After the conclusion of the 24h Nurburgring, all the attention turns to Formula 1 again, as the Canadian Grand Prix is set to take place his weekend. GPblog recaps you the best news on the Monday ahead of the race weekend in Montreal.
Mercedes and McLaren point to each other as Verstappen remains brief on Canada chances
Another Sprint weekend awaits in Canada, meaning teams and drivers will have limited time to fine-tune the latest upgrades brought to their cars. Mercedes and McLaren remain wary of each other after the Miami Grand Prix, where the two teams fought for top prizes throughout the weekend.
“I have really good confidence in the car. Obviously, we’re in a great momentum. Hopefully, the package is going to work as we hope, but also McLaren is bringing another package and the step they made this weekend was very big. So, we just have to keep pushing, keep raising that bar, because we saw this weekend how much it flipped compared to the first three races. So, we just got to stay on top of the game,” Kimi Antonelli said.
Lando Norris also pinpointed that they should not get carried away despite improvements the last time out. “[Miami] is a track that suits us and in the past has not suited the Mercedes quite so well. Yet they were still very fast, and we’re going to go to a track that Mercedes have probably been the best at over the last five, six years. So, we have to wait and see.”
Lando Norris celebrating in Miami – Photo: Race Pictures
Verstappen remained more mysterious. The Dutchman had a simple answer on what he expects from Montreal. Speaking to GPblog, among others, he explained: “Let’s see. I mean, it’s a completely different track, of course, to here [in Miami]. So let’s see how competitive we can be there.”
Hamilton highlighted where Ferrari needs to improve to be more competitive. “I’m looking forward to it, but, we need to see if we can cut some drag before the next race because we’re on the straight line, we’ve got that deficit and so we’ve got to have a look into that.”
Ferrari clearly told ‘Leclerc is the No.1 driver, while Hamilton is No.2’
Former Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr. believes Ferrari have a clear number one and number two driver, with Charles Leclerc unquestionably the team leader ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast, the Brazilian explained: “Leclerc is the No.1 driver, while Hamilton is No.2. Right now, Hamilton finishes behind him in about 80 per cent of the races. Hamilton has spent twenty years in Formula 1, and this is naturally the winding down of his career.”