In 1999 3 former world champions even hit the wall, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and even the great Michael Schumacher. From then on this wall was give the title of “the wall of champions”. Alonso and Raikkonen will not want to be added to the list of champions to have ended their race at that corner.
With the point and squirt nature of the circuit the brakes are worked extremely hard, and preserving the brakes is vital to winning this event.
This track is one of the biggest tests of brakes in the whole calendar as there are a lot of big stops throughout the circuit. As the track is only generally used once a year for this race the surface is very low grip and takes a long time to rubber in.
In recent years the track also seems to break up in places throughout the weekend, making grip even less.
Another big issue is marbles from the tires. These form huge death traps off the racing line as the race goes on, and in the last couple of years this has been a big feature in the final third of the race.
Canada normally provides a very interesting race, and one thing it has become known for is the amount of safety cars that come out. Due to the lack of runoff space in areas it is very hard to remove stricken cars from danger so the safety car becomes necessary.
In last season’s race alone there were four safety cars, mainly due to cars hitting the wall and Robert Kubica’s huge accident.
Racing wise there are a couple of good points for overtaking. Down the long back straight it is possible to get a tow after the slow hairpin and have a go into the final chicane.
The end of the long pit straight is also a strong possibility if you can get close enough. These are the best two chances, but there is a half chance into turn nine, although you have to be quite brave to do it down there. Get it wrong and you are very likely to take your opponent out.
Past Races:
Canada has seen classic GPs take place. Something always seems to happen in Canada is a cliche often used about the race nowadays.
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