Canadian GP : Preview

Mon-deux! From Monaco to Montreal and the Canadian Grand Prix for round 6 of the 2017 FF1M championship. Despite the two different types of circuits, the two venues share some similarities such as the two countries’ native language, the fact that both circuits run on public roads with water views, and any mistake will likely result in broken machinery.

Monaco Magic for Alonso

The tight confines of the Monte-Carlo street circuit created a conflict of approaches with some teams prioritising qualifying more than the race and others banking on their race pace. This resulted in FJR’s Kevin Magnussen taking pole position but only managing the 17th fastest lap in the race. His two-stop strategy did at least keep him in 4th come the end of the race. Not many took the same strategy, but one driver who did was Fernando Alonso, who had been waiting to exceed 1000 career points since Portimao last season, and he managed it in the best possible way with Shake ‘n’ Bake’s first win of the season, and the team’s 100th career podium finish. To celebrate this, the team will be running a special livery for the North American double header, unveiled in a typically eccentric manner.

The key moment in the race for Alonso came on lap 44 when his teammate, Nolan Bryant, crashed out at Casino Square and delayed the three-stopping Vaino Kimminen enough for the Finn to rejoin behind Magnussen after his second stop. Had Kimminen remained ahead, then he would’ve caught Alonso during that stint and probably have re-joined ahead after his final stop, but with overtaking proving impossible, Alonso was able to hold on to the lead despite very heavy traffic and Cooper Lee’s smokescreen in the final laps.

In the early stages, Magnussen had lost the lead to Tomas Gonzalez, who on a lighter fuel load, quickly pulled away from the FJR, but pushed too hard on lap 4 and went nose first into the barrier at La Rascasse, costing CBA Racing a shot at victory. Nevertheless, Montreal’s circuit is about top speed and not aerodynamically dependent, so they should be strong with their powerful Megatron engine.

Paddock News

• Climax and Judd have taken their first engine upgrades of the season and will have a new ICE, ERS and CE components fitted to the car.

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Montreal milestones

As mentioned previously, Shake ‘n’ Bake scored their 100th podium finish at the last race. Two teams looking for 50 are FJR and Mitchell, with FJR looking for their 50th (canon) pole position and Mitchell looking for their 50th career podium finish. Both are possible with Judd bringing what FJR describe as an “aggressive” update and Lewis Hamilton still going strong.

Three other teams are still chasing their first points of the season: Willows Racing, Ajay Motorsports, and Pedersen. Willows came close at Monaco with Max Verstappen’s fine qualifying performance going unrewarded as he slipped from 4th to 9th in the race. Ajay’s Hart engine upgrade didn’t show itself too well at Monaco, but may be more noticeable at Montreal, while Pedersen have recently announced they will be taking a sabbatical from FF1M. They have a good record at Montreal with five wins and are keen to kickstart their season as they sit last the championship. In terms of driver records, Hamilton is looking for his fourth win at the circuit, which would put him level with 2005 champion Ralf Schumacher, while Magnussen is looking to repeat his dominant performance from last season.

Support Races

This weekend is the penultimate round of the FFeM season and the series first of two double header weekends in North America to end the season.

Coverage Details

The race will be broadcast live from 15:00 BST on Sunday 8th September

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