Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2012 Preview

After Mark Webber made Formula 1 history at the Monaco Grand Prix, the F1 circus now moves swiftly on to the first North American race of the season on Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and the Canadian Grand Prix. Undeniably one of the most exciting seasons in decades, the 58th running of the Canadian Grand Prix has all the ingredients to be yet another fascinating race weekend.

First held in 1961 at Mosport Park, the Canadian Grand Prix has become one of the most exciting races on the calendar. Now held around the daunting 4.361km Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, the race has become a personal favorite of the drivers’.

Last years Canadian Grand Prix was the longest race in the history of the Formula 1, lasting 4 hours 4 minutes and 39 seconds. This was due to torrential rain which plagued the proceedings, causing a red flag period of roughly two hours as the rain lashed down. Eventually the race was able to restart, as Jenson Button stormed from the back of the pack to take victory with a stunning last lap maneuver on Sebastian Vettel.

With the unpredictability of the 2012 season, this weekends Canadian Grand Prix could be even more exciting with the prospect of yet another different winner. So far there has been a different winner every Grand Prix, and with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen yet to open their winning accounts in 2012, a seventh different winner is very much a possibility.

For the second race in succession, Pirelli will be offering the P-Zero super-soft (red) and P-Zero soft (yellow) tyres to the teams, however the tyre wear around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has the potential to be much greater than experienced in Monaco. With the Montreal circuit notorious for being hard on brakes and stressful on the rear tyres, tyre wear looks set to once again be the dominant factor throughout the weekend.

Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at the Canadian Grand Prix, having won the event a stunning 7 times in his career (’94, ’97, ’98, ’00, ’02, ’03, ’04). All but one of those victories were with Ferrari, who are also the most successful Constructor around Montreal, with 13 victories to their name (’63, ’64, ’70, ’78, ’83, ’85, ’95, ’97, ’98, ’00, ’02, ’03, ’04). With the 2012 season so unpredictable, both Schumacher or Ferrari have a good chance at winning this weekends race, which would be Michael Schumacher’s first since returning to the sport back in 2010.

Unlike last year, only one DRS zone will be available to the drivers throughout the race. This will be placed along the back straight, with the detection zone through the turn 10 hairpin. The overtaking zone will be situated 600 meters before turn 13, and has been shortened by 50 meters from last year after many criticized how easy overtaking was.

For the first time this season, former Formula 1 driver Martin Donnelly will be the drivers steward for the weekend, a role which the likes of Nigel Mansell, Johnny Herbert and Tom Kristensen have undertaken throughout the 2012 season. Donnelly’s F1 career was short lived, as the Irishman was badly injured in a horrific accident during practice for the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix.

With mistakes made around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve punished greatly by the unforgiving walls which line the circuit, the Canadian Grand Prix usually sees the safety car make an appearance throughout the race. Add the unpredictability of the Pirelli tyres and the possibility of inclement weather throughout the weekend, and this years Canadian Grand Prix looks set to be another intriguing race in what has already been a historical year for Formula 1.

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