Track Torque: Canada can deliver

The Gilles Villeneuve circuit on the Ile Notre Dame in the St Lawrence river in Montreal is a mighty motoring Mecca and it can deliver some wonderful surprises.

I think this weekend will be one of them as the competition is hotting up for a really great challenge.

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Ferrari are on a role – their SF71-H car has already proved a winner and should definitely set the pace this weekend.

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have shown us what they are good for and bring out the best in each other.

Either driver is capable of a win and they will be going for it in Canada.

The Lewis Hamilton-Valtteri Bottas combination is also a good one and Montreal allows the W09 Mercs with their longer chassis to stretch their legs. They also could be winners.

Finally, my trio choice includes Red Bull Racing to equally be in the offing, with their RB14 Renault powered car.

Daniel Ricciardo is on top of his form after winning at Monaco while hungry ‘Mad’ Max Verstappen is currently the fastest driver in the world provided he keeps his car ‘on the island’.

So, with excitement at fever pitch, what are the big challenges that face the mighty gladiators.

I guess that the weather, tyres, and brakes would be three of the more important parameters that a team manager would have on his mind.

This track is notorious for brake wear as there are two long straights which have very low speed corners at the end of them, resulting in very high temperatures and wear.

Tyre choice here is also paramount and there could be a one, two or even three stop strategy adopted.

The weather is in the lap of the Gods and much depends on whether the weather is hot, cold or wet.

A clean or dirty track (washed by the rain) is another factor which affects wear rates and tyre choice.

All in all, I think we are in for a humdinger qualifying late on Saturday and for the race on Sunday.

Please check final TV times, which should be in the evening as Canada is about eight hours behind us.

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