Canadian Grand Prix: 5 drivers to follow in Montreal
From seasoned veterans to the new kid on the block
The world's best open-wheel car racers are ready to storm Montreal this weekend with loud engines, big parties and bold personalities.
The Canadian Grand Prix has been on the Formula 1 circuit since 1967. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the track named after the late, great Canadian driver, has hosted the event since 1978. It is a favourite venue for many drivers who praise the track that wears out brake pads and brings racers uncomfortably close to walls.
Drivers must calculate how they enter twists and turns while mechanics must ensure vehicles are ready to perform for more than 253 kilometres.
The weather isn't expected to be a factor as a mix of sun and cloud is in the forecast for qualifying Saturday and the race Sunday, with up to a 30 per cent chance of rain, according to the Weather Network.
With this weekend's festivities around the corner, here are five names worth following in Montreal:
Nico Rosberg
The soon-to-be 31-year-old German driver for the Mercedes-Benz team has been this season's most dominant racer on the circuit. He won the first four races of the year and currently leads the drivers' standings with 106 points, 24 points ahead of second-place driver — and teammate — Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg's Finnish father, Keke, won the 1982 Formula 1 World Championship, but the best Nico has been able to do are back-to-back second-place finishes the past two seasons. It looks like 2016 is shaping up to be his year.
Lewis Hamilton
The 31-year-old Hamilton isn't one to stray from the limelight. When the Englishman isn't dating Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, he's riding motorized surfboards with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber. Hamilton won the most recent race — the Monaco Grand Prix — and is the defending champion in Montreal. He's led the most laps in Canada out of any current driver and will try to become the first back-to-back winner in Montreal since Michael Schumacher won three in a row from 2002-04.
Sebastian Vettel
The 28-year-old Scuderia Ferrari driver has won four world championships, but has won the Canadian Grand Prix only once, in 2013. He's fifth in the drivers' standings, and a victory in Montreal could vault him into the No. 2 spot behind Rosberg. Vettel's best result this season is a second in the Chinese Grand Prix. Autosport has reported that the Ferrari team will receive an engine upgrade for the race in Montreal, "which is believed to focus on the turbo."
Daniel Ricciardo
Sitting third in the drivers' standings, the 26-year-old Australian had his best result of the season in Monaco, finishing second. Autoweek reported Dr. Helmut Marko, a Red Bull Racing consultant, saying Ricciardo might be driving at the highest level of any driver in the circuit and he "deserved victory" in Monaco. Ricciardo appears poised to make an impact this weekend, telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he plans on bringing the same intensity to Montreal and is ready to "smash it" on the track.
Max Verstappen
The 18-year-old has burst onto the F1 scene, winning in Barcelona last month, the youngest driver to ever win the Spanish Grand Prix. Belgium-born but self-identified as Dutch, the Red Bull driver comes from a racing family; his father, Jos, was a Formula 1 driver from 1994 to 2003. The young racer told GP Update that he is hoping to find himself on the podium in Montreal. Verstappen praised the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, saying "there is a special feeling to drive there."