Brawn anticipates challenging Canadian GP

Round seven of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship takes the Honda Racing F1 Team to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. The 70-lap race takes place at the 4.361km (2.710-mile) Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and is the only race on North American soil this year.

The track is located on the Ile Notre Dame, a man-made island in the St Lawrence River that was originally built to house the city’s Expo in 1967. The island subsequently staged the rowing competitions at the 1976 Olympics, before becoming the home of the Canadian Grand Prix in 1978.

The circuit consists of slow corners and six long straights, which encourage the teams to run their cars in low downforce trim. The longest of these straights is a one-kilometre dash between the hairpin at Turn 10 and the final chicane, at the end of which the cars reach a top speed of 324kph (201mph).

Arriving in Montreal, Team Principal Ross Brawn is fully aware that points in the Monaco GP will mean little on the Ile Notre Dame: “We were pleased with the pace and performance of the RA108 around Monaco last week and it was encouraging to score further points, particularly with Rubens for the first time this season. However Canada is a completely different challenge and the downforce levels required are medium to low, the opposite of Monaco.”

So what are Brawn’s expectations for the weekend?

“The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a big technical challenge, and with a combination of high-speed blasts, slow chicanes and hairpins, it can be very tough on the cars. Although I am pleased with the progress that the team has made over the last few races, we have been lacking the speed necessary to really maximise long straights, so it will be up to us to get the most from the performance that we have available in the car. I am expecting a more challenging weekend than in Monaco.”