McLaren was a class apart in Monaco, leaving all but
Felipe Massa a lap behind, but CEO Martin Whitmarsh is sure that there will be no repeat in Montreal.
"The Canadian Grand Prix is a very different event to the Monaco race," he reasons, "We go from the slowest, tightest track, packed with corners, on the calendar to a circuit that is all about long periods of power and braking. The MP4-22 performed incredibly well in Monte Carlo but, as the track conditions are poles apart, we are not going to Montreal with the same expectations. We go aiming to fight for the victory and to maintain our positions at the top of both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships, but we are realistic about the potential to dominate."
Alonso holds provisional top spot in the standings on a tie-breaker determined by race wins, and heads to Canada in positive frame of mind - no doubt helped by the fact that the team backed him in Monaco, both with a lighter fuel load in qualifying and by calling off the aggressive Hamilton in the race.
"We have great momentum in the team after such a fantastic result in Monaco, which is a positive way to be going into the North American double-header," the Spaniard says, "There has been no opportunity to test since Monaco, but the team has been pushing hard off track to keep the momentum going. We have some new packages on the car for Montreal, and we are all pushing hard to attack and fight for more race victories. It is a good circuit to race on as there are a number of places you can overtake, which makes it more exciting for the drivers, teams and fans."
Hamilton may have looked a little disgruntled on the Monaco podium, and has probably learned the lesson about speaking his mind after a disappointing race, but is back on true PR form when it came to looking forward to another new venue.
