The Monaco Grand Prix provided many thrills and spills. Lewis Hamilton had a win ripped away from him in the dying laps of the race, a crash from young Max Verstappen and an unusually poor performance from the Williams team. But with Monaco being such a unique circuit in terms of the layout, Canada provides a much more of a different challenge. Here are five things to expect at the 2015 Canadian Grand Prix.
1. Ferrari were rumoured to be bringing new engine upgrades to the Canadian Grand Prix, the first team set to use their spare power unit tokens. With the Montreal circuit layout benefiting those with straightline speed and horsepower, it seems like the best place to try out any new power unit upgrades. This would also benefit the Sauber team, who use the 2015 Ferrari power unit. Whether Ferrari do bring these upgrades or wait until Austria and beyond is another story.
2. Williams had a poor showing on the Monte Carlo streets and for the first time in 25 races didn’t score points at all. This by all accounts is still an astonishing turn around from their performances prior to 2014. The Monaco Grand Prix put on show Williams’ weakness in their car’s performance which is downforce at low speed. Without it, they just weren’t fast enough. The Montreal circuit, on the other hand, provides Williams with a circuit that will get the best out of the FW37; straightline speed seems to a strong-suit of the car’s design of late.
3. McLaren put on a great display in Monaco after some disappointing early season performances, but both cars during the race were solidly in the points before Fernando Alonso’s car packed up with what appeared to be gearbox faliure. Unfortunately, Canada is a circuit which won’t play to the team’s strengths; the Montreal Circuit demands horsepower and with the Honda power unit still being held back on reliability concerns, McLaren shouldn’t expect to make Q3 or fight for points, but with Honda’s rapid development they could yet surprise.
4. The midfield teams in 2015 seem closer than ever; Lotus, Force India, Toro Rosso, Sauber, McLaren and even Red Bull will find themselves fighting for spots in Q3 and scraps of points come next Sunday. The short lap around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will test these teams to the maximum as to who is more hungry for those precious points.
5. Lastly, I couldn’t finish without talking about the calamities over the ill-fated pit stop at Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton had a race win taken away from him in Monte Carlo, a race at which he so desperately wanted to take a second win. Heading to Canada, the scene of Lewis’ first win in 2007, he has won this race a further two times since. Lewis has developed massive maturity over the past few years and showed that and then some in his post race talks with the media. “I’m the world champion, I will behave like one” he said to Martin Brundle during the podium interviews.
Lewis loves the Montreal circuit. It suits his attacking style, love of riding the kerbs and getting millimetres away fron the unforgiving walls. He will no doubt come back stronger than ever. If I were Nico Rosberg coming into this race, I’d still be elated over back-to-back victories, but also looking over my shoulder at a fast and furious Lewis Hamilton ready to fight back once more.
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