2013 Canadian GP: Track Check

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has maintained a more or less similar layout for quite a few years now. It has the shortest lap time among all tracks – of around 75 seconds – although that is mainly due to the long straights and hence the fast nature of the circuit. With no large radius fast corners, teams look for a low to medium downforce setup to make full use of DRS down the two straights – start/finish and the back straight. After having only one DRS zone last year, the FIA has made it two this time around.

Riding the kerbs being absolutely necessary to post a fast lap time around this circuit, it is preferable to run a softer suspension as compared to other races; but again, it needs to be a compromise because of the fast changes in directions.

Turns 1 and 2

It is a relatively short run down to Turn 1 but that does not deter drivers from being aggressive and try to gain positions right at the start. There have been quite a few accidents on Lap 1 there in the past just because of that, with the situation made worse by the narrow width of the track.

Turn 3 (Virage Senna)

Here the cars coming out of the pit lane join the track, and that leads to jostling of positions throughout the race, as the driver just out of the pits tries to bring his cold tyres up to temperature while the other tries to keep ahead.

Turns 4 and 5

These set of corners can be said to be a half-chicane, and on the exit of Turn 5, cars run very close to the wall on the right and unfortunately, sometimes they head towards Turn 6 with a broken front wing and/or suspension.

Turns 6, 7 and 8

This corner provides half an overtaking opportunity, but requires both courage and skill, due to a slight elevation change which can very easily result in a spin for the driver, if not maneuvered properly. This is where Sebastian Vettel lost the lead to Jenson Button on the final lap of the epic 2011 race. A good exit out of Turn 8 is very necessary, otherwise one can easily fall prey to the car behind going into the next chicane.

Turns 9 and 10

The second of the three chicanes around the lap. Although this shouldn’t be too big a challenge, we have seen accidents here when cars try to run side by side and, not surprisingly, have contact. An example would be when Jenson Button spun Fernando Alonso out of the 2011 race, while coming through the field.

Turn 11 (Virage du Casino)

The heaviest braking point on the circuit where drivers decelerate from over 300 kph to just over 60 kph. Before Turn 11 lies the DRS detection point, and that will be very crucial as it is the only one around the lap, and therefore the car behind must be within 1 second of the car in front here. Also, the heavy braking allows some overtakes to be completed by outbraking the other. If overtaking can be done here, it will be easy going for the over-taker, because now he will have the advantage of DRS two times and also will be in front.

Turns 12 and 13

The first DRS activation point lies 55m before Turn 12 and so we should definitely see some slip-streaming, cars sailing past one another, starting here until the final chicane.

Turns 14 and 15

One of the more challenging corners because of two reasons – one, the kerbs are a bit raised here to prevent drivers escaping safely by cutting the track, and secondly, the famed “Wall of Champions” await them on the outside. On the exit of Turn 15 lies the 2nd DRS activation point, making overtaking possible across the start/finish line.

Some important stats about the track:-

Length of track: 4.361 km

Pit lane length: 417 m (under pit lane speed limit)

Pit lane speed limits: 60 kmph in practice, 100 kmph in qualifying and race

Maximum speed (w/o DRS): 315 kmph

Start/Finish line offset: 0.000 km

Number of corners: 14 (right- 8, left- 6)

The Canadian Grand Prix has always been an interesting one down the years, along with the excellent atmosphere provided by the facilities and the enthusiastic fans. This year is expected to be the same with various strategies possible up and down the field. We can also look forward to the new tyres (Kevlar belt instead of steel belt) to be used during Friday practice and how the teams respond to them. Last but not the least, rain is predicted throughout the weekend and although it is not expected to affect the race, never say never. Who knows, we might have a 2011 all over again!