Preview: Canadian GP
The Canadian Grand Prix featuring high top end speeds thanks to its long straight follows the slowest circuit of the season. Combined with its rather short length, it's also the shortest lap of the season for an F1 car, going round in approximately 75 seconds.
The straights are linked by tight hairpins where the cars brake down to a little under 60km/h so the challenge is to combine this strong top-end power with effective engine braking and pick up on the entry and exits to the slow speed corners. Allied to this, the two hairpins and the chicane mean the internals are intensely loaded three times a lap and then stressed further under the acceleration forces, leading Montréal to be called an engine breaker in the past. This shifts emphasis towards good acceleration and high top speed.
This heavy braking and then acceleration leads to the race starting fuel load being one of the highest of the season, along with Abu Dhabi and Australia, although this will be governed to a certain extent by race strategy and the weather, which looks like it will be just as changeable this year.
Another point of great interest is likely the new tyres that Pirelli is bringing. Set to be introduced at Silverstone for the race, the Italian tyre maker will provide 2 types of the new tyres for teams to test on Friday. Even though changes are as minimal as possible, a new belt is set to resolve the tyre delamination that has plagued several drivers since the beginning of the season. The compounds remain the same as changes are only targeted at resolving the safety issue.
The first Canadian Grand Prix was staged in 1967. 33 of the 43 races in the country have been hosted by the city of Montreal. The circuit is named after the late great Gilles Villeneuve, the Canadian who made Formula One popular in his country. His son Jacques later went on to become world champion in Formula One in 1997.
Circuit highlights
Turns 1 & 2 The lap starts on the short pit straight where speeds peak at over 300km/h at the end of the straight before the driver shifts down to third gear to take the first corner, a left hander, at approx 120km/h. T1 is the start of a spoon-profiled corner that demands a progressive smooth engine setting throughout. Engine revs will be at approx 11,000rpm for five seconds through this turn, the longest consistently low rev setting of the lap.
Turns 3 & 4 A fast right-left chicane, where the drivers need to ride the kerbs for the quickest line.
Turns 6 & 7 Another chicane; this time left-right and much lower speed than the first, with the drivers needing to ride the kerbs once again for the fastest route.
Turn 8 A 300km/h+ straight leads into a third chicane – right-left once more – which requires quick direction change and good kerb riding capabilities from the car.
Turn 10 This is the most demanding turn for the brakes as cars reduce their speeds from about 290km/h to 65km/h. Brembo calculates 5.25g deceleration, 141kg pedal load and a total braking time of 2.6 seconds. During that time, more than 2100kW is dissipated through the brakes.
Turn 13 The fastest section of the track, with maximum speeds of around 330km/h followed by heavy braking and a need to ride the kerbs heavily through the chicane. The exit of the second part of the chicane is bordered by the famous ‘Wall of Champions’ which has caught out many championship winning drivers over the years.
Car setup
Rear Wing A different family of rear wing is unleashed for Montréal as the layout requires a low to medium downforce package; somewhat removed from the higher downforce configurations of previous circuits so far this year.
Front Wing As with the rear wing, lower downforce is required than at previous venues as part of the low to medium downforce package.
Suspension The track layout requires a compromise between running the car as soft as you dare to be able to ride the kerbs, whilst maintaining quick change of direction through the many chicanes.
Brakes The demands on brakes are far higher here than at any other track, and a lot of Friday running will be dedicated to monitoring brake temperatures in order to evaluate and simulate race performance.
Engine It’s quite a harsh circuit for the engine, with long periods spent at full throttle accelerating out of the slow corners and along the straights. It is not a particularly severe layout for the gearbox however.
Tyres This will be the second race where we see the combination of medium and super soft Pirelli compounds; Australia being the first. The original, non-revised 2013 constructions will be used for the race while in the practice sessions we will have an opportunity to sample some development tyres; two sets per driver with a new rear construction. The track surface is smooth, though not as smooth as Monaco. There are relatively low energies going through the tyres, although the potential ambient temperature can range from 15°C to 35°C which affects performance.
Quick facts
Number of corners: 14 (6 left & 8 right)
Maximum speed (no DRS): 315 km/h
Minimum speed: 60 km/h
Corners below 100 km/h (qualifying): 3
Corners above 250 km/h (qualifying): 2
Average lap speed (qualifying): 205 km/h
Distance to from pole to apex of T1: 260m
Braking events: 6, 1 heavy
Pit-lane length under speed-limit control: 417m
Pit-lane time at 60 km/h: 25s
Pit-lane time at 100 km/h: 15s
Full throttle per lap (% lap distance): 72%
Full throttle per lap (% lap time): 59%
Longest period at full throttle: 13.5s
Average gear changes per race lap: 50 (3900/race)
Braking energy: high
