by Ollie Barstow
Situated on an idyllic island, surrounded by water and traditionally excruciatingly hard on both man and machine, the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal may be beautiful but comes with a sting in its tail, waiting for both the teams and drivers that make the annual jaunt to Canada.
Indeed, the circuit is unlike any other on the calendar. Its historic Monaco-style walls have been dangerously kissed by many a famous name, yet the high-speed layout has all the hallmarks of the
Silverstone circuit the
F1 circus is arriving from.
Canada rarely throws up a race no less than eventful and after a few rather muted encounters, the trip to North America and the popular circuit always promises to revive some of that old passion for wheel-to-wheel racing.
Part of the circuit’s appeal over the years has been the unfamiliarly high attrition rate that has allowed less fancied names into the reckoning, not least because of its tendency push engines to the limit, brakes to destruction and lure drivers into its walls. Indeed, if any circuit can expose a fault, it is certainly this one.
One of those who has overstepped the thin line between inch-perfect and suspension failure has indeed been championship leader and the seemingly unflappable
Fernando Alonso.
Although his collision last year was slight, it was enough to force Alonso into retirement and while rivals will be hoping that he again proves he is human by making another mistake this year, the Spaniard will be looking to extend an already favourable record there.
Michael Schumacher is also another to had an altercation with ’Champions Wall’ but Canada remains a happy hunting ground for
Ferrari and with that lead increasing all the time, the German is determined to make some headway as the season heads across the pond.
Elsewhere, a revived
Kimi Raikkonen will be hoping to repeat his win from 2005, while newly re-signed
Giancarlo Fisichella is also hoping his excellent record in Canada will see him out in front again as he was last year before his
Renault cried enough.
FIA F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS:
Hitting the headlines in the week leading up to the Canadian Grand Prix were Renault who ended speculation over Giancarlo Fisichella’s future by deciding to retain him for one more season.
