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Mike Coughlan:
The track is quite challenging with high speed straights and tight slow
corners, which makes it very hard on brakes. Montreal has the lowest pit
loss time of the year, at 15.9 seconds, which typically favours higher
stop strategies, however there is a relatively high chance of getting a
safety car around here. The track roughness is the lowest of the season
and coupled with low tyre energy this can lead to a high tendency
towards tyre graining. Weather is also a factor here as the low
temperatures can cause trouble for the tyres due to the circuit layout
and rain is always a threat. We had a difficult weekend in Monaco, but
we did find a good direction for development which we will be carrying
through to Canada with a number of new parts. There is still a lot of
work to do, but we are confident that everyone in the team is pushing
hard to get us back to where we need to be.
Pastor Maldonado:
Montreal is definitely one of the most challenging tracks, especially
when it rains as the downpours can be quite heavy. Obviously this causes
changes to the strategy regarding pit stops and tyres. It also makes
life much more challenging on the track because there are certain places
where puddles form. In the past there has been a high frequency of
safety cars during the race as well which will again affect race
strategy. The track itself starts off very dirty on Friday because it’s
only used once a year and it isn’t really until the Saturday qualifying
session that more grip can be found after we have had a chance to lay
down more rubber. It’s interesting to drive on a track that changes so
much as the weekend unfolds and the layout feels a bit like a street
circuit which gets the adrenaline pumping. The whole city comes alive
during the week of the Grand Prix and the atmosphere is one of the best
all year so I really enjoy visiting Canada.
Valtteri Bottas:
This will be my first time driving at Montreal and I’m looking forward
to the challenge. It’s similar to the last race in Monaco in some
respects, being a street circuit with a number of the corners and
straights very close to the walls. The challenge is therefore to quickly
find the cars limit and use as much of the circuit as you can, without
taking too many risks. I’m particularly looking forward to the last
corner, the wall of champions, which is very iconic. As this is my first
time driving the track, Friday morning is going to be important to get
the right car setup. There are long straights on this circuit so good
traction is needed out of the slow speed chicanes, and you also need
really good straight line speed, especially in the race. If you have
better straight line speed than your competitors, the racing will be
much easier for you to defend and overtake so we need to find a good
compromise between downforce and drag.
Rémi Taffin, Head of Renault Sport F1 Track Operations:
The circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has the quickest single lap time of the
season, taking just 75 seconds on average. This is due in part to the
relatively short length, but also to the long straights of the Circuit
Gilles-Villeneuve. The straights are connected by tight hairpins where
the cars brake down to a little under 60kph, so the RS27 must combine
good top end power with effective engine braking and pick up on the
entry and exits to the corners so acceleration is not compromised down
the straights.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director:
We’ll be bringing the P Zero White medium and P Zero Red supersoft tyres
to Canada. Both of them have a low working range so they should be
well-suited to the likely temperatures and track conditions we will
encounter in Montreal. On top of that, we are bringing two sets per car
of a prototype medium compound tyre, which the drivers will be able to
use in free practice on Friday only. Canada has always been one of the
toughest circuits of the year for the tyres as there is a lot of
traction and braking, while the cars also tend to run low downforce,
meaning that the emphasis is on mechanical rather than aerodynamic grip.
Historically there’s often been uncertain weather in Canada too, which
means that we might see the Cinturato Green intermediate and Cinturato
Blue wet tyres out again. There’s usually a big degree of track
evolution over the course of the weekend, as the circuit is not used
much outside of the grand prix. This makes a big difference: as more
rubber gets put onto the track, there’s more grip, so lap times – along
with tyre wear and degradation – come down.
Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 15:30
Saturday:
Practice 3: 10:00 - 11:00
Qualifying: 13:00 – 14:00
Sunday: Race: 14:00
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