Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Canada

  • F1 Academy – Canada – Day 1

    Practice-

    Red Bull Racing;s Alisha Palmowski made the most of her first appearance at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, topping Round 4’s one and only Free Practice session with a 1:38.898.

    Campos Racing kept a firm hold on the top spot as Palmowski and teammate Chloe Chambers traded personal bests, before the Briton’s final attempt nudged her in front by 0.074s at the chequered flag.

    Larsen was the first driver to get a feel for the 4.361 km circuit, with her initial impression clocking in at 1:55.428. Steadily getting up to speed, the Tommy Hilfiger driver set the time to beat at 1:42.647 to go three tenths ahead of Ella Lloyd.

    Only four drivers had times on the board after 10 minutes of running. Lloyd was next to go fastest on a 1:43.277, despite the McLaren driver going too deep into the final chicane and over the run off.

    Beginning to make her presence known, Chambers posted a 1:41.701 to go a tenth quicker than Palmowski at the top of the timesheets.
    Although the Red Bull Ford driver then improved by a further two tenths, her hold would be brief as Palmowski broke clear on her next attempt, putting an eight-tenths buffer between herself and P2.

    Chambers was the first into the 1:39s to re-take the time to beat, only to be pushed back down to second by just 0.079s to Palmowski.
    Pin sat in third at the halfway mark, 0.237s off the benchmark.

    The Campos duo showed little sign of slowing, with Chambers crossing the line to regain best time of the session, before Palmowski set the timesheets alight with a 1:39.315.

    Five tenths off the pace in third, Larsen narrowly avoided a trip to the barriers, carrying too much speed into the chicane and spinning onto the grass.
    A red flag put running to a halt with less than 10 minutes remaining after a fan detached from Pin’s car following her exit from the pits.

    Improvements were still to be found once Green Flag conditions resumed. Even with the tyres being well past their peak, Chambers posted the first 1:38s time of the day.
    However, it was Palmowski who ended the session on top, snatching the fastest effort by setting a 1:38.898 at the chequered flag.

    Qualifying-

    Chloe Chambers threw down the gauntlet to her title rivals, conquering Qualifying in Montreal to seal her third consecutive pole position of the season.

    Locked in a back and forth battle with teammate Alisha Palmowski, it was the Red Bull Ford driver who stamped her authority on the top spot, setting a 1:38.125 in the final minutes.
    Palmowski completed a 1-2 for Campos Racing, with Mercedes’ Doriane Pin finishing four tenths back in third.

    Without a time to her name following an electrical issue in practice, every lap mattered for Maya Weug.
    After a burst of initial laps, Chambers set the early benchmark of a 1:45.283.
    Improving into the 1:41s on her next attempt, the American was swiftly beaten by a 1:40.910 from Alba Larsen.

    Times quickly tumbled, with Lia Block, Ella Lloyd and Palmowski all going fastest in turn, before Larsen moved back up to the top and into the 1:39s.
    In a class of her own in the first phase, Larsen continued to beat her personal best, with a 1:39.246 putting nine tenths between herself and Lloyd in P2.

    With 17 minutes to go, the PREMA trio headed out and Pin immediately broke into the top three, albeit six tenths off Larsen.

    Reminiscent of Free Practice, Chambers would be the one to demote her teammate going over a tenth quicker.
    In response, Palmowski posted the fastest time of the day with a 1:38.749 with Chambers settling for second on her next attempt.

    The Red Bull Ford driver then reinstated her hold on the top of the timesheets by 0.059s only for Palmowski to find an extra 0.039s.

    With less than six minutes to go, Chamber responded with a 1:38.125, eclipsing her teammate by over five tenths.

    Pin then hit the front row, splitting the Campos duo, but one final lap at the chequered flag was enough for Palmowski to regain second.
    However, Chambers’ earlier effort proved enough for her to seal pole position by three tenths to Palmowski, as Pin wound up third.

  • Third race added to Round 4 F1 Academy

    F1 Academy has confirmed that a third race will be added to the schedule for Round 4 of the 2025 season in Montreal.

    The amended schedule will see Free Practice and Qualifying take place on Friday. Two races will follow on the Saturday and the third race taking place on Sunday.

    The grid for Race 1 will be established using the final starting grid for Race 2 in Miami, with the wild card driver for round 4 will be permitted to start the race from the back of the grid.

    Race 2’s starting grid will be set by reversing the top eight drivers from Qualifying in Montreal.
    Each driver’s fastest Qualifying lap will set the grid for Race 3, which will take place on Sunday, with all three races lasting for 30 minutes plus one lap.

    One point will be awarded to the driver who achieves the fastest lap in Race 1 and Race 3, provided she classifies in the top ten. Additionally, one point will be awarded to the driver who achieves the fastest lap in Race 2, provided she finishes in the top eight.

  • RW 9 – Canada

    Max Verstappen and Red Bull bounced back from their Monaco struggles as they returned to winning ways in an action-packed Canadian Grand Prix!
    The reigning champions had to overcome rain showers, multiple Safety Car periods, restart and a stern challenge from a couple of drivers.

    Verstappen followed pole-sitter George Russell in the wet early stages of the race until a charging Norris overhauled them both amid improving conditions, only for an ill-timed Safety Car which ruined Lando’s chances of winning.

    While Verstappen surged towards the chequered flag, Norris took second via a fierce mid-race battle with Russell, and the latter settling for third after some late scrapping with teammate Lewis Hamilton and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Russell, P4: Hamilton, P5: Piastri, P6: Alonso, P7: Stroll, P8: Ricciardo, P9: Gasly and P10: Ocon.

    A lovely result for Max! Just what he wanted, he had a bit of an up and down weekend but came out on top.
    However, it wasn’t a weekend to remember for Red Bull team, as Sergio Perez had a horrible weekend, qualifying 16th and he ended up spinning off the track and damaged his rear wing, which forced him to retire in the pits.
    Not only this, it went from bad to worse, as he has now been given a 3 place grid penalty for the Spanish GP after he drove to the pits with a significantly damaged car.

    A good result for McLaren, P2 and P5 the team is closing in on Ferrari in P2! Unlucky for Lando with the safety car situation as he was leading and had a lovely gap but that is just racing sometimes…

    Mercedes! Probably the most improved team this weekend, they’ve pretty much had pace all weekend, unlucky for them to only get one driver on the podium as it was looking likely it could’ve been both at one point in the race. But the team will look at this positively and the upgrades are working and they’ve managed to grab their first podium of the year.

    Ferrari.. where to start, Charles had problems from the start with his engine problem, which then led the Monegasque to retire later on in the race.
    Not only this, Carlos Sainz who was pushing for points came together with Alex Albon at Turn 7 in unusual circumstances. Where the Spaniard spun at the exit of the corner, and despite his best efforts, Albon’s Williams collected the Ferrari. Which led to both Ferrari’s out, both Williams out and a Red Bull…

    A good result for the Aston Martin’s and the Alpine’s both getting double points which was needed especially for the latter after their rough time in Monaco. And for Daniel Ricciardo aswell a points finish, he had quite a good weekend a lot of pace from him.

    A bit of a disappointing race for Haas after such a good start to the race, both drivers were in the top 10 after they started on wets, but that didn’t last long as when Magnussen pitted on lap 8 his mechanics were not ready for him and then the team left Hulkenberg out for too long and once he pitted he went to the bottom of the grid… This led the team to score no points.

  • RW 9 – Canada Qualifying

    Qualifying for Round 9 is complete, and there was a few shock surprises with a couple of early exits in Q1 and Q2 which led to some other drivers making an appearance in Q3!

    George Russell has taken pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix in an impressive session for the Mercedes driver, with the Brit beating Max Verstappen despite the Dutchman setting the exact same lap time!

    Russell had provisionally secured P1 following the initial runs in Q3 with a lap of 1m12.000s and while Verstappen improved on his own effort in the decisive final laps, the Red Bull driver could only equal Russell’s time.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Russell, P2: Verstappen, P3: Norris, P4: Piastri, P5: Ricciardo, P6: Alonso, P7: Hamilton, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Stroll and P10: Albon.

    What a result for George Russell! The Mercedes have been showing some strong pace this weekend and that obviously has been shown. Hamilton starts in 7th, as everyone seemed to improve on their laps.

    A very good result for McLaren, P3 and P4, it makes you think what could they do from there? Battle for the win or battle for both podium spots? It will be all to play for!

    A lovely result from VCARB! Both drivers in the top 10 with Daniel Riccairdo in 5th and Tsunoda 8th. The team will be wanting to capitalise on this result in the race and get a decent points haul.

    A tough day for Ferrari as they qualified out of the top 10, Leclerc in 11th and Sainz in 12th. Not the day the Italian team would of wanted, they now have a lot of work to do in the race, as well as staying out of trouble in the midfield…

    A bit of a shock to see Perez out in Q1 again! He will be starting the race in 16th. Which isn’t what the Mexican driver would of been hoping for especially after renewing his contract this week! He has a lot of work to do if he wants to score some points.

    A decent result for both Aston Martins aswell! P6 for Alonso and P9 for Stroll. The team will be wanting to score some big points this weekend as they currently sit 5th in the Constructors and only on 44 points…

  • RW 9 – Tyre Selection

    Formula 1 returns to North America after two European rounds in Imola and Monaco. The Canadian Grand Prix therefore means a change of continent.

    The race in Montreal will be the third in a row to feature the three softest compounds in the 2024 range, the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).

    The 4.361 kilometre track is named in honour of Gilles Villeneuve and features six lefthand corners and eight to the right and it has one of the lowest average speeds of the season.
    Stability under braking and traction coming out of the chicanes and the slowest corners, which include the hairpin leading onto a very long straight.

    Unlike the previous race weekend in Monaco, overtaking here is possible, especially at the end of the straight leading to the final chicane, the exit to which features the “Wall of Champions” thus named after three world champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve, all ended their races there in 1999, crashing into the wall on the outside of the turn.

    The entire track has been resurfaced for this year and the kerbs have been replaced. On paper, the track’s existing characteristics of low abrasiveness and therefore reduced grip should remain the same.
    For most of the year, the track is only used by people on foot or cyclists and so lap times generally drop significantly as the cars rubber-in the surface.

    Setting a quick time in qualifying involves getting very close to the barriers and walls, while making the best use of the kerbs, so it’s also important for the driver to do as many laps as possible to gain confidence.

    In last years race, all three dry compounds came into play with a mix of strategies with some drivers, including the three who finished on the podium, going for a two-stop while others pitted just the once.
    They also have to take into consideration that the Safety Car is a frequent visitor and that a longer first stint therefore offers the best chance of minimising time lost changing tyres.

  • RND 9 – Canadian Grand Prix

    Round 9 is now complete, with a few retirements in the 70 lap race, and a driver who showed a dominant drive.

    Max Verstappen made it six victories from eight races, with a dominant display, he lead home the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, as Red Bull maintain their 100% winning record for the season so far.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Leclerc, P5: Sainz, P6: Perez, P7: Albon, P8: Ocon, P9: Stroll and P10: Bottas.

    Verstappen’s lights to flag triumph also gave Red Bull their 100th victory in the sport, 18 years on from the team’s debut, whilst the Dutchman made more history by drawing level with legend, Ayrton Senna on 41 wins.

    A good result for both Alonso and Hamilton, would’ve been interesting to see if Alonso could battle Max for the win if he didn’t have a rear brake issue which he was nursing, and if Lewis would’ve joint in to?

    Mr George Russell, he had a crash early on in the race which caused some damage to his car and dropped him to the bottom of the order, with the Safety Car coming out which lead to some split strategies.

    A good haul of points from Ferrari, I think we were all unsure on their strategy when they didn’t pit during the Safety Car but it worked out in the end, but I don’t know if not swapping Leclerc and Sainz around was the right idea, we might’ve seen Sainz show his pace he thought he had during the race.

    A good result for Alex Albon, he battled hard to keep his position and he deserves the points he got today! Whereas for his teammate it wasn’t meant to be, Sargeant had to retire as he was asked to park his car in the early stages of the race.

    Now, Round 10 isn’t for two weeks, so not too long to wait but it will be a double header. Our first stop will be in Austria on the 30th June to 2nd July.

  • Canadian Grand Prix

    We are back racing this weekend after a week break, and we are heading to Canada, for Round 9 of 23, where it’s Lance Stroll’s home grand prix.

    Will it be another win for Max this weekend? Or can Sergio Perez make a mark on this weekend and get a win on the board after a few rough weekends for the Mexican driver.

    Or can Aston Martin and Mercedes get that win they’ve been looking for this season?

    Who needs to shine?

    Charles Leclerc will be wanting to get in the points this race 2 DNF’s and a finish outside the points, where as if you look at his teammate, the only time he hasn’t scored in in Australia…

    Even though Alonso is having a really really good season, last time out in Spain isn’t what he thought he’d get, he finished 7th and his now more determined not to have another race without a podium…

    With Guanyu Zhou scoring points back in Spain, this means now that Alfa Romeo and Haas are equal on 8 points each and considering both teams always start around each other, all four drivers will be wanting to push themselves even more so they can grab points for the Constructors and put them ahead.

    Times for this weekend-

    Friday 16th-

    • Free Practice 1: 18:30pm – 19:30pm (BST)
    • Free Practice 2: 22:00pm – 23:00pm

    Saturday 17th-

    • Free Practice 3: 17:30pm – 18:30pm
    • Qualifying: 21:00pm – 22:00pm

    Sunday 18th-

    • Race: 19:00pm

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five for qualifying are: Pole: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Perez and P5: Russell.

    To be honest it could go any different way in Canada, but I reckon it will be close between Verstappen and Alonso for pole. There is rain forecasted for Qualifying tomorrow at the moment, so that could bring a few different possibilities into qualifying.

  • Round 9- Canadian GP

    Round 9- Canadian GP

    What a race! The Canadian Grand Prix has come back with a bang, and I can honestly say it’s good to have it back!

    Max Verstappen stormed his way to victory making it Red Bull’s sixth in a row, can they get past Vettel’s 9 with the team? Carlos Sainz comes home to finish 2nd after he had a last minute battle for the win but it wasn’t meant to be this time. Lewis Hamilton joins them on the podium in P3, his second of the season!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell, P5: Leclerc, P6: Ocon, P7: Alonso, P8: Bottas, P9: Zhou and P10: Stroll.

    Red Bull, now I was excited to see what Perez could do and see some nice overtakes from him but this weekend really wasn’t his, he ended up DNF’ing quite early into the race and I think there are some question marks coming up about RB’s reliability after they had seemed to sort it quite early on.

    A good weekend for Ferrari overall, especially Charles, him starting P19 after his penalties for him to finish 5th is good, and it’s even better for them that only one Red Bull finished…

    Now onto Merc, very different pace compared to Friday, maybe a sign of things to come? A great drive from both drivers, obviously George had a bit of work to do after qualifying 8th but he kept it consistent and finished in the top 5 once again. Lewis, seemed a lot happier this race, less bouncing and he just loves this track which makes this podium even better!

    Now Alpine, I kind of expected a bit more from Alonso, we’ve seen before in the past he defends like a lion but today I didn’t see that much and heard that there fight wasn’t with the Bulls or Ferrari but both Alpines ended up behind the Mercs?

    Alfa Romeo! Double points finish, they had good pace throughout and done some nice overtakes, happy for Zhou though as he has had it rough with mechanical DNF’s so this weekend as a whole should boost his confidence going into the next round!

    Now Haas, I think we expected at least one car to finish in the top 10… but they didn’t. Mick suffered a PU issue, after doing well to stay in the top 10 at the beginning of the race. Where as for Magnussen, had a bit of contact on lap 1 and then got shown the black and orange flag to pit for a new front wing, which saw him tumble to the bottom…

    McLaren, wasn’t really anywhere today which is a shame as they looked promising with their pace yesterday, Ricciardo finished 11th and Norris 15th…

    The Championship-

    Theres no change at the top, as Max Verstappen still leads and extending his lead now on 175 points. His teammate is still in 2nd but that gap between them grew due to the DNF. Charles Leclerc is sat in third on 126 points, closing in on Perez as there is just 3 points between the pair. Russell stays in 4th on 111 points and Carlos is on 102 points now and in fifth, so it’s getting closer as the races keep on coming.

    Red Bull lead the Constructors still, with 304 points, Ferrari closed down the gap a little but they are sat on 228 points, 76 points between the two teams… Mercedes sit comfortably in third and with their big points haul over the past two weekends are starting to close in on Ferrari as they sit on 188 points.

    McLaren are still sat in 4th on 65 points, but points are needed soon as Alpine are coming to hunt them down. They are currently sat in 5th and are on 61 points…

    We are back in two weeks for the British Grand Prix! Round 10 of 22 and we all remember what happened last year at Silverstone? Will Max get the victory this year? Or can Charles get the win? Where will Mercedes be, and will their new upgrades see them fighting with the front two teams? It’s all to play for!

  • Round 9- Canada Qualifying

    Round 9- Canada Qualifying

    Well well well, I think Canada thought they would make their comeback a rather good one, and so far it has been! We saw a wet qualifying today and it did not disappoint!

    Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda are starting at the back of the grid due to taking penalties for new power unit elements.

    But, Max Verstappen clawed his way to pole position as he made his way round the track without any costly mistakes. He is joined on the front row by Alpine’s, Fernando Alonso for the first time since the 2012 German Grand Prix. And Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounds out the top 3, making it count for the Italian team as his teammate has a penalty.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton, P5: Magnussen, P6: Schumacher, P7: Ocon, P8: Russell, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Zhou.

    Lets just take a moment to appreciate, Fernando Alonso, what a man and what a driver. I could see him battling for the win today and I honestly can’t wait, is this El Plan really coming to life now?…

    Haas deserve a round of applause what a qualifying session for them! Both drivers in the top 10 and also Mick’s best qualifying session ever! Big points on offer for the pair of them today, and a certain German driver needs to make it count…

    Ohhhhh Daniel Ricciardo! Top 10, that is what we like to see, and so far he has had a good weekend, and looks to be enjoying himself, could this be the comeback for him now? His teammate starts down in 14th due to an issue with the car, so Norris will be trying to get through the field.

    Zhou Guanyu, in Q3 and I am sure he is happy with that one! Things haven’t exactly gone his way in the past few races so his been quite unlucky, but with a good qualifying and starting ahead of his teammate he will have an extra boost of confidence for today.

    Predictions-

    My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Sainz, P5: Russell. I could see todays race be taken over by the more experienced drivers, Alonso, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Vettel, it looked like they were doing that yesterday during FP3 and Qualifying.

    I think seeing Charles Leclerc come through the field will be good, we get a feel for how that Ferrari actually is and lets hope we get to see some killer moves.

    Timings-

    Race- 19:00pm (BST)

  • Leclerc to take 10 place grid penalty

    After much speculation, it has been confirmed that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will drop 10 places on the Canadian Grand Prix grid for taking new control electronics.

    With the Ferrari power unit that let go in Baku last week whilst Leclerc was leading got deemed ‘beyond repair’ the team and driver arrived this weekend and was surrounded by talk of potential grid penalities.

    Initially it appeared that this would not be the case, Leclerc having received a new Internal Combustion Engine, MGU-K, MGU-H and Control Electronics, though none of those components took him over the imits for the season.

    Obviously, we are not in the best situation possible. For the power unit change I think there are still ongoing discussions, we’ll try to push (back) as much as possible the decision. For now, no decisions are taken. But it’s not the best situation for me. It’s up to us to choose the best track where you want to get a penalty – if you get a penalty. And this is one of the tracks where it’s actually quite easy to overtake. But there are also some of the tracks in the next three or four races where it’s easier to overtake too. We’ll discuss and try and take the best decision from there.

    Charles Leclerc on the possible penalty

    But, the FIA confirmed another new Control Electronics for Leclerc, taking him to three for the season and thus pushing him over the permitted number of components. As such, he drops 10 places on the grid for the first Canadian GP to be held since 2019.

    A new Control Electronic has been fitted to Charles’ car prior to FP2. It is the third of these elements used so far this season – only two are permitted – therefore Charles takes a grid penalty.

    Ferrair’s statement.

    This now gives Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a major boost in the race for the 2022 Drivers title, the reigning world champ comes into this weekend with a 34 point buffer over Leclerc.

  • Canadian Grand Prix

    We are back in Canada, after not being here since 2019! It’s a new track to some of the drivers, as well as being the home Grand Prix of both Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll.

    Will Ferrari bounce back after their double DNF last weekend? Or will Red Bull continue on their run of race wins? Can Mercedes have another strong weekend? It’s all to play for this weekend…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Ferrari for sure, they need to be worried about the power unit and what effect it could have on the championship. A big points haul is needed for the Italian team and in the past at Canadian GP, Ferrari does like it here so hopefully they can turn things around here?

    Alfa Romeo, need a good weekend for both of their drivers, Bottas was no where in Azerbaijan and Guanyu Zhou had to retire in the pits which is unlucky for him as it could of been a ‘what if he continued’ situation.

    Magnussen needs a good weekend, 3 DNFs in the last four races isn’t good for Haas. Hopefully this weekend will be a different story for the American team!

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Russell.

    At this moment in time, Charles is the best qualifier, only qualifying 1st and 2nd so far this season, he seems to put it all together when it counts. Where as for his teammate, he does a few little mistakes on his lap, which could and has knocked him down a few places.

    I could see a McLaren getting in the top 10, and possibly Bottas? If Alfa Romeo sort out their car in qualifying whilst on the soft tyre there will be no problem, but at the moment we don’t know what were going to get from them!

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 17th-

    • FP1- 19:00pm – 20:00pm (BST)
    • FP2- 22:00pm – 23:00pm

    Saturday 18th-

    • FP3- 18:00pm – 19:00pm
    • Qualifying- 21:00pm – 22:00pm

    Sunday 19th-

    • Race – 19:00pm

  • Canada Tyre Allocation

    After a two year absence, Canada is back on the calendar and we have the tyre allocation ready for us.

    Pirelli have chosen the softest tyres in the race, which was the same last time here in 2019, it is also the same as the past two races (Monaco and Azerbaijan.) C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft). In 2019, the winning strategy was a one stopper, starting on mediums and finishing on the hard.

    Montreal has some similar elements of Baku, thanks to its heavy traction and braking demands, on a rapidly-evolving surface but with lower speeds and cooler weather.

    Talking about the weather, it often has been a major feature of the Canadian Grand Prix: the 2011 race is still the longest in F1 history. Which saw six safety car periods and a lengthy interruption that neutralised the action for several hours. It’s never easy to predict the conditions and there’s also a reasonable chance of rain.

    Canada will pose a number of question marks for the teams: the weather is often variable, all previous data is three years old, and we have a completely different range of tyres with new compounds and structures, on a track that is hardly ever used – which will lead to a very high degree of evolution. Compared to their last visit to Montreal, the drivers should find compounds that are more stable with a wider working range, enabling them to push harder throughout each stint with a much lower risk of overheating. One interesting aspect to Montreal is that it has one of the lowest pit lane time loss penalties on the calendar, meaning that a car can be in and out of the pit lane in less than 20 seconds. This could open up a few options in terms of strategy.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.