Canada: The Prospects for the Race

The upcoming Ferrari Mercedes battle

Ferrari managed to show up for the 7th round of the season by placing its German driver on pole position. With a better top speed, the Italian cars will likely be advantaged in the race if their drivers take advantage of slipstreams. Team strategy will clearly be at the heart of the discussions during the race.

Mercedes enters this race with their new engine, along with certain concerns. After seeing the power unit of Lance Stroll’s Racing Point catch fire, smoke was spotted coming from Valtteri Bottas’s engine block. Is the reliability of the German manufacturer to be questioned in the upcoming race?

The Silver Arrows drivers will need to do everything possible to block the path of the victory-hungry Ferraris, particularly with Sebastian Vettel who still hasn’t given up in the championship race. However, the Reds should be cautious, as their race pace simulation wasn’t very flattering compared to their closest rival.

Renault’s Performance

The misfortune of some is the happiness of others. Taking advantage of Haas’s setbacks during Q3, Renault managed to position its drivers optimally, with Daniel Ricciardo securing a superb 4th place on the grid while his teammate also secured a solid 7th place. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that despite Magnussen’s accident, Renault appeared superior to the American cars in the time chase.

With this remarkable resurgence in form following the full utilization of a previously restrained engine’s performance, the French firm aims to reap an optimum harvest of points. To achieve this, Renault can rely on their experienced drivers, hoping that the reliability, which so often falls short, won’t shatter their dreams of scoring points.

Today means a lot. P4 and P7: everyone’s hard work paying off! #RSspirit #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/TVRn80ZwL2 — Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) 8 juin /f1/actualite/23359-bienvenue-au-quebec-un-oeil-technique-sur-le-circuit-supersonique-de-montreal.html

Red Bull and Verstappen, limited disadvantage

Verstappen, having clearly lost in the qualifying game due to Kevin Magnussen’s crash that ended the session, limits the damage for his position on the grid. Carlos Sainz, qualified 8th, receives a 3-place penalty for impeding Alexander Albon in Q1 and will start 11th. Kevin Magnussen, qualified despite his crash in Q3 and securing the 10th position, will start from the pit lane as the gearbox of the Haas has been changed.

Max Verstappen will therefore finally start from the 9th position on the grid. A lesser evil, especially since the Red Bull driver retains his freedom of tire choice thanks to his 11th place.

The young Red Bull driver will undoubtedly start the race with a knife between his teeth in order not to let the front-runners get away. His teammate Pierre Gasly, overtaken by the surprising Daniel Ricciardo, will need to prove his talents during the race by avoiding being caught by his teammate, otherwise, he will clearly put himself in the background in terms of performance. The strategies put in place by Red Bull will likely be different for their two drivers.

Haas, recover at all costs

Big losers in the qualifying, the Haas team sees Romain Grosjean start from 14th place while Kevin Magnussen will start from the pits following his crash and the gearbox change on his car. Sabotaged by the unfortunate maneuver of his teammate, Romain Grosjean’s flying lap was abruptly aborted, along with his chances of gaining valuable starting positions.

Outside the points zone, the drivers of the American structure will be forced to attack to limit the damage in the championship.

Knowing the determination of the Danish driver, everything suggests that the battles will be fierce both in slipstreaming and during braking phases.

K-Mag’s crash brings Q2 to a premature end, which means Verstappen DOES NOT make it through to the top ten shoot out#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #F1 pic.twitter.com/6tezT75mhW

— Formula 1 (@F1) 8 juin /f1/actualite/23359-bienvenue-au-quebec-un-oeil-technique-sur-le-circuit-supersonique-de-montreal.html

Strategies for the race

Three strategies are possible according to Pirelli

The first is probably the fastest and involves planning for a single stop around the 35th/40th laps, using medium tires initially followed by hard tires.

The second possibility, announced as a bit slower, considers changing the soft tires fitted at the start for hard tires after an early pit stop around the 5th/8th lap.

Finally, a two-stop strategy is also mentioned by the Italian manufacturer, who states that it is the slowest solution. It mirrors the second strategy type, starting on soft tires and stopping very early, around laps 5-8, to switch to medium tires. These will then need to be changed for equivalent tires around laps 35-40.

All this is subject to the appearance of the safety car, estimated at 80% on this very particular circuit, where any mistake generally results in a retirement.

Below is the reserve of available tire sets for each driver. Max Verstappen can rely on an aggressive strategy depending on race conditions, having a new stock of soft tires.

It’s okay there are still some red 🍓s left!#CanadianGP #Fit4F1 #Pirelli https://t.co/uEe8W1MCq9 pic.twitter.com/mZetMr7U6k

— Pirelli Motorsport (@Pirellisport) June 8, /f1/actualite/23359-bienvenue-au-quebec-un-oeil-technique-sur-le-circuit-supersonique-de-montreal.html