Grid girls in hot pants. That is all

We could tell you that this brunette quartet were spotted at the recent Nascar event in Montreal. We could also tell you that they were there to promote Cintron’s new energy drink. But there’s really no point, given that you’re probably still looking at the photo and not these words blah blah blah all work and no play makes Grid Crasher a dull motorsport blog…

Another pic after the jumpy spider…

ITV pundit escapes censure for “pikey” comment

Martin Brundle has escaped penalty for asked Wee Bernie Ecclestone at the Canadian GP what he thought about the “pikeys putting tarmac down at turn 10″.

The watchdog Equality and Human Rights Commission condemned Brundle’s use of the word, and a spokesman for the British F1 broadcaster apologised for the slip. Despite 36 complaints to ITV and Ofcom, the TV watchdog accepted the explanation that Brundle did not intend the use of the word to cause offence. Quite right too. We weren’t offended, but then we love pikeys.

After missing the recent Hungarian GP while on his traditional mid-season break, Brundle will be back in the F1 paddock at Valencia for the European GP in a fortnight’s time.

Three vids to make Felipe Massa feel better

1. 1982 Monaco Grand Prix
Poor Didier Pironi led on the final lap but his car broke down in the famous tunnel. Andrea de Cesaris then stopped on the approach to the casino complex, allowing Riccardo Patrese - who had already spun out - to trundle over the finishing line in his re-started Brabham.

More below:

Double entendres never get old

Some wag’s response to Lewis’s embarrassing shunt in Montreal. We like.

Mild-mannered German reveals the Hulk within

Heidfeld strikes us as the quiet man of F1, but he revealed a darker, more angry side in a recent interview on the eve of the Canadian GP with ITV’s walking bangle shop, Louise Goodman. When asked what makes him swear, he replied:

“I do it every morning when I come into the track here in Montreal. There is a bit where you are made to stop because they let all the pedestrians pass. There are thousands of them and it takes ages. Each year it’s the same and each year I think ‘why don’t they just build a f***ing bridge?’ I swear about it each day, each year that I come here.”

Perhaps Quick Nick channeled his rage and used it to help him drive faster in Canada (he finished second)?

Force India star needs to work on his running skills

Adrian, that is a shockingly camp run you have there. Sort it out.

Check out our Montreal report card

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari (DNF)
Could do nothing about the incident that led to his retirement, so we won’t mark him down. Until the safety car, Kimi was setting fastest laps and looking like he could threaten Lewis Hamilton. 7/10

Felipe Massa, Ferrari (5th)
An up-and-down weekend for the Brazilian, but he’ll be happy to make a small gain on Hamilton and his team-mate. Qualified poorly, but not to blame when Ferrari forced him to pit twice within two laps. Put a stunning overtaking move on Rubens Barrichello and Heikki Kovalainen.  6

Grid Crasher mulls over Montreal

Five winners:

1. Robert Kubica His maiden F1 win had been coming all season, although we doubt he’d have beaten either Raikkonen or Hamilton in a straight fight. But the handful of “on-it” laps when he increased his lead over team-mate Nick Heidfeld to more than 20 seconds - a gap that enabled the Pole to make his second pit-stop without losing the lead - were blistering. He now leads the championship, and if all around him continue to lose their heads, he could even win it.

2. Nick Heidfeld As Martin Brundle pointed out during ITV’s coverage, Heidfeld appeared to be pissed off with second place, because BMW had been threatening to win for ages; when they did, it was Kubica who reaped the reward, not him. Still, second place was a welcome return to form for the under-pressure German.

The best eye candy Montreal had to offer

Meet Lewis Hamilton’s flame-haired grid girl. And more below…

F1 pundit criticised for slip of the tongue in Canada

Martin Brundle was interviewing Wee Bernie Ecclestone during his frantic pre-race grid walk in Canada on Sunday (all of the drivers ignored Brundle, with the exception of that nice young chap Felipe Massa), when he said: “There are some pikeys there at turn ten putting tarmac down… what do you think of that?”

At the time, watching the incident live, Grid Crasher raised one eyebrow at Brundle’s cavalier use of the word “pikey”, but thought nothing more of it. However, his remark has been picked up by the ever-vigilant PC brigade. A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said, “This word has been used on television in the past and is highly derogatory. They have caused much offence in the past.”