After a weekend off, the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship is back this weekend with the usually “spectacular” Canadian Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen will be looking to repeat his victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from last season.
With F1 bosses having confirmed that this weekend won’t be cancelled following forest fires in Montreal, the entire grid is preparing for what is more often than not an exciting weekend, due to there being no room for error. A mistake at the Canadian GP will result in a driver ending up in a wall, due to how little runoff there is.
One of the reasons why the action is so thrilling is because Pirelli usually take the softest compounds from their range, with this weekend being no different. The Italian manufacturer are taking the C3, C4, and C5 compounds for the eighth Grand Prix of the season, which consists of seventy laps. Usually, the Soft tyre only appears during qualifying in Canada, mainly because a one-stop is possible during the race, using the Medium and Hard compounds.
A two-stop is often more preferred by the drivers though, meaning strategy could come into play on Sunday. Despite the long back straight, average speeds at the Canadian venue are normally fairly low, due to the numerous low-speed corners.
Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Mario Isola is as always in Canada expecting the C5 not to appear on Sunday, whilst high track evolution is a guarantee.
“The Canadian Grand Prix is traditionally one of the most spectacular on the calendar, packed with incidents and surprises thanks to a track that offers plenty of overtaking opportunities but doesn’t take any prisoners. As is often the case for this type of circuit, we’ve brought the three softest tyres in the range – C3, C4, and C5 – just like last year.
“We expect the C5 to be used mainly for qualifying, while the C4 and C3 are set to be favoured for the race. The asphalt is fairly smooth with this semi-permanent street circuit not extensively used, meaning that we’re likely to see a high degree of track evolution over the weekend. On a track with no high-speed corners, the key factors are traction coming out of slow turns, stability under braking, and agility when changing direction.
“Another important element to consider is the weather. Conditions can change quickly, not just from wet to dry, but also with marked fluctuations in temperature. The asphalt temperature during last year’s qualifying was 17 degrees, while in the race it reached 40 degrees.”
