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Canadian GP Preview
Ocon out at Alpine, Perez in at Red Bull, 🌧️🌧️ on the way, and Groundhogs beware
Formula F1x
June 06, 2024
The F1x
Back in The Great White North
Another week without a Verstappen win?
O’ Canada - cold racing, a couple of legends have historic wins, and groundhogs
Ocon out at Alpine
Perez stays with Red Bull
Sainz’s options dwindling
FIA release details on 2026 car regulations
Ocon’s next destination?
The Out Lap
This week we are back in the great white north for 70 laps around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve! Although it is the start of June and no snow will be expected, did you know the coldest race ever recorded in F1 happened during the Canadian GP in 1978 (see Oh Canada section below for more info on this year) but this happened in October and not the start of June, where temperatures should not reach 5°C/41°F. BUT it looks like we could be in for a wet weekend.
Do we get another non-Verstappen race winner? Does the high speed and heavy breaking track bode well for the other runners? Coming off back to back race weekends with McLaren and Ferrari putting a damper on the Red Bull party, we as fans are getting more and more hopeful this season isn’t a foregone conclusion after all.
The Red Bull does not ride the kerbs very well and Canada could pose more issues for the team. Max said recently that he doesn’t anticipate the Montreal circuit to be their strongest weekend. The track has recently been resurfaced
Jack Doohan (Alpine reserve driver and top prospect to take over Ocon’s seat in 2025) will be participating in FP1 in place of Ocon. It has been reported Alpine has been impressed with Doohan on the simulator and this weekend could be give some more insight into who will claim the Alpine seat next year.
O’ Canada 🇨🇦
The track: 4.361 km / 14 turns / 70 laps / lap record 1:13.078 (Bottas, 2019)
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is named after the Canadian Scuderia Ferrari driver of the same name. Villeneuve actually won the first Canadian GP following its move to the Montreal circuit in 1978, where it has been held every year since. The circuit was renamed to honour the French Canadian driver following his untimely death which occurred only a few years later during his final qualifying run for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982.
The 2011 Canadian GP is the longest F1 race to date with rain causing delays before Jenson Button took the checkered flag 4 hours and 4 minutes after the start.
Groundhogs 🦫 (yes, this is a beaver) seem to be a reoccurring issue on the track with multiple incidents involving the furry things over the years - most recently in 2022 when Nicholas Latifi hit one in FP3.
Lewis Hamilton’s first ever F1 win came at the Canadian GP in 2007 in just his 6th career start.
News From the Week
Esteban Ocon is officially out at Alpine next year. The French driver and Alpine released statements that they have agreed to part ways at the end of the 2024 season. This decision comes following a tough outing in Monaco that included a first lap crash with his teammate. While the Monaco GP was still running the Alpine team principal Bruno Famin stated “there will be consequences” which people took as a potential benching for Canada or being dropped as a whole. It has been reported that Ocon has been in potential contract talks with Haas for weeks and this could be Alpine taking their opportunity to make it look like it was their decision… Read
BWT Alpine F1 Team and I have agreed together to part ways at the end of the 2024 F1 season.
The Enstone-Viry family has played a significant part in my life, dating back to my Lotus junior programme days. I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have achieved the things I did… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban)
11:08 AM • Jun 3, 2024
Sergio Perez signs 2 year extension with Red Bull. It was originally reported Perez was offered a one year deal with an option for a second, which he declined and worked towards this two year guarantee. Sergio remains behind the pace of his teammate and with the McLaren’s and the Ferrari’s catching speed, having this negotiation off his mind should come as a relief as he looks to stay on the podium this season. Red Bull is content with keeping it status quo for the next couple of years and after all the reports of the team splitting apart from the seams following the Horner investigation, we are sure they like having the driver lineup set for a couple of years. Read
This move solidifies earlier rumours that Carlos Sainz was out of contention for the seat and now it appears his only two options are Williams or Stake (Audi). This is also a sign that Red Bull doesn’t have the confidence to promote Yuki to the main seat, even with his impressive drives to start the season. This also leaves Liam Lawson in a tricky situation as his options get back into F1 dwindle. Read
The FIA released regulations for 2026 and their vision for how the cars will look. They are looking to make the racing more exciting and highlight the skill of the drivers. Faster cars, more overtakes, and better racing… sound too good to be true? We will have to wait and see. TLDR: 200mm and 100mm size reductions to wheelbase and car width respectively, 30kg lighter, less downforce, less drag, DRS will be replaced with an “active aerodynamics mode” which will be a push-to-pass style design to allow for high downforce and low drag settings to be switched on and off. Read
