Traling Ferrari by 15 points, Mercedes had to North America for the Canadian GP making no secret of their aim to catch up. The German outfit make haste to resolve the issues that were revealed during their European tripleheader campaign.
Mercedes Aim To Bounce Back at the Canadian GP After a Toppled Tripleheader
After impressive performances in the early rounds, the Silver Arrows headed to the European stages with the hopes of solidifying their place as the second-fastest team after McLaren.
However, they did not meet their expectations.
Mercedes scored only 18 points across the three European races in Italy, Monaco and Spain. To make matters worse, those points haul meant they conceded their second place in the championship standings to Ferrari.
Reliability issues with car hindered their quest for more points at that period. For instance, Kimi Antonelli retired at his home race in Imola due to a throttle damper assembly issue. In Spain, a power unit failure prevented him from resuming the race.
As for his experienced teammate George Russell, with how qualifying position determines the outcome of the Monaco race weekend, a wiring loom issue forced him to settle for 14th.
As Antonelli will experience his first-ever Canadian GP, this provides another challenge for the Italian to conquer.
However, Mercedes are optimistic that they will rise from their recent debacles heading to Canada.
The temperature and nature of the track may favour them this time, as remarked by technical director James Allison, especially with their qualification on the front row on their previous 11 outings:
“Well, that may come towards us, of course, if it is cooler.
“But I think that more important than the absolute temperature is just the different nature of the challenge in Montreal. Big braking circuit, a circuit where it’s relatively harder to get the front and rear axle at the right temperature relative to one another.
“And it’s a track where we’ve tended to find our feet relatively well in the past. So I’m looking forward to it. We’ve got one or two new bits to take with us and we’ll see how we get on.” – James Allison, Mercedes’ technical director.
Track Layout
Located in Montreal, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is known for its rapid but low-downforce characteristics.
Balanced with low-speed corners, the 4.63 km layout includes two long straights and plenty of heavy-braking chicanes. This combination requires a medium-to-low downforce setup to optimise braking performance and top speeds.
The barrier outside of Turn 14 (the final corner) is a tough feature to tackle, as it is the infamous “Wall of Champions“. It was named after numerous World Champions, including the likes of Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher crashed into it.
READ MORE: F1: History of the Canadian Grand Prix
Weather Forecast
The changeable weather in Montreal reduces confidence of the forecast. According to some reports, it is expected to be dry and sunny for the first part of the weekend. However, other reports say that the area is expected to be under cooler temperatures.
Despite eight of the last 25 Grands Prix at this circuit being held in wet weather conditions, the likelihood of rain is forecasted to be low this season. The probability of rain drops to around 20% heading into qualifying and race, which will have minimal impact on the upcoming action.
Possible Strategies
The softest trio of tyre compounds, C4(Hard), C5 (Medium) and C6 (Soft), will be used once again. This marks their third appearance after Imola and Monaco.
Graining may also occur during Friday’s Free Practice sessions. Although, as the track rubbers in, it brings little to no influence on the performance.
The track’s unpredictable weather and smooth surface may see Mercedes opting for a two-stopper. Mediums and Hards are usually a popular choice here, particularly with how it was executed in last year’s Canadian GP.
At that time, Russell was untangled in a split strategy with former teammate Lewis Hamilton. Both were initially on Medium compounds, only Russell was later placed on Hards. The team was making the best use of their tyre allocation and avoiding possible graining issues.
Regardless, that strategy did wonders. George Russell delivered a stunning drive, as the polesitter was leading at the early laps. That was before a charging Lando Norris took over and snatched the win from him, with Max Verstappen behind.
The younger Mercedes driver remained steadfast and clinched Mercedes’ first podium of the season in P3.
Given the total of 36 Safety Car deployments in Canadian GP history, there may also be a chance of a Safety Car period for this year, should this race be held under slippery conditions.
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Action Plus
Recording Date: 25.05.2025
