We have had two weeks of discourse, debates, arguments, analysis but now we move on to the next part of the 2025 season at Montreal. The whole fiasco after the safety car last race weekend has put a sizeable dent in Verstappen’s championship challenge. He has almost a 50-point deficit to Oscar now. Similar deficits have been overcome before, but with the takedown only making a cosmetic difference, RBR updates not bridging the gap that much and this being the last year before the new regulations, we might see Max lose the #1 beside his name.
The two papaya drivers though are doing their best to keep this season from becoming a total snoozefest. With the gap between them being only 10 points, we can expect their battle to get fierier as the season goes on.
The Track
This whole circuit is basically high-speed straights followed by chicanes. It is quite different from Spain, where you get long turns with wide runoffs. Here the walls are very close in and small mistakes can lead to ending your race. Cars typically prefer a strong front and a low downforce setup. The run to the turn 1 is very short and the first turn immediately leads to the second, this creates a lot of overtaking chances, both on the opening lap and during the rest of the race too. The other overtaking zone is the turn 10 hairpin; a good exit there also creates strong chances to overtake on the following straight.
It is very smooth track and the wear is extremely low, most of the deg comes from the heavy braking at the end of the long straights. Pirelli, like Imola and Monaco will bring the softest compounds here. The F1 Grand Prix is the only time when this track is raced on. For the rest of the year, it is mostly used for cycling and walking. This means that the track keeps getting faster throughout the sessions as the cars lay the rubber down. The times keep down tumbling, throwing a little bit of jeopardy that can lead to some entertaining upsets.
The weather here is a crucial element to consider while strategizing. The colder temperatures are bot ideal for bringing the tires up to temperature. It is mostly a wet race, with sudden showers coming throughout. This year though, the chances of rain are pretty low. Expect a dry weekend with a bit of overcast conditions. Next year, Canada GP is going to be held in May and it is expected to have plenty of rain.
Team Upgrades
Ferrari and Red Bull Racing have brought no upgrades to this track. Williams, Haas and Sauber too have followed the suit and have declared no upgrades. While Aston and Alpine have come up with minor circuit specific upgrade.
McLaren is making some notable changes this weekend, with updates to both the wings and front suspension. They’ll be running a revised medium downforce rear wing that’s designed to be more efficient across a range of circuits. Up front, the wing features a new geometry, and interestingly, the endplates now include a design element they’re calling “Mermaid Tails.” While many expected the front wing upgrade to debut in Spain following the recent takedown, it’s arrived a race later here in Montreal.
Mercedes is the only other team to bring any significant changes. They have a made a circuit specific change to the brake duct that is meant to help with the heavy braking that this track demands. The upgrade to the floor edge intends to increase the air flow under the floor for better downforce.
What to watch out for?
Groundhogs. Those cute furry little rodents have been a part of the race weekends since forever. They are the
unofficial mascot of the Canadian GP. Even the drivers keep an eye out for them as they often like coming out on track to watch the spectacle closely (who wouldn’t?). Their excursions on the track unfortunately sometimes lead to their demise. Efforts to deter them have been made but it is HARD to stop the motorsport’s biggest fans from getting a piece of the action.
Now among the F1 paddock, we will like to see what the silver arrows have cooked up for this weekend. They have been bogged down by their PU troubles recently but this is a track they have performed well in the past.
McLaren’s “mermaid tails” will have everyone’s eyes on it. “Is it going to ease up the troubles Lando is having with the car?” “Will they outshine the other teams even more?” questions like these are being heard throughout the community. As the top team so far, they will have the spotlight on them this weekend too.
Ferrari in spite of their mess ups every weekend have managed to reach second position in the constructors. Last weekend Charles’ podium was marred by the fact that before the SC he was ~10 secs behind Verstappen; who was doing a three stopper. Hamilton too had a disappointing race and which got worse when Nico’s Sauber overtook him. Engineers post-race found out that his car had an issue, which can explain his lack of pace.
Verstappen has won the last 3 editions of this race but things have not been going his way lately. If RBR manage put the car in its operating window, he would have a decent chance of win considering this is a low deg circuit.
Williams after the forgettable weekend they had predicted they would have, would like to reclaim their position as the leaders of the midfield.
