R10 – Tyre Selection

The Canadian Grand Prix is the tenth round of the season, the second in North America after Miami. Montreal is one of the staples on the calendar, for many years the only round in this part of the world.

The Gilles Vileneuve Circuit is a semi-permanent facility built on the manmade island of Notre Dame, on the saint Lawrence river, which was home to the Expo ’67 World’s Fair and some events in the 1976 Olympic games.

The track was completely resurfaced last year, but it has retained its low abrasiveness and reduced grip that has always been one of its characteristic features.

4.361 kilometres long, it features a sequence of straights and tight chicanes, with 14 corners (six to the left and eight to the right). It’s a real stop n go track where stability under braking and efficient traction are vital.

Overtaking is possible, partly down to the three DRS zones. The best bet has always been the braking point at the end of the straight that takes the drivers back to the start.
The following chicane, where drivers cant still use DRS from the previous activation zone, has often seen some spectacular accidents, which has led to it being known as the “wall of champions” after no fewer than three world champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed into it during the 1999 race.

For the third time this season, the softest trio of compounds will feature on the track. It’s the first time after appearing in Imola and again in Monaco the C6 (Soft), C5 (Medium) and C4 (Hard).

This weekend, when using the new C6, teams and drivers will be able to make the most of the information and data gathered at its two previous appearances.

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is a track where the lateral forces exerted on the tyres are medium to low, while the longitudinal ones are a bit more severe, although not particularly high, because of the cars being subjected to strong deceleration followed by sharp acceleration.