 Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal) 2003 preview.
Story and photographs by Eileen Buckley.
This weekend, Formula 1 arrives at the fantastic venue of Montreal and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix. This large Anglo French city comes alive and puts out its best for the many F1 fans that visit each year. The race circuit is located on the periphery of a small island, Ile Notre Dame, that sits in the middle of the St. Lawrence River just a metro stop away from downtown Montreal. The island played host to the 1967 World's Fair and the 1976 Olympics, and their remnants are still visible. The eye-pleasing circuit winds around the space age Casino and the shimmering blue lakes of the island.
Because of the island's restrictive size and circuit layout, many aspects of typical F1 venues occur downtown in the streets in Montreal. Teams and sponsors set up station on cordoned-off blocks in the Crescent Street vicinity, with F1 drivers meandering through giving talks, signing autographs, and kicking off parties. There exists a wonderful aura about the place all weekend. This is one of the must-see races on the F1 calendar. The only downside to the entire weekend is the walk from the Ile Ste. Helene metro stop to the circuit (the only access point). A pedestrian traffic jam develops as several bottlenecks at the bridges catch out the large crowds. The slowness of this part of the journey can become nerve-wracking when the engines fly by as the session, at which you have not quite arrived, begins. The anticipation is palpable. You begin to glance a Ferrari or a Jordan through the trees below on the back part of the circuit, and then finally you arrive in the thick of it.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is aptly named for the Canadian F1 hero who did so well winning this track's inaugural race and his home GP in 1978 in the Ferrari 312T3. The circuit has carried his name since his tragic death at Zolder in 1982. A tribute to Gilles is painted on the circuit tarmac at the start/finish line: "Salut Gilles" (see image on the right).
The Montreal circuit is unfortunately one that offers little overtaking, but thankfully is not quite so processional as Monaco. There are two lengths of straight at the end of which a pass is possible, and there is always the possibility of someone getting it wrong at the Casino hairpin, especially since the widening of that area last year. Cars with superior horsepower tend to come out on top in Montreal, though good mechanical grip is essential too. The circuit is bumpy, so the nifty Renault rear axle optimised contact patch technology (developed with Michelin) should help Alonso and Trulli a bit. There are rumours that the new Ferrari is sporting a similar approach. Montreal is tough on brakes, though usually not tragically so of late. Keep an eye on the inner part of the wheels for the very cool red glow sure to be seen around the track.
Tyres have become the essential ingredient for success at most circuits since Michelin re-entered the sport, and Montreal is no different. But an oversupply of horsepower can make up for what the Michelin has been lacking, as Bridgestone has had the measure of them for two years running. However in 2001 we witnessed Ralf Schumacher take a simply stunning victory over brother Michael and former champion Mika Hakkinen, with a very special BMW engine that took its rivals by surprise. The track temperatures also rocketed for race day, and for that one season, Michelin had an advantage in the heat, quickly rectified by Bridgestone for 2002.
Don't let Montoya's pole in 2002 fool you about the performance of the Michelin race tyres at Montreal, or the decline in the performance of Williams since 2001. Bridgestone dominated the grid and the top finishing order. Montoya qualified on a very soft tyre that forced him into a two-stop losing strategy in 2002, which was the theme of the year for Williams.
Last season we saw the resurgence of Ferrari at Montreal, and Michael stole the show even if slightly down on horsepower, but on superior Bridgestones. There is always the possibility of rain in Montreal in June, and the current forecast shows something falling from the skies at some point during the weekend. Given the 40 days and 40 nights of it this part of the world has seen recently (Ed: Eileen is based in the USA), wet weather must be a consideration. Michelin have yet to come up with a tyre to match Bridgestone's excellent intermediate, so Bridgestone runners will have the edge if there is rain.
One thing that throws the tyre issue into a quagmire is the new Saturday qualifying fuel regulation. Montreal has typically been a one-stop race (if you want to win, that is). The new qualifying rules make Montreal a two-stop race now, and that opens up tyre compound possibilities and fuel strategies that leave the head spinning in post-race analysis. Not to mention that no one has a clue what's going on during qualifying or while the race is being run for that matter. Bridgestone still seems to have the superior tyre, but races are being lost for no good reason by the fastest cars on the grid. Qualifying lottery + overtaking-lacking circuit = anyone's game.
Well, almost anyone. Let's look at history to see who has a realistic shot at it. Over the past dozen years, Ferrari has won in Montreal 5 times, Williams 3, McLaren and Benetton/Renault 2 apiece. Of the drivers, Michael and Fisichella do extremely well on this circuit, Fisi in any car including the Jordan. Ralf has done well here, as has Kimi Raikkonen. Of the current field of drivers, only Michael and Ralf have actually won this race in those dozen years. In addition, BAR has been looking decent here of late, and their horsepower is now way up there, as is Jaguar's. McLaren's horsepower boost is a bit menacing considering how close they were to Ferrari last year at Montreal with an underpowered Mercedes engine. Sauber is the only other team that has had a good run of it in Montreal. They should be racing the new spec engine this weekend, and could grab some points.
So there you have it. That leaves every team except Toyota and Minardi with a shot at victory with Max Mosely's wacky rules. If you have a hard time believing that someone like Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR could actually win this race, just take a close look at what happened in Monaco two weeks ago. A mid-pack car won the race on a low fuel strategy at a processional circuit. That's right, Williams and Montoya were in the middle of the pack on times in Thursday provisional qualifying. They qualified on very light fuel Saturday and won the race because almost no one could get past anyone once the lights went out. After reverse-engineering the fuel-laden Saturday Monaco qualifying times to take into account the laps of fuel on board, the grid in Monaco (and the race finish) would have looked like the following if we were using any planet-earth-accepted qualifying system. Note the placement of Williams.
1. M Schumacher - Ferrari
2. Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren +0.25 sec
3. Jarno Trulli - Renault +0.26 sec
4. Rubens Barrichello - Ferrari +0.28 sec
5. Fernando Alonso - Renault +0.44 sec
6. David Coulthard - McLaren +0.46 sec
7. Juan Montoya - Williams +0.57 sec
8. Ralf Schumacher - Williams +0.61 sec
9. Jacques Villeneuve - BAR +1.21 sec
10.Mark Webber - Jaguar +1.49 sec
11.Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Sauber +1.56 sec
What will happen at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend? It seems that Williams is a bit behind the 8-ball this season, getting beaten by Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault, and fighting to stay ahead of BAR and Jaguar. Williams has used a few somewhat desperate low fuel qualifying tactics on circuits that lack overtaking. Not too different from what they did last year, qualifying and taking poles on soft tyres that couldn't compete in the race. But other teams should be catching onto this by now, and perhaps someone will call their bluff. Jaguar and BAR spring immediately to mind. From a performance point of view, Ferrari is still the best car out there, McLaren a close second with Kimi behind the wheel, who has proved faster than the accomplished Coulthard all year. Renault is about third fastest this year, with Alonso shining brightly. Williams is fourth and possibly heading to fifth, depending on whether BAR runs good strategies or poor ones (the latter has dominated), and whether Jenson Button stays angry!
One good strategy for Montreal would be to run a somewhat harder tyre, qualify on somewhat lighter fuel, run a long middle stint, and trim out the rear wing so as to have the advantage when trying to pass down the straights, or not be passed as needs be. If they all run a similar strategy, Ferrari should be battling McLaren for the race win. That is, Kimi should be trying to steal it from Michael. But we know someone is not going to run that strategy!
Au Canada!
Current championship standings
Pre-season
Ferrari F2003-GA launch
2003 F1 season calendar
09/03/2003 - Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
- Australia circuit map by JR
- Australia qualifying grid by JR
- Australia race start grid by JR
- Australia parc ferme post-qualifying by the FIA
- Australia race lap-by-lap by JR
23/03/2003 - Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang)
- Malaysia circuit map by JR
- Malaysia qualifying grid by JR
- Malaysia race start grid by JR
- Malaysia race lap-by-lap by JR
06/04/2003 - Brazilian Grand Prix (Sao Paulo)
- Brazil circuit map by JR
- Brazil qualifying grid by JR
- Brazil race start grid by JR
- Post-qualifying notes by the FIA
- Brazil race lap-by-lap by JR
20/04/2003 - San Marino Grand Prix (Imola)
- San Marino circuit map by JR
- San Marino qualifying grid by JR
- San Marino race start grid by JR
- San Marino race lap-by-lap by JR
- Post-race notes by the FIA
04/05/2003 - Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
- Spain circuit map by JR
- Spain qualifying grid by JR
- Spain race start grid by JR
- Spain race lap-by-lap by JR
18/05/2003 - Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
- Austria circuit map by JR
- Austria qualifying grid by JR
- Austria race start grid by JR
- Austria qualifying review by Shell
- Austria race lap-by-lap by JR
- Austria race review by Shell
- Austrian GP photo gallery
01/06/2003 - Grand Prix de Monaco (Monaco)
- Monaco circuit map by JR
- Monaco qualifying grid by JR
- Monaco race start grid by JR
- Monaco race lap-by-lap by JR
15/06/2003 - Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
- Canada race preview by EB
- Canada circuit map by JR
- Canada qualifying grid by JR
- Canada race start grid by JR
- Canada race lap-by-lap by JR
29/06/2003 - European Grand Prix (Nürburgring)
- Europe race preview by EB
- Europe circuit map by JR
- Europe qualifying grid by JR
- Europe race start grid by JR
- Europe race lap-by-lap by JR
06/07/2003 - French Grand Prix (Magny-Cours)
- France circuit map by JR
- France qualifying grid by JR
- France race start grid by JR
- France race lap-by-lap by JR
- France race review by EB
20/07/2003 - British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
- Britain race preview by EB
- Britain circuit map by JR
- Britain qualifying grid by JR
- Britain race start grid by JR
- Britain race lap-by-lap by JR
03/08/2003 - German Grand Prix (Hockenheim)
- Germany race preview by EB
- Germany circuit map by JR
- Germany qualifying grid by JR
- Germany race start grid by JR
- Germany race lap-by-lap by JR
- Germany race review by SO
24/08/2003 - Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)
- Hungary race preview by EB
- Hungary circuit map by JR
- Hungary qualifying grid by JR
- Hungary race start grid by JR
- Hungary race lap-by-lap by JR
- Hungary race review by EB
14/09/2003 - Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
- Italy race preview by EB
- Italy circuit map by JR
- Italy qualifying grid by JR
- Italy race start grid by JR
- Italy race lap-by-lap by JR
- Italy race review by EB
28/09/2003 - American Grand Prix (Indianapolis)
- America race preview by EB
- America circuit map by JR
- America qualifying grid by JR
- America race start grid by JR
- America race lap-by-lap by JR
- America race review by EB
12/10/2003 - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
- Japan race preview by EB
- Japan circuit map by JR
- Japan qualifying grid by JR
- Japan race start grid by JR
- Japan race lap-by-lap by JR
- Japan race review by EB
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