The Canadian Grand Prix is here, and it may just be the very last chance for Ferrari to make sure they can stay relevant in the championship race. The Italian carmakers are already 118 points behind Mercedes in second places and we are only six races into the season. The gulf could turn into a chasm in Montreal if Ferrari fails to upstage Mercedes, but with the latter having secured podium finishes for both their drivers in all the races so far the ask is a challenging one.
Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s drivers have faced bad luck this season, with the latter especially having to bear the brunt of his team’s open and obvious biasedness to former World Champion Vettel. However, Vettel did manage to finish second behind defending champion Lewis Hamilton in the last race at Monaco, so the German will come to Montreal with bags of confidence.
Why the Canada Grand Prix is Ferrari’s best chance to win?
As the records have shown, Mercedes has had the edge over Ferrari this season at corners, tyres (except the mistake at Monaco which still did not cost Hamilton the race), driver form and engine efficiency. However, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari have a good chance to win due to the presence of long straight corners which sees cars hit 300 kmph at times. Moreover, being last year’s pole position taker and winner, Vettel will be confident of upstaging Hamilton for the first time this season.
As it seems, sector one of the circuit will see the Silver Arrows bossing it. However, Scuderia have a real chance of turning the race on its head in the final two sectors if they manage to get their tyres right and their drivers avoid the slipstream of the Mercedes cars.
Author’s take…
Ferrari have had a painful season so far, that was further complicated in France when a tactical blunder caused Leclerc to bow out in the first quarter. In a bid to increase speed, they moved up their engine upgrade that was initially due in Montreal, a move that seemed to work in Monaco. They lag behind Mercedes in almost every domain, but at least the Montreal track configuration is in their favor and team principle Mattia Binotto will be hoping that Lady Luck finally favors his side.
Having said that, however, Mercedes will be introducing their own engine upgrade for Montreal and it is widely expected that it will blow the competition out of the water. They already look uncatchable this season, and a win in Montreal would certainly end any lingering chances of Ferrari making a comeback this season. However, Formula One is still an unpredictable sport but what is absolutely certain is that Ferrari will have to get the pole on Saturday if they are to pose any sort of threat to the all-dominating Mercedes on Sunday.
