Mclaren Honda previews the Canadian grand Prix 2015.

Grand Prix Preview

Canada 2015

Facts & Stats: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The Circuit

After the slow-speed demands of Monaco, Formula 1 heads across the pond to one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, situated on an island in the St Lawrence River in Montreal, is the first high-speed challenge of the 2015 campaign. It requires the teams to focus on three main areas of performance: braking, traction and top speed. The cars exceed 300km/h (186mph) on four occasions around the lap and each time they have to brake into a slow-speed chicane or hairpin. Such high levels of deceleration put the brakes under huge amounts of stress and, as a result, they require careful monitoring throughout the 70-lap race. Other important areas of performance are traction and mechanical grip. The circuit has an old, low-grip surface, on which it's easy to get too much wheelspin under acceleration. Good driveability from the power unit is vital because there are six second-gear corners around the lap, all leading onto long straights. In cooler temperatures it can also be difficult to get the front axle working properly, emphasising the importance of mechanical grip. To help this, Pirelli is taking the two softest compounds in its range: the Soft (Prime) and the Supersoft (Option). These are the same compounds as in Monaco a fortnight ago. From a driving point of view, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has no fast corners, but it's still a hard track to tame. The walls are close and the drivers need to be very precise with their lines; the smallest of errors can have serious consequences. The final corner has claimed many star names over the years; Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel have all crashed there, leading to the outside barrier being known colloquially as ‘The Wall of Champions'. McLaren has an impressive record in Canada, having won the race 13 times. Among those victories is Jenson Button's memorable win in 2011.

Vital Statistics

Canadian Grand Prix 5th - 7th June Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Race distance 70 laps Start time 14:00 (local)/19:00 (GMT) Circuit length 4.361km/2.710 miles 2014 winner Daniel Ricciardo 2014 pole Nico Rosberg 1m14.874s 209.680km/h 2014 Fastest lap Felipe Massa 1m18.504s 199.985km/h First race 1978 Don't put the kettle on... Between laps 13-18 and laps 37-44. Last year's top four finishers completed the race on a two-stop strategy, starting the race on the Supersoft tyre and then completing two stints on the Soft tyre. Full throttle 67 per cent Fuel consumption 1.8kg per lap, which is high Brakewear High. There are seven heavy braking events around the lap, making this one of the toughest tracks of the year for brakes Weather The build-up to the weekend looks a bit unsettled, but that's not unusual for Montreal. The city's coastal location can throw up all types of weather in June and this year looks like being no different. DRS zones Two - on the approach to the penultimate corner, Turn 13, and again on approach to Turn One Top speed 330km/h on the approach to the chicane Safety Car likelihood High. Last year's race ended behind the Safety Car and 11 out of the last 16 Canadian GPs have been Safety Car-affected. Nearly half of the 2011 race was spent behind the Safety Car.

McLaren at the Canadian Grand Prix

Wins 13 (1968, '73, '74, '76, '88, '90, '92, '99, '05, '07, '10, '11, '12) Poles 11 (1972, '74, '76, '88, '89, '90, '92, '98, '07, '08, '10) Fastest laps 11 (1971, '81, '88, '90, '92, '97, '00, '05, '06, '07, '11)

Team Talk #14 Fernando Alonso Age 33 (July 29 1981) GPs 239 Wins 32 Poles 22 FLs 21

"It's great to be going back to North America. Montreal is a great city and the circuit is up there with the most exciting tracks on the calendar. It has so much history and some great battles have happened there between legendary drivers, so it's always special to get in the car and experience this circuit and all the unpredictable elements that go with it - it's a really exhilarating place. "Jenson's points in Monaco were a great boost for the whole team and more proof of the progress we are making race by race. On my side of the garage, it's disappointing to have had two technical issues in a row, but as usual we're working extremely hard to understand these problems. Reliability is always the most important factor, so before performance we must focus on making sure we start the weekend positively and maximise the practice sessions to get our car properly set up for this track. "The circuit itself is tricky - that's what makes it so special - and always provides great racing. It's obviously very different from Monaco because it's so high-speed, but, like Monaco, there are lots of technical corners that mean you need to focus on having good balance and downforce in the car, especially under braking. Despite the reliability issues I've had in the last two races, the car has felt good, so our priority is to have a trouble-free weekend and get the maximum performance out of our package."

#22 Jenson Button Age 35 (January 19 1980) GPs 271 Wins 15 Poles 8 FLs 8

"After the whirlwind that is Monaco I'm really looking forward to heading back to Montreal. I love the city, the people are friendly, the atmosphere is buzzing and it's just a really great place to be. The fans there are incredible and they always give us such a warm welcome. "The circuit is a real racer's track and I absolutely love it, it's definitely one of my favourites. It's the place where I had probably my most famous victory back in 2011, so it'll be interesting to see what the changeable weather will throw at us this year - it's something that's definitely part of Montreal's charm! "Getting points on the board has been really positive and shows that we're continuing to make big strides, but, if anything, it's spurred us on even more to keep pushing until we reach where we want to be. Fernando hasn't had much luck in the last few races so we all need to keep our heads down and keep fighting to make sure we get both cars to the flag. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve requires good top speed, so we can't underestimate the challenge, but anything can happen there - and usually does - so we'll be getting stuck in right from the word go."

Eric Boullier Racing director, McLaren-Honda "From Monaco to Montreal - two very different racetracks but ones that share a lot of similar characteristics. Like Monaco, Montreal is a real racer's track, but for very different reasons: there's lots of sweeping corners and it's a complex technical challenge for our engineers. For McLaren, it's a very special place - we've won 13 grands prix there - and it's a circuit that always produces fantastic racing. "Of course, we can't be pleased with eighth position, and we're still a long way behind where we want to be. Nonetheless, I'm proud of our progress and the rate of development we're maintaining, and we're continuing this push with every grand prix. Although I don't like to dwell on the past too much, comparing the pre-season tests with our current performance shows just how hard we've worked to fight towards the front. "Our more promising performances have been scuppered by frustrating technical issues though, most recently on Fernando's side of the garage, so we're working hard to iron these out so that we can really see the potential of both cars and keep developing. We must target improved reliability and consistency in order to achieve our maximum potential. While the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve doesn't play to our car's strengths, Montreal is a great place to put our car to the test; it's a world-class city with world-class fans and we'll be working very hard as usual to put on a good show for our loyal supporters." Yasuhisa Arai Chief officer of motorsport, Honda R&D Co Ltd "At Monaco, I was very happy that McLaren-Honda scored its first championship points. This was down to the continuous hard work of the team. Of course, it was unfortunate Fernando retired as we were hoping to get both cars home in the points, but we gain more confidence as the season goes on. Our power unit is progressing in the right direction, and we've taken another step upwards as a team. "The Canadian GP will be very different. This track is flat with long and fast straights, where the throttle is often fully open, which is tough on the power unit and fuel economy. Furthermore, hard braking is required. All in all, the circuit needs a completely different power unit setting from Monaco. We'll prepare the power unit so that it performs to its full potential during the weekend."