On tap this week:

Hinchcliffe wants Calgary race by 2017

Bahrain was just what Rosberg needed

Did Ferrari strategy call cost Kimi a win?

More power won't solve F1's problems

Quote of the Week: Ecclestone sees dollar signs not history

IndyCar finally gets a good one

If things go according to plan, IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe hopes to be battling for a win on the streets of downtown Calgary in 2017.

After getting a positive reaction from the city officials in a preliminary meeting earlier this year, Hinchcliffe and his Schmidt Peterson Motorsport team co-owner and Calgary native Ric Peterson can already see an Alberta race on the horizon.

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"The ducks are all kind of starting to get in a row," said four-time IndyCar race winner Hinchcliffe, of Oakville, Ont.

"We still have a lot of work to do on it, but the initial conversations have really been quite good and we are excited about it. I would love to have it in place for 2017; it's a lofty goal but you got to have goals."

Fans might recall that IndyCar previously ran a race in Alberta, but the event in Edmonton never found enough corporate support to be viable. Peterson, who owns Oculus Transportation, a successful oil-field services company, feels corporate support shouldn't be an issue in Calgary.

"It's different promoters, which will make a big, big difference," Peterson said.

"There are a lot more corporate head offices in Calgary and they just seem to know how to pull off big events. The Calgary Stampede is unbelievable — every year I just shake my head at how they can draw in 100,000 people, 10 days in a row.

The date for the event is yet to be determined, but it might make sense from a promoter and series perspective to have both Canadian races back-to-back as happened with the Toronto-Edmonton pairing.

"There are a couple of different challenges with the season being condensed," Hinchcliffe said."We have one in mind that we would like and we are getting everything in place before we bring it in a more formal capacity to the series."

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Random thoughts

Nico Rosberg didn't win Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, but it just may have been exactly what he needed to regain confidence. After looking a bit sheepish in the first three grands prix, the Mercedes driver showed a fighting spirit in Bahrain that many felt he lacked so far this year. Despite battling brake issues for much of the grand prix, Rosberg responded forcefully after starting third and getting shuffled to fourth at the first corner of the race. He muscled his way past the two Ferraris, including an aggressive pass on four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel after his final pitstop. A brake-by-wire failure cost him second place, but a much needed statement was delivered.

By the numbers

Ferrari's decision to wait until Lap 40 of 57 for Kimi Räikkönen's final pitstop may have cost him a win in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix. Had second place finisher Räikkönen pitted three laps earlier on his alternate soft-medium-soft tire strategy, he would have gained about five seconds on eventual winner Lewis Hamilton instead of losing them, and still had a second per a lap advantage on the faster soft compound over his rival on the mediums at the end. Considering Räikkönen started the race on soft tires and ran consistently fast for 17 laps on full fuel tanks, Hamilton's brake issue on the final lap, and his four-second margin of victory over the Ferrari driver, it appears the Scuderia's strategy caused a win to slip through Räikkönen's fingers.

Technically speaking

With 2017 rule changes being discussed in the paddock, F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone continues to push for a return to 1,000-horsepower, V-8 engines, which he insists will bring back fans, "the show," and sponsors. Unfortunately, the flaw in his theory is simple: The high-revving, ear-splitting 2.4-litre, V-8 engines did nothing to stop F1's massive TV numbers 25 per cent decline between 2008 and 2014 when the series switched to 1.6 litre, V-6 turbo engines last year. Realistically, radical engine change is not in the cards anyway, although tweaks are possible, said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff: "We can do a lot on the chassis side and maybe in the end also on the power unit — we shouldn't be shy to see where we can improve the show."

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Quote of the week:

"Why should they have different conditions than Zeltweg (Austria) or Spa (Belgium)? I have asked for the same numbers and the same terms. Yes, Monza is a part of F1 history, but they must pay."

— F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone commenting on the idea that the Italian Grand Prix at the iconic Monza should get a reduced sanctioning fee due to its historic significance to the sport. Monza needs to renew its deal to remain on the F1 calendar next year.

The last word

After two disastrous races to start the season, IndyCar caught a break on the weekend in Long Beach, Calif. With the late March season opener marred by flying wing parts from the new "aero kits," including one piece that sailed into the stands and hit a spectator, and a inaugural race in New Orleans last week where the wet conditions saw less than half the laps run under green, the series needed a good event. Sunday's Long Beach Grand Prix delivered with only one four-lap caution and the other 76 featuring hard, close, exciting racing. "Yeah, it's amazing what happens when guys maybe up their game or pay attention," said race winner Scott Dixon of the Ganassi Team.

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