For Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix du Canada, the chosen compounds are C3 hard, C4 as medium and C5 soft. The Gilles Villeneuve circuit is a 4,361 km semi-permanent track built on the artificial island of Notre Dame in the city of Montreal. The rink is usually available to Montrealers and tourists, who use it for cycling, roller skating and walking.
Canadian GP, all ready
The first edition of the Canadian Grand Prix held on this track dates back to 1978 with the success of Gilles Villeneuve. The track was named in memory of the Canadian driver a few weeks after his tragic death in 1982. The track, made up of six left and eight right corners, it will be raced 70 times. Although there are also three straights, one of which is very long, the average speed is relatively low. The cause is linked to the frequent changes of direction due to the curves that are very close to each other which require continuous braking.
The compounds chosen by Pirelli
The softer compound is usually only used in qualifying. As seen last year, when only Medium and Hard were used in the race. The strategy preferred by the majority of pilots was the two-stop strategy. Be careful, however, the single stop hypothesis had its admirers, choosing to run a very long initial stint with the Hard, especially by those who started from the back. The average time lost for a pitstop last year was just 18,5 seconds despite over 400 meters of pitlane. In order to stop in the pits, the drivers cut the last chicane and skip the first corner, given that the pit exit is already in turn 2.
Isola: “In Canada we expect a spectacular race”
Presenting the Canadian GP is the head of Pirelli's motorsport area Mario Isola. “The GP of Canada is one of the races most spectacular in calendarso. We are talking about a GP full of episodes and surprises thanks to a track that offers good overtaking possibilities and does not forgive mistakes. As often happens for this type of track, we have decided to make the three softest compounds in the range available to the teams, namely the C3, the C4 and the C5, thus confirming last season's choice."
“Hard and medium will be the most used in the race”
“Of the three, it is likely to be expected that the use of the C5 will be concentrated in qualifying while the C4 and C3 will be favored for the race. The asphalt is quite smooth. As it is a semi-permanent street circuit that is very rarely used for motor racing, it is subject to a very marked evolution in terms of grip over the weekend. On a track without high-speed corners, the determining factors are traction when exiting slow corners, stability when braking and agility when changing direction. Another important element to take into consideration are weather conditions, which can change quickly: not only in terms of dry or wet track but also in terms of temperature fluctuations, just remember the 2022 edition when in qualifying the asphalt temperature was 17 °C while in the race it reached 40 °C!”
SOURCE: Pirelli F1 Media
