While Red Bull’s rivals hope the Canadian Grand Prix will finally be the race where they bring them within range, the championship leaders are eyeing their 100th grand prix victory.
Here are the talking points for this weekend’s race.
Gap closing or midfield shuffling?
This weekend’s race may provide further signs one way or another. Not least because, on paper, this is a track where we might ordinarily expect to see Ferrari ahead of Mercedes. The SF-75s enjoyed the combination of long straights, slow corners and the softest tyres Pirelli supplies in Baku, so Montreal should be a good venue for them.
In contrast, the Circuit de Catalunya has always suited Mercedes well, and team principal Toto Wolff admitted the Canadian circuit is unlikely to suit them so well. But perhaps the development directions the teams have taken will provide a surprise.
Aston Martin can’t be discounted either. The team will have new parts for its AMR23 this weekend, and team principal Mike Krack was giving nothing away about the scale of the changes when asked in Spain, saying only that they would bring “a step” for the car.First Canadian on podium at home for 27 years?
If Aston Martin are back to their best this weekend after their sub-par showing in Spain, we could see the first Canadian driver on the podium at their home race for 27 years. The last driver to do so was Jacques Villeneuve when he made his home grand prix debut at the track in 1996.
Although he won other races and took the title the following year, Villeneuve never improved on the second place he scored in his first race at home. The 1997 race turned out to be his last and best chance to win it, but he spun out of second place on lap two, hitting the barrier now known as the Wall of Champions.
So far this year Stroll hasn’t matched the success team mate Fernando Alonso has had in the AMR23. He hasn’t reached the rostrum yet, while Alonso has been there five times, and Stroll’s last top-three finish came in the penultimate race of 2020.
However Alonso demonstrated in Spain just how co-operative he is prepared to be when going up against the team’s other driver – a shrewd calculation given Stroll is the boss’s son. Would Alonso be as gracious with a podium finish on the line? Given how infrequently he’s been behind Stroll to begin with this year, that’s a question which is likely to remain hypothetical.
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Perez seeks redemption
He badly needs to avoid a repeat this weekend. While Red Bull have dominated the season so far, Perez hasn’t seen Q3 the last two times out, failed to score in Monaco and was off the podium in Spain.
Beating Max Verstappen increasingly seems like a tall order. But at minimum Perez needs a face-saving result this weekend where the points loss to his team mate isn’t in double-digits.
Will Red Bull hit 100?
It will be a surprise if Red Bull do not reach a century of wins this weekend, as they go to Canada having won 17 of the last 18 races.
If they do, it will be another milestone achievement for the team which is F1’s benchmark outfit at the moment. They have been consistently formidable competitors since they started winning races – and remarkably, the first of their 99 to date came just 14 years ago.
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New team decision looming
The Canadian Grand Prix is the last race before the deadline. Montreal is also only a few hours’ flight from Wisconsin where Michael Andretti’s team is contesting the latest IndyCar round. Of all the prospective applicants, Andretti has sought the most attention – will he, or any of his fellow applications, show up for a spot of last-minute lobbying to join the grid?
Wildfire threat recedes
Canada is having to cope with its most active wildfire season on record which affected the air quality in Montreal last week. However a recent drop in temperatures and the arrival of much-needed rain has helped firefighters bring the blazes under control.
F1 has been monitoring developments and last week said it expected the event would not be affected. As things stand it seems their confidence was well-placed and hopefully the situation continues to improve for all concerned.
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Are you going to the Canadian Grand Prix?
If you’re heading to Canada for this weekend’s race, we want to hear from you:
Who do you think will be the team to beat in the Canadian Grand Prix? Have your say below.
2023 Canadian Grand Prix
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- Red Bull’s testing restriction will “massively affect” 2024 car development
- Schumacher’s set-up input gives Mercedes a “super advantage” – Wolff
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
14th June 2023, 8:18
I do hope F1 does the right thing and lets Andretti and one or two of the other applicants in. There’s going to be six works engines on the grid, there’s plenty of room for more teams using customer engines. With the cost cap it’s good to have more work opportunity for engineers up and down the grid, as well as having a few more driver seats so talent coming up actually has a place to go and F2 champions don’t have to settle for Formula E or taking a year or longer in test seats.
If a team like Haas can be on the grid on a shoestring budget with zero ambition to ever become a race winner, I don’t really see any argument against any of these other applicants deserving a spot anyways.
Jere (@jerejj)
14th June 2023, 9:34
Gap closing or midfield shuffling? – Can go either way.
First Canadian on podium at home for 27 years? – Unlikely, but not impossible.
Perez seeks redemption – Yes, & not only reaching Q3 for a change, but finishing 2nd at minimum.
Will Red Bull hit 100? – Yes, unless something happens to them.
New team decision looming – Hopefully, no opposition.
Wildfire threat recedes – Indeed, not that I thought the event was under threat at any point.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th June 2023, 9:48
Yes, I would say on any given race this year there’s a 90% chance of red bull winning, while the chance of stroll making it to the podium is probably 20 or even 10%, it requires him to have a proper race, something to happen to both red bulls, alonso and possibly someone of ferrari\merc.
Dr.D
14th June 2023, 21:27
I wonder who will het the most cheers when on the podium. Stroll or Alonso.
Is he even populair in Canada?
Or is he more like the de Vries for the Dutch?