means that the cars will not be born as optimal road racing machines.

Many IndyCar drivers have opposed Gossage’s opinion. Even current points leader and reigning Indy 500 champion Scott Dixon said on autosport.com, “Eddie should stick to running his track and let the series run itself … He’s probably a little biased because he’s got an oval. Everybody is going to have different views. I’m biased because I like road courses. He’s just putting that out there because he and his owners (Speedway Motorsports Inc.) have a long list of racetracks, and most of them are ovals.”

Despite Dixon’s words, the truth is Eddie is correct. When it comes to producing road races at the pinnacle of motorpsorts, it is best to leave it to the experts. Unfortunately, for drivers like Dixon, and for the large, loyal road racing fan base in America, we will all be doing the same thing—watching F1 and related lower formulae from the television, grandstands, and/or pits, but most likely never from the cockpit of a proper top-tier open wheeled road racing machine.

Grand Prix DB provides each driver’s statistical rating prior to the start of the race. A rating of 1.00 is the highest possible score. After we have cleared up some computer problems from today, here are the Grand Prix DB Power Ratings for the Canadian GP:

Lewis Hamilton, 0.88
Robert Kubica, 0.87
Kimi Raikkonen, 0.87
Felipe Massa, 0.75
Nick Heidfeld, 0.73
Fernando Alonso, 0.68
Heikki Kovalainen, 0.68
Mark Webber, 0.66
Nico Rosberg, 0.60
Jarno Trulli, 0.58
Rubens Barrichello, 0.54
Kazuki Nakajima, 0.51
Timo Glock, 0.47
David Coulthard, 0.43
Jenson Button, 0.40
Giancarlo Fisichella, 0.34
Nelson Piquet Jr, 0.32
Sebastien Bourdais, 0.29
Sebastian Vettel, 0.23
Adrian Sutil, 0.23

We have definitely seen some changes in our Power Ratings for Canada. For once there is not a Ferrari in the top 2, and Lewis Hamilton has turned his season completely around by rocketing to the top of the ratings heap.

Similar to Australia and Monaco, the track in Montreal has a tendency to yield wildcard results. Remember Alex Wurz’s podium and Taku Sato’s storming race last year? But one constant in these events is the success of Hamilton. Perhaps it’s his sublime karting skills and turn-in technique that are being transferred to tracks that are either tight or have less than ideal surfaces. These three tracks, along with Hungary, seem to especially suit him. This weekend, Hamilton is somehow dealing more successfully with the crumbling surface at the hairpin, which is giving him a much better launch onto the pit straight.

Ferrari are clearly struggling here, especially with traction. But like Monaco, Ferrari weren’t particularly successful in Canada last year. So if either Raikkonen or Massa can earn a podium, it might be seen as a bonus. It is surprising to see Raikkonen struggle so mightily with traction issues, but Massa’s lowly qualifying result underlies how much the Ferrari chassis does not adapt well to low adhesion, grainy track surfaces. I think track temperature is also playing a factor, and if tomorrow proves to be overcast, then the track may come back to the Scuderia.

I’ve said it before, and Robert Kubica continues to be the most exciting qualifier in F1 in years. I won’t compare him to past greats because these comparisons for contemporary drivers have become tiresome. Yet, one can sense the electricity in the air when Kubica commences a hot lap. Ever since he broke into the scene as a Friday test driver for BMW Sauber, he has always been a joy to watch.

For Sunday, chances are that something unexpected will happen. If the organizers cannot get a handle on the track surface issues, then “clag” will definitely be a factor in the race. If that proves to be the case, then the race may turn into something of a lottery, and fans can expect the safety car to appear more than once. Notably, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve seems to favor the underdog, much like the track’s namesake was in his early career. Personally, I am hoping that we will see Robert Kubica come through with his and BMW Sauber’s first F1 victory.

However, logically speaking, Hamilton is in a position for a big win. His front-row starting position will allow him to avoid the inevitable first-lap melee. And if Kubica slots in behind after the start, the Ferraris will not have a clear path of attack to the McLaren driver. There is no doubt that Raikkonen is in a slump, and time will tell if he can respond like a champion. We may have to wait until France to see him at his best, but he needs a good result tomorrow to at least stem the tide that has turned Hamilton’s way.