There’s a festive atmosphere ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Grand Prix but will Ferrari be the party-poopers in a country celebrating its 150th birthday? Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of victories in Montreal this weekend as he goes in search of a 6th career victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Practice for the sixth round on the Formula 1 calendar begins on Friday with the main race set to take place on Sunday at 19:30 (7:30pm – SA time).
Turn 14 at the Canadian Grand Prix where so many have crashed before[/caption] The famed ‘Wall of Champions’ at turn 14 has claimed its fair share of victims down the years including Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, who is replaced this weekend by a returning Fernando Alonso after his Indy500 stint. Following a Ferrari one-two led by Vettel in Monaco last time out, Mercedes will look to the Canadian GP – a happy hunting ground in the past for them – as a source of points in their attempt to narrow the widening gap at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Vettel extended his lead to 25 points over Hamilton a fortnight ago.
MONTREAL, QC - JUNE 10 2007: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and McLaren Mercedes celebrates winning his first Grand Prix in the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve [/caption] No current driver has more victories in Montreal than Lewis Hamilton. The bold Brit’s five race victories there is only bettered by the great Michael Schumacher who has seven to his name. He returns to the scene of his very first Grand Prix victory 10 years ago and could prove to be the difference as Mercedes look to edge ahead of rivals Ferrari in number of constructor wins at the ‘Old School’ circuit. They currently sit level with 13 wins apiece adding even more fuel to the fire that is the battle between Lewis and Vettel.
Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H leads Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas [/caption] Confident yet cautious, Hamilton is aware of the challenges that lie ahead for his Mercedes team. Speaking ahead of the weekend he had the following to say: "Montreal has been a great hunting ground for me in the past and I plan for it to continue, The Ferrari seems to work everywhere. The next 14 races are going to be very, very difficult, they have had arguably the strongest car all year. They look like our car which just worked everywhere last year."
Canadian Lance Stroll will have home ground advantage this weekend[/caption] Nico Rosberg is the only man in the last 10 years other than Vettel or Hamilton to qualify on pole in Canada while Valteri Bottas’ win in Russia remains the only time this season that a driver has managed to break the strangle-hold that the pair have over the rest of the field. 18-year old rookie Lance Stroll will race in front of his home crowd for the very first time and while his adoring fans would love nothing more than a first homegrown victory since the days of Jacques Villeneuve whose father this very track is named after, a Williams win seems unlikely. Daniel Ricciardo is the most recent winner of the only other four current drivers to have tasted success in Montreal prior to the Hamilton dominance fans have gotten used to in the last couple of years (Raikkonen 2005; Alonso 2006; Vettel 2013). That win in 2014 was his maiden Grand Prix victory in his debut season, emulating the success of a man just five years his senior. A lifetime of achievement, however, separates them. The three-time World Champion’s 55 race victories dwarf Ricciardo’s modest haul of four. With storms predicted this weekend, an already challenging circuit could be turned up a notch in difficulty and with a raging title race set to match the climate in Montreal, the atmosphere should be electric and the track being the only thing that the weather serves to dampen.