I don't know what the US, or wherever you're reading this from, has in the way of Formula One coverage. But this is a blog based on the coverage, and follow up discusssion from todays qualifying in Montreal.

There is some belief that the track is breaking up, especially around turn 7 (where Mark Webber spun today) and the hairpin. And because of this the track is dangerous and the race should be cancelled, and future races should be taken away from Canada, and moved to some obscure Asian country that give F1 a lot of money, only for Bernie Ecclestone to realise that no-one wants races in Asia that start at dot-o'clock European time, so makes them race at night.

This, quite frankly, is ####. The track may be breaking up, and has been doing so for a few years, indeed the Canadians really should have done a proper repave on it, as it's only used two or three times a year for racing, otherwise it's a part of the surrounding park - much like the track at Mexico City.

But it is not more dangerous than many other tracks on the F1 calender, and many others that are raced on all over the world on a far more regular basis. In my opinion, although the track is breaking up, the situation is worsened by the fact that the tyre company uses the two softest available compounds in Canada. Softer compounds = faster tyre wear = more marbles. Marbles occur at every track and every driver has to deal with them. Yet Formula One drivers seem powerless against them. NASCAR (and possibly Rolex) drivers had to cope with the same track. The Busch race last year was longer than is planned tomorrow, with more cars that weigh more, yet no one bleated about the track breaking up then.

Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport, and occasionally they should prove them. They often only seem to be the best drivers in the world in bright sunshine on a bone dry track. Introduce something into this perfect mix, say like rain, and your mother could do better in a minivan. Monaco a few weeks ago. the finest 20 drivers in the world made their cars have more replacement noses than Michael Jackson. Last year at the Nurburgring more or less the same drivers lost the ability to brake. In Japan they were apparently so unable to drive in the wet, that they needed to be led round by a safety car.

Now they are confused by a track that isn't the perfection they have become accustomed to. Part of racing is always, and always will be, racing the track. All the drivers are on the same track, and the one who wins is the one who adapts to it best. Those that moan about it will most probably be the ones who don't, exhibiting the well known race driver trait of excuse making.

The track, breaking up or not is not dangerous. Compare it to Monaco, where the barriers are stupidly close the who track round, and speeds are not as low as they seem, as recent crashes by Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard prove. Compare it to Interlagos, where a race not that many years ago saw a pair of the biggest crashes in recent year. Compare to Imola, the only track in the last 22 years to claim the life of an F1 driver. The only notable accidents in Montreal have been the occasional freaks you get in racing.

Olivier Panis' 1997 accident was a combination of glancing blows off walls to create an accident at an angle that was never for seen. Robert Kubica's accident last year was a combination of driver error and poor luck. He ran over the back of another car which pitched him into the air. No wheels on the ground = no braking. He then found one of the few wall that was placed an oblique angle to the track, but again this was not a normal place to crash. There are many similarly angled walls around the world, the wall at the exit of the Caltex Chase at Bathurst springs to mind.

There is nothing wrong with Montreal. It's in need of a bit of TLC, but you can say that about a few F1 tracks - Silverstone, Spa, Interlagos. Of course if anything vaguely bad happens tomorrow, all other reasons will be quickly dismissed in favour of blaming the track, and we'll be racing in Soeul next year before we know it.

And what a shame that would be.  

PS: Does anyone else think that the 'NASCAR' area of these blogs should be expanded to 'Motor Racing' in general?