We’re in Canada!

Montreal’s F1 circuit is somewhat similar to the Baku street circuit, rewarding high straight line speeds and good traction due to the prevalence of straights punctuated by slow/medium speed corners. Teams would be tempted to run lower downforce in order to maximize speeds on the straights; however this would jeopardize their cornering performance, which means that teams need to find the balance!

This race is also the first race at which we can actually judge the performance of the “Hypersoft” tyre. This tyre was introduced at the Monaco Grand Prix, but its life was irrelevant, as passing proved to be so difficult at the street circuit, and track position made all the difference – not tyre life.

Since the circuit is so similar to Baku in terms of its layout, Ferrari will be confident coming into Canada, as they were the pacesetters at that particular race. However, it’s no secret that Lewis Hamilton loves the circuit – having won there 6 times in what was not always the fastest car on the track. Conditions look set to be dry throughout the weekend, so it doesn’t look like there will be any unexpected heroics in the rain from any dark horse drivers or teams.

Below are the tyre selections for all drivers this weekend. Each driver can use a total of 13 sets of tyres over the course of the weekend, and it seems like Mercedes knows something that the other teams don’t – but we will only know after lights out on Sunday!

Our pick: as usual, we’re torn between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for this race. Vettel arguably has a car better suited to the track, though Hamilton has an almost perfect track record at the circuit (having either won or finished on the podium every time he’s finished a race in Canada)

Here are the odds at Betway for the winner of the race (of the major contenders):

Hamilton : 2.30

Vettel : 2.35

Our verdict: It’s extremely close at the front, perhaps wait until the end of practice before placing any bets!

*Odds may fluctuate from the date of publication*