Nico Hülkenberg will be looking for a return to the points this weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after gearbox issues denied him a top ten finish in Monaco, but the German is excited to be returning to one of his favourite venues on the calendar.
The Renault Sport Formula 1 Team racer enjoys the flow of the Canadian race track, even if it is lined with unforgiving concrete walls that punish mistakes, though he knows that braking will be an important factor due to the heavy braking zones that follow high speed sections.
“Canada is a great Grand Prix weekend, I love the circuit, I love the city and I love the atmosphere,” said Hülkenberg. “The circuit is a combination of a street circuit and a race track.
“There are big walls on the exit with nice kerbs you have to ride. It is a track with a really nice flow so I enjoy it very much. The week in Montréal is always one of the best of the year.
“Canada has a lot of focus on top speed, with a couple of straights combined with hard braking zones. It is one of the toughest tracks for brakes. You need confidence from the anchors, especially when you are trying to go deep into the corners.
“The final chicane can always be a tricky one as you can lose a lot of time there. It can be difficult as Canada is all about high speed, the low downforce configuration always makes the car feel light. Kerbs are important, you need to ride them well if you can and use them to ensure a good lap time.”
Hülkenberg knows that final chicane offers the best chance of overtaking around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, providing everyone can stay away from the fabled Wall of Champions, but the German is expecting some aggressive strategy calls to be made this weekend.
“It’s hard to overtake there, but the final chicane is definitely the best opportunity,” said Hülkenberg. “You have to try and stay out of the ‘Wall of Champions’, though!
“The tyre choices are at the softer end of the range, so there will be some aggressive strategies, we will see what we can do.
“Mixed weather conditions make things interesting and spices things up, but I don’t have any strong preference to weather, we will take it as it comes. Canada usually throws up some surprises.”
