2006 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Team McLaren Mercedes arrives in Montreal this weekend for
the first of the North American double header, the 2006 Canadian
Grand Prix, with the race at Indianapolis taking place just
one week later. The Canadian event marks the mid-point of
the 2006 Formula 1 World Championship.
Since the Canadian Grand Prix made its debut in 1967, the
event has been held at three circuits. The debut race took
place at Mosport Park in Toronto, with two races also being
held at Mont Tremblant before the race moved permanently to
its current location in Montreal in 1978.
Renamed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1982, in memory of the
French-Canadian driver, the circuit lines the perimeter of
the Ile Notre Dame. The man-made island is located in the
St Lawrence Seaway.
Recent successes for Team McLaren Mercedes in Canada include
Mika Hakkinen in 1999 and last year when Kimi Raikkonen took
the victory. The 1999 victory was unique in Formula 1 as Mika
Hakkinen crossed the finishing line behind the Mercedes-Benz
Safety Car, the first time in Formula 1 history that the winner
followed the Safety Car.
Following the British Grand Prix, the team has been testing
at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France before leaving
for Canada, with Kimi Raikkonen, Pedro de la Rosa and Gary
Paffett completing 2,622km in total whilst working through
aerodynamic, set-up and brake work.
KIMI RAIKKONEN
"The Canadian Grand Prix is defined by the long, high
speed straights that go into very slow corners. As a result,
perhaps more so than at other tracks, you need to have really
good corner balance, so that you can get on the power right
away as you exit the turn. Otherwise you would lose a huge
amount of time on the straights. Because the Circuit Gilles
Villeneuve is such a fast track, we will run with a very low
downforce set-up. It is also fairly low grip, as it is not
severe on our Michelins we traditionally use a softer compound,
so find the grip through this. As there are no high speed
corners, there are no periods of high lateral loadings on
the tyres. Despite the speed, you do need to be quite precise
here, as it is part road circuit so the Armco are very close
to the edge of the track. It is also pretty dusty at the start
of the weekend, but as rubber is laid down it starts to clear
on the racing line. It was fantastic to win last year, and
we had a solid weekend at the last race in Silverstone, hopefully
we can put in another good result this weekend."
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
"Although Silverstone and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
are both pretty high speed, it is in a very different way.
At Silverstone, you don’t really need to brake all that
much. At Canada however, braking is key, with the most severe
demands of the year in this area. As a result, we will run
with increased brake cooling, so you will see larger openings
in the body work. In addition there is a real focus with the
set-up on braking stability. There are various areas that
can be adjusted to improve braking performance, such as weight
distribution and aero and mechanical balance. Alongside braking,
straight line speed is also vital at Montreal, because of
all the long straights, particularly when trying to overtake.
There are chances, such as into the hairpin. The Canadian
Grand Prix is a great race, as it is so close to downtown
Montreal, the atmosphere is like a carnival. I really enjoy
the race and hope I have a less eventful time this year!"
MARTIN WHITMARSH, CEO FORMULA ONE, TEAM McLAREN MERCEDES
"We completed a productive three day test at Paul Ricard
last week with Kimi, Pedro and Gary completing over 2,600km
between them. The test has been a focus of our intensive programme
of testing and development, as we still need to find performance
in the MP4-21, and there is a lot of determination within
the team to bring this to the track. With the front row grid
slot and podium at Silverstone, we are moving in the right
direction but there is more work that needs to be done to
catch up with our prime competitors. The Canadian Grand Prix
has high rates of attrition, and brake cooling is extremely
important. The circuit is located on the exposed seaway, and
as a result head and tail winds can affect set-up quite dramatically,
provides quite a challenge to the engineers and drivers."
NORBERT HAUG, VICE PRESIDENT, MERCEDES-BENZ MOTORSPORT
"The circuit on the Ile Notre-Dame is not a permanent
track and, just as the impressive rowing basin behind the
paddock, has its origin in 1976 when Montreal hosted the Olympic
Games. There are only a few races at this circuit which therefore
offers not so much grip. It is the most demanding track for
the brakes and their cooling, even more with heavier fuel
loads. Two thirds of a lap will be driven under full throttle,
a little less than at Silverstone previously. We all have
to work hard to become as competitive as we have been last
year; five podium finishes in eight races do not reflect what
this team is capable of and what we had planned. These improvements
cannot be achieved overnight; however we will achieve them
within a manageable period.”
USEFUL STATISTICS
Canadian Grand Prix McLaren Team McLaren Mercedes Kimi Juan
Pablo
Circuit length 4.361 km Race starts 604 194 95 93
2.709 miles Race wins 148 44 9 7
Race distance 305.270 km Pole Positions 122 43 9 12
189.694 miles Points 3100.5 1193 314 307
Laps 70 Podiums 389 136 33 29
Inaugural race 1967 Fastest Laps 128 58 17 12
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