F1 | Canadian Grand PrixView

Drivers Preview the Canadian Grand Prix

Formula 1 returns to Canada for the first time in three years, and it couldn’t come at a better time for Ferrari, whose championship challenge is in a skid that is sliding out of control.

The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has been a happy race track for Ferrari, as the red team crossing the line first in each of the last two races. After the disaster in Azerbaijan, you can imagine the red horses will be hoping that winning streak continues.

But what are the other storylines ahead of this weeks race? What do the drivers think?Coming off another win, Oracle Red Bull racing’s Max Verstappen is looking to extend his points lead for the championship. This weekend is Max’s 150th Grand Prix start since making his debut as a 17-year-old in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.  He holds the records for F1’s youngest starter, youngest point scorer, youngest race leader, youngest podium finisher, youngest race winner and youngest to set a fastest lap, all of which he achieved while still a teenager.  Now aged 24, Max is the youngest to reach 25 wins in F1 history.

“We haven’t been to Montreal for a while so it’s exciting to go back and see how the track is, it has quite a unique layout and it will be interesting to see what the surface is like, hopefully our car will work well this weekend. I always look forward to going to Montreal, it’s a really beautiful city and arriving off the back of a 1-2 in Baku, it would be great to leave Canada with the same result. It is of course great that we are ahead in the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships but there’s still a long way to go, we need to keep pushing as a Team and maximize point scoring as much as possible."

Checo is on the best run of his career right now, with his five finishes in the top two this year being as many as he achieved in his previous 11 seasons in F1 combined. The Mexican currently has the longest streak of top four finishes – seven in a row.

“We’re going to Canada at a great moment for the Team. Scoring maximum points in Baku was a brilliant result for us all and keeps us in the fight for both titles. For me it was a frustrating day in parts but when you have a disappointing day and still come second and get fastest lap you can’t  say it’s too bad! This car is really performing on the street circuits so we are confident we can put together another strong performance this weekend and keep the momentum going at the top. I am going to spend some time understanding the race in Baku more with my engineers so that I can get the most this weekend. It’s nice to be back in Canada, it’s a circuit I enjoy driving and taking a car to it which is so competitive is going to be fun."

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 18: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 in the wet during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 18, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202206180739 // Usage for editorial use only //

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 18: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 in the wet during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 18, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202206180511 // Usage for editorial use only //

The Red Bull drivers are currently 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship for the first time in 11 years, when Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber led the way following the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix and they lead in the Constructor’s Championship as well. Max and Checo have finished 1-2 at three of the last five races, and in the process have scored 210 of a possible 220 points. Does that trend continue this Sunday in Canada? It definitely helps when Vertappen is sitting on the pole, however, Perez struggled in Q2 crashing into the wall. Let’s see how the strategy team gets Perez up front tomorrow.

The troubles for Ferrari continue to mount as Charles Leclerc will join AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda at the back of the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix grid after LeClerc took on a host of new power unit elements. Beyond that fact that LeClerc received a 10-place grid penalty, LeClerc failed to get out of Q2 and will for sure start in the very back.

It was determined Friday after the practice session that Leclerc would take a new control electronics on his F1-75, following his power unit being declared “beyond repair” by Ferrari, after Leclerc retired from the lead of last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix resulting in a 10-place grid drop this Sunday.

Seats in an F1 machine are limited and with younger drivers always trying to take a seat away, current drivers need to perform at a top level to convince the teams to stick with them. For Pierre Gasly and AlphaTauri, his performance last and this present season have done enough for AlphaTauri boss Franz Toast to come out and say the Gasly is “100% driving for AlphaTauri next season."

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 09: Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri walks in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on June 09, 2022 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202206090255 // Usage for editorial use only //

“I went back home from Baku with Max and, as he won the race, it was a pretty entertaining flight! I was extremely happy with our Baku weekend – P6 on the grid, P5 in the race. It was a perfect weekend, with great strategy and pit stops, an excellent start and good speed. I was very happy for the whole team, as we had not enjoyed much luck in recent races. It was tough, but we stuck together and kept working and it finally paid off. I feel we have kicked off our season properly now. Canada is another street circuit and I think that this year, the Montreal circuit will be really challenging, especially with these new cars that are very stiff, much more so than their predecessors.""The big curbs and the high speeds will be a real test as will the final corner and the famous Wall of Champions," continued Gasly.  “We will have to avoid the curbs a lot more, whereas in the past you needed to ride over them to do a quick lap. Although it’s another street circuit like the last two races, it’s a much faster layout with quicker corners. On paper that suggests it might be a bit more complicated for our car, so it means we must make sure we arrive fully prepared and are able to get everything out of the package we have. Operationally, the team must be on top of its game if we want to get the results the car is capable of delivering, as we saw in Baku.”The growing amount of drivers complaining about bouncing cars has grown to such a high level that the F1 governing body issued a new directive for cars in hopes to settle the issue down.

For Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, it seems those changes have not worked.

‘It was a disaster’ – Hamilton said about his Mercedes W13 ‘getting worse’ after experimental practice Friday in Montreal.

Hamilton finished Free Practice 1 in P8 – where he ran an experimental floor with a large cut in it on his W13, as Mercedes look to try and control their porpoising and bouncing issues – but was then a disappointing P13 in the FP2, nearly 1.3s off the pace of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

“Nothing we do generally to this car seems to work so we’re trying different set-ups," said Hamilton. “Me and George (Russell) went with much different set-ups in this P2 just to see if one way works and one way doesn’t. I’ll wait to hear how it felt for him but for me it was a disaster. It’s like the car’s getting worse, it’s getting more and more unhappy the more we do to it. I don’t know, we’ll keep working on it, it is what it is. I think this is the car for the year, so we’ll just have to tough it out, and work hard on building a better car for next year.”

So what happens in the race Sunday? All eyes will be on Canada.Qualifying Summary:

• Verstappen takes pole for the Canadian GP
• Alonso lines up second with Sainz in third
• Bottas, Albon, Perez, Norris and Leclerc out in Q2
• Gasly, Vettel, Stroll, Latifi and Tsunoda out in Q1
• Leclerc to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid due to engine change

Final 10 Qualifying Positions:

1. Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Alonso, Alpine
3. Sainz, Ferrari
4. Hamilton, Mercedes
5. Magnussen, Haas
6. Schumacher, Haas
7. Ocon, Alpine
8. Russell, Mercedes
9. Ricciardo, McLaren
10. Zhou, Alfa Romeo