Canadian GP: Five things to watch out for

How does Verstappen deal with the threat of a race ban?

Speaking of Max Verstappen, there’s more than just one question mark ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. Usually, the sole question would be: can Red Bull provide him with a car that is good enough to challenge McLaren at this track? The likely answer would be no, as kerb riding plays a role around the magnificent Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and that’s not a strength of the RB21 – although mixed weather conditions could still offer opportunities.

But with 11 penalty points to his name, two more important questions come up: can Verstappen avoid a race ban, and related to that, will he change his approach for both the Canadian and Austrian races? The first two penalty points on his superlicence do not expire until 30 June, meaning Verstappen cannot afford any incident in the upcoming race weekends.

Anyone who knows the Dutchman just a little bit knows that he does not change his approach easily. It’s for good reason, as the same (sometimes aggressive) approach has contributed to four world titles to date. It’s part of his DNA as a racing driver and won’t change overnight. But it does make the races in Montreal and Spielberg an interesting balancing act – even more so as just a single penalty point in Montreal would mean missing the team’s home race at the Red Bull Ring, a grand prix that is attended by thousands of Dutch fans, mainly driving to the Alps to see just one man…

– Ronald Vording

Piastri versus Norris fight in new dimension

McLaren looked like the team to beat this year since the Bahrain test – yet it took until summer for that to materialise in a proper points gap to the opposition. While in the constructors’ championship the picture was more or less clear after just a handful of races, in the drivers’ title race Max Verstappen made himself a factor to be reckoned with.

But Barcelona was a big shift – and with the Dutchman now being 49 points away from the top spot, it looks increasingly likely that this year’s title will be a straight battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. And if nothing dramatic happens in the next few rounds, soon the gap to Verstappen will increase enough to make it even more clear.

The dynamic in the championship battle will inevitably shift – as both Piastri and Norris are going to recognise each other as the main rivals, which will inevitably increase pressure on the team. Two drivers of the same team fighting for the main prize is a recipe for controversy. So far McLaren has been dealing with keeping both drivers happy reasonably well, but Hungary and Monza from last year clearly show there’s enough reason to be alerted.

We’ve yet to see a straight battle between Piastri and Norris for a race victory. Will Canada deliver the first one?

– Oleg Karpov

Struggling Hamilton back to one of his favourite tracks

Exactly 18 years ago, right here in Montréal, Lewis Hamilton stood on the top step of an F1 podium for the very first time, marking the beginning of what would become a brilliant career. Now, nearly two decades later, Hamilton returns to one of his favourite circuits, but he’s aware that the first half of the season hasn’t gone as hoped.

The SF-25 has fallen short of expectations, and Hamilton is still in the process of “reinventing” himself to fully extract the maximum from the Ferrari environment. It’s clear that harmony between Hamilton and the SF-25 has yet to materialise. As a result, he’s still struggling to consistently unlock the car’s full potential, especially in qualifying.

Montreal’s layout, with fewer high-speed corners – which have been the biggest challenge for Hamilton this year – could help to “mask” some of those issues. However, the circuit also features several heavy braking zones, where confidence on the brakes will be crucial – an area he’s still working on, particularly in terms of consistency. Although the synergy with the SF-25 is still developing, a solid performance here could provide a much-needed boost of confidence or, conversely, further underline just how steep the climb remains.

– Gianluca D’Alessandro

Colapinto needs to find answers – and quick

Franco Colapinto could certainly benefit from a strong weekend in Montreal. The Argentine driver arrived with high expectations at Alpine, but so far the results just haven’t been there.

Starting with a triple-header at some of the most challenging circuits of the season was always going to be difficult for a driver with only nine F1 races under his belt, but Colapinto still seemed lost at times – particularly on Fridays in Monaco and in Spain, when he was around a second behind his team-mate Pierre Gasly.

If Colapinto manages to get within striking distance of the Frenchman during FP1 and FP2 in Montreal, that in itself would be a victory for the 22-year-old, who has clearly struggled to hit the ground running so far. Achieving this would allow him to build on it for the rest of the weekend, as he has already demonstrated his ability to improve on Saturdays.

Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, with Alpine last in the constructors’ championship, Flavio Briatore criticised the car’s inconsistent performance, but said he was happy with both drivers. Colapinto should use these comments to boost his confidence as he attempts to overcome his difficulties with the A525. Only that will keep the boss happy and silence any critics.

– Federico Faturos

Can Sauber back up its Barcelona pace?

Sauber was the surprise package of the Spanish Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg on course to score modest points on merit, only to then grab a shock fifth by being able to capitalise on a late safety car.

Team-mate Bortoleto nearly advanced to Q3, settling for 12th on the grid, providing further evidence that the teams comprehensive upgrade package for Spain is working as intended. Those tweaks included a redesigned floor, a change engine cover and modified front wing endplates. They didn’t necessarily turn the car upside down, but in a tight field one or two tenths can make all the difference.

Thanks to Hulkenberg’s unexpectedly large points haul Sauber suddenly finds itself in the heat of the midfield battle again after having been a bit of a spectator, climbing to eighth on equal points with Aston Martin and within striking distance of Racing Bulls and Haas. The burning question is now whether or not the team can back that up in Canada and show its progress is genuine rather than track specific. “We’ll see about that,” Hulkenberg said cautiously. “I think Barcelona is definitely a very high-speed circuit, and here it’s a totally different story. Much more low-speed, a bumpy circuit, big kerbs, so it could be quite different. We kind of need to verify and wait and see a little bit how it works here.”

Speaking after the Barcelona result, team principal Jonathan Wheatley was optimistic that the Hinwil squad’s progress was genuine. “If we look at Barcelona for as long as I’ve been coming here, since 1991, it’s been a true test of a car’s performance, and generally a car that performs here well, performs well at a lot more circuits. The tools are working now, the correlation’s good.”

– Fil Cleeren