The grid for the F1 Canadian GP is set, and we have the Mercedes pair at the front of the grid. George Russell will be starting the race from pole position and will have Kimi Antonelli right alongside him on the front row.
On the second row, we have the McLaren pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, followed by Lewis Hamilton in P5. There are rumors of rain potentially making an appearance during the F1 Canadian GP and playing a role, but on a race weekend where there have already been a lot of talking points, what can we expect from the main event on Sunday? Let’s take a look.
#5 If it rains, it’s going to be complete chaos
If we listen to what drivers who have experienced wet-weather running in these cars have to say, then there’s a lot of doom and gloom surrounding what’s going to happen. Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen have expressed concern over how these cars will fare in those conditions, as the electric component certainly complicates things.
With the F1 Canadian GP having a street-track layout, errors are costly, and that will only further complicate the situation.
If we end up with a wet race, stay tuned for quite a few stoppages and crashes as chaos ensues.
#4 The Ferrari-powered power units will rise to the top
One very small indicator that we’ve had so far in terms of wet-weather running has been the characteristic of getting the tires up to temperature quickly. For power units with smaller turbos, this is an added benefit, and we’ve seen Ferraris having the ability to get the tires up to temperature much quicker in China.
If the F1 Canadian GP ends up being wet, we’re potentially looking at a scenario where the Ferrari-powered cars could potentially have an advantage early in a stint.
#3 The race will not feature much on-track action, similar to the sprint
Irrespective of the track staying dry or it being a wet race, the F1 Canadian GP layout is not too conducive to racing with this specification of cars. The overtakes are made on the start-finish straight or the long straight before the Wall of Champions.
On both of those occasions, you need a bigger delta in terms of performance that comes from the overtake boost.
As we saw in the sprint, even when the cars are within 4-5 tenths of each other at the start of the straight, they are unable to pull off overtakes by the end of it, which is a harbinger of what’s coming in terms of a reduction in on-track action in the upcoming races.
#2 All top 4 teams are in the battle for the podium
In terms of which teams are potentially in contention for a podium at the F1 Canadian GP, it’s highly likely that Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari drivers are going to be in contention. The sprint showed that the pace ebbed and flowed a little early on, but once it settled down, the gap wasn’t massive.
That’s exactly where the ability to put together the right strategy comes in handy, and we could see the pit-stop timings alone change the complexion of how a race would go.
It does appear that overtaking is going to be a tough ordeal for these cars, and hence track position is king. The team that nails it will eventually come out on top, and you cannot rule out any of the top eight for the podium.
#1 George Russell wins the F1 Canadian GP
In terms of winning the race, it does appear that Mercedes is the car that is fundamentally the fastest. However, we can’t rule out McLaren either at this point, as Lando was quite impressive in the sprint.
With rain potentially on the horizon, out-and-out speed is maybe not going to get you the win, and there is going to be a measure of calm needed to make the right calls.
Kimi Antonelli might just be the fastest package at the F1 Canadian GP, but if we are making the play for the smartest, it’s probably going to be George Russell, and hence we’re backing the Brit to pick up his second win of the season.
Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli
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