Formula 1 – Marussia F1 Team Canadian Grand Prix Preview

It’s always good to be in North America and Canada is only the start this year. We’ll be making two pitstops to the continent in 2012 as Austin will join the calendar this November. While the teams have yet to experience what Texas has to offer, F1 has been racing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for 35 years. So not only is it one of the oldest destinations on the calendar, it is also a firm favourite due in no small part to the popularity of its host city, the intoxicatingly cosmopolitan Montreal.

Timo Glock, Driver #24“I’m really looking forward to this race as it’s the scene of my first Grand Prix, where I scored two points. Every time since, Canada has been very good to me. It’s another quite special track. Once again it is a street circuit, although maybe not in the same way as Monaco. There are a lot of straights here, so you need a compromise between low downforce and high downforce. It’s also a place where you never know what might happen. We’ve had a lot of rain in the past and also the ‘Wall of Champions’ often plays its part in determining the race outcome, or the build-up to it. It should be an exciting weekend and let’s hope we continue the excellent work we demonstrated in Monaco.”

Charles Pic, Driver #25“I’m very excited about my first experience of racing in F1 in Canada next weekend. It’s a great circuit and another new and different challenge. My first objective is to learn the track quickly. This is a circuit Timo knows well, so this will be a good benchmark for me. The potential is certainly in the car. With regard to performance, I am quite happy about the last three races, but unfortunately we didn’t finish them because of some car-stopping problems. We need to put that behind us and look forward to Canada in a positive way.”

John Booth, Team Principal“We’re hoping that Canada will represent a bit of a turning point that puts us back on the right track again. The disappointment has centred less around car performance and pace, and more around a few set-up niggles and reliability issues that have crept in, particularly for Charles. We need to have both cars qualifying consistently and reaching the chequered flag. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a temporary street circuit, yet it is very different to Monaco. The track can be very demanding of the car and requires a careful compromise between the varying low and high-downforce elements. Operating the tyres and brakes can also be a challenge. In common with Monaco though, the barriers are very close and the drivers need to be careful of ‘that wall’. In the past, Montreal has not been short on surprises; we’ve had everything from small animals to torrential rain intervening in the course of events. According to the early forecasts, the weather is likely to range from very hot to very wet through the weekend. It is however a trip we all love to make, as Montreal is such a fantastic Grand Prix destination and the fans are very warm and welcoming.”