Formula 1 fans, get ready for motor racing magic in Montreal!

Calling all you motorsport fans out there! Buckle up for a rollercoaster ride this weekend as we head to Montreal, Canada and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the next round of the F1 season! 

While there were fears that this race would be cancelled due to fires in the region, to fans’ relief, F1’s big brass recently confirmed that it would go ahead as planned. 

Of course, this grand prix brings with it a whole host of talking points, namely - can anybody hold a candle to the unstoppable force that is Red Bull? Can Mercedes build on their strong showing at the Spanish Grand Prix? Will the likes of Ferrari and Aston Martin show what they are made of?

With all of the above in mind, there’s no time like the present to take a look ahead to this weekend’s action!

Imperious! That’s the only word which you can use to describe Red Bull this year as they’ve blown the competition out of the water at every turn so far this season. It’s been a case of 7 races, 7 wins for the reigning Constructors’ Champions so far, who’ve racked up a staggering 287 points so far, a cool 135 points ahead of nearest challengers Mercedes. 

Given their rich vein of form, Red Bull will definitely by fancying their chances of at least matching McLaren’s record of losing just one race over the course of this season, despite team advisor Helmut Marko’s recent protestations that their dominance could be under threat in Montreal. 

It’s much the same story in the Driver’s Championship standing as well, with both Max Vertsappen and Sergio Perez sitting comfortably at the top of the leaderboard with 170 and 117 points respectively. Verstappen is showing no signs of letting up in his quest to retain the Drivers’ Championship as victory in Spain means that he has now taken the chequered flag in no fewer than 5 races this season and finished either 1st or 2nd in every single Grand Prix since the start of the season.

His teammate Sergio Perez will also be keen to get back to      winning ways after following up victory in Azerbaijan and a 2nd place finish at Miami with 16th and 4th-place finishes in Monaco and Spain respectively. What’s more, the Mexican has also scored 2 wins so far this season and he’ll no doubt be eager to prove that the above was just a minor blip this weekend.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the grid, Mercedes appear to have rediscovered their mojo somewhat and will be looking to build on their strong showing at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Silver Arrows picked up two podium finishes in Spain with 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton and his teammate finishing in 2nd and 3rd respectively, prompting hopes among their fanbase that their car is finally starting to recapture the form it showed when this team dominated this sport in the late 2010s.

However, such optimism doesn’t appear to be shared by Mercedes’ big brass as their pre-Grand Prix assessment omitted Red Bull from their list of competitors, naming Ferrari, Aston Martin and Alpine as their key rivals in this race. Could this be tacit recognition from The Silver Arrows that they haven’t got what it takes to go toe-to-toe with Red Bull here or is it a ploy to take the pressure off Hamilton and Russell after an impressive performance in Spain? Whatever it is, both drivers will be itching to give it their all and get points on the board here!

Speaking of Ferrari, it’s been a difficult season for The Prancing Horse so far and they will be desperately hoping for a good weekend this time around so they can bag some much needed points on the board. Although Carlos Sainz Jr. did manage to pick up 10 points with a 5th-place finish on home soil in the last race, the familiar issues of team tactics and unforced errors have blighted his teammate Charles Leclerc this season, who can’t seem to catch a break at the moment. The Italian stallions are currently 4th in the Constructors’ Championship standings, 34 points behind 3rd-placed Aston Martin, and need to prove their mettle here to avoid slipping even further behind the top 3.

Last but not least, we have this season’s surprise package, Aston Martin. Although they have yet to pick up a win     , Fernando Alonso and Co. have thrown a cat amongst the pigeons this season with the veteran Spaniard chalking up no fewer than 5 podium finishes this year. What’s more, in the wake of a 7th-place finish in Barcelona, the former World Champion stated that this would be the last time Aston Martin wouldn’t be on the podium. 

Whilst such a claim appeared a little pompous at the time, given where he finished, it has since emerged that Aston have been working on a major upgrade to their car and if it brings the goods, then they could be there or thereabout in this race.

Whatever happens, we’re set to be in for a thrilling race that’s bound to have us glued to our screens over the weekend!