Feature

Chris Medland's 2016 Canadian Grand Prix preview

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What time does the Canadian Grand Prix start? What channel is the Canadian Grand Prix on? The answers to all of that and more in F1i’s race preview

The Canadian Grand Prix is a firm favourite with the drivers and teams, but there is even more anticipation heading to Montreal this weekend as the 2016 F1 season threatens to catch alight. Red Bull outpaced Mercedes around the streets of Monte Carlo - thanks in part to a new power unit upgrade from Renault - and should have won its second race in succession but for a pit stop error which cost Daniel Ricciardo. With Renault saying the update will show its true potential on a power sensitive track such as Canada, will Red Bull truly emerge as a real threat to Mercedes for the rest of the season?

FORM GUIDE

Lewis Hamilton took victory in Monaco but he himself said after the race that "a swing goes both ways”, with Nico Rosberg having been in good form before a disappointing performance in Monte Carlo. The best performer over the past two rounds has been Ricciardo, who delivered an excellent lap for third on the grid in Spain and could have won if strategy had been kinder to him, while he should have triumphed in Monaco after a very impressive weekend. Red Bull is the team to watch but Ferrari also looks set to bring a power unit update to Montreal in order to threaten Mercedes again, and with Williams well-suited to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve it could be a relatively close field this weekend. Add in a much-improved Force India and the likes of Toro Rosso, McLaren and Haas are likely to be fighting over the final points at best.

2015 RESULT

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:14.393

Top three: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Valtteri Bottas (Williams)

Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1:16.987

SESSION TIMES (All times local)

FP1: 10:00 - 11:30

FP2: 14:00 - 15:30

FP3: 10:00 - 12:00

Qualifying: 13:00 - 14:00

Race: 1400

TYRE CHOICES

©Pirelli Motorsport

©Pirelli

WEATHER FORECAST

How do you follow a thrilling wet/dry Monaco Grand Prix? With another wet/dry race, of course. The forecast for the whole week in Montreal is for cool and overcast conditions, with a threat of rain on all three days of the race weekend. The biggest chance of wet weather is on Sunday, with showers predicted on race day. Seeing as we managed to tempt fate with this line last time out we’ll use it again: Drivers on the limit in the dry in qualifying around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, followed by the challenge of a wet race? Perfect.

UK TELEVISION TIMINGS (All times UK)

Sky Sports F1 - Live coverage

FP1 - 1445

FP2 - 1845

FP3 - 1445

Qualifying - 1700

Race - 1730

Channel 4 - Highlights

Qualifying - 2200

Race - 2240

PODIUM PREDICTION

1st - Lewis Hamilton

2nd - Sebastian Vettel

3rd - Daniel Ricciardo

2015 BEST SHOT

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.