After a very necessary break for the grid, Formula 1 returns this week with the Canada Grand Prix.
And there is much to discuss.
From some fascinating fights that are formed through the classification, to a pilot who is on the cusp of a suspension, and another that can be forced to lose his local career due to an injury, there is no shortage of stories.
We are going to immerse ourselves at the main conversation points for the Canada Grand Prix.
Registering the title races of F1
With the last triple header in the rearview mirror, it is time to register in both title races.
The Spanish Grand Prix offered the last turn to a fascinating fight of the F1 driver championship. The victory of Lando Norris in the Monaco Grand Prix took him only three points from his teammate Oscar Piastri at the top of the classification, but Piestri’s command performance in Barcelona pushed that gap to the points, since he ended up in front of Norris.
Perhaps more intriguing is what happened behind them. When the grid arrived in Barcelona, Max Verstappen was just out of the rhythm, just 25 points behind Piaastri and 23 points behind Norris. But as we will discuss at one time, the tenth place of Verstappen in Barcelona coupled with the unique presentation of the McLaren duo dragged him further from the front. While the grid is going to Montreal Verstappen, 39 points behind Norris and 49 points behind Piastri.
And with George Russell only 26 points behind Verstappen, the gap is also closing behind him.
As for the race of the builders’ championship, McLaren remains the field class, since the Woking -based team has 362 points in the season, which puts 19an points away from the team in second.
That team?
Ferrari.
After all the dismay in recent weeks on the Scuderia, a third place in Charles Leclerc and a result of sixth place by Lewis Hamilton pushed Ferrari to P2, six points from Mercedes and 22 points of Red Bull.
There is a long way to go until the trophies are delivered, but the fights in the front are fascinating.
Spear shepherd?
In the hours before the Spanish Grand Prix, it was broken that Aston Martin’s pilot, Lance Stroll, would be retiring from the race, citing pain in his hands and wrist. The Paseo underwent surgery before the Bahrain 2023 Grand Prix after a pre -season training of accidents in cycling, and made an impressive return to the network for the first race of the season, where he finished sixth.
However, his status for this week, his local career, is in doubt.
Mike Krack, the team’s main track officer, transmitted that “Plan A” is for the walk to be at the AMR25 this week. But Krack admitted that he is in the air before the teams are directed to Montreal.
“At this time, it is really diffusion to say how it will go and what will happen in the next few days, but we will discover it,” Krack told the F1 official website.
And if the walk cannot run this weekend, there are more complications. Reserve drivers Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne are waiting, but both are scheduled to drive in the 24 hours of Le Mans, which conflicts the Canadian Grand Prix. Jak Crawford, who leads in F2 and is part of the Aston Martin’s driving development program, currently lacks the points required in his super license of the FIA.
“It is quite simple, the ‘Plan A’ is to have a throw in the car, that is the ‘Plan A’, and that is what we are working on,” Krack said. “If the ‘Plan A’ does not work, then we need to pull the ‘Plan B’.
“Obviously, we always knew that Le Mans was going to happen, so we also had plans in his place that if we need a driver who is doing Le Mans, we will bring it, but at this moment this is not the only question,” Krack added.
“We are what they bring the next few days, and then we make a decision.”
Max Verstappen on the cusp or on an unexpected vacation
The last Triple header of F1 ended with a penalty, placing the pilot defending champion in the precipice of a prohibition of penalty of a race.
The Max Verstappen incident with George Russell in the final stages of the Spanish Grand Prix resulted not only a ten -second penalty of racing administrators for the Red Bull driver (which takes it to P10) but a three -point penalty in his super license of the FIA. That increased the current Verstappen penalty count at 11 points, which puts it a suspension point for a race.
To complicate things is the fact that the next points to expire in the Super Verstappen license, the two he received for an incident with Lando Norris in the Austrian Grand Prix last year, do not expire until the end of the month.
That means that Verstappen has to navigate both to the Canada Grand Prix this week and the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of this month, without incident.
All eyes in the second Red Bull seat … again
Verstappen standing in the precipice of a suspension of a career is not the only important story in Red Bull.
It’s time to talk about the second seat … again.
Yuki Tsunoda, used by the team as a replacement for Liam Lawson after only two races this year, has not delivered the type of results that Red Bull expects to get out of his second seat. Tsunoda has approached only seven points from the promotion to the senior team, a brand that has seen drivers such as Alexander Albon, Carlos Sainz Jr., Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon and yes, Isack Hadjar, overcome him on that section.
Now there are rumors that Hadjar could be the next driver to obtain an ascent to Red Bull. “There is a pilot that racing bulls think that it has a style very similar to Max Verstappen. I don’t think it’s ready yet. But is Isaac had the answer to their problems?” ash Sky Sports F1David Croft in recent days.
“If Hadjar is the closest thing to Max Verstappen, then he has an easy task to adapt to that car, which has been designed and developed more for Max’s taste.
“Red Bull says why Sergio Pérez was a bit reluctant to show feedback last year, so, therefore, the feedback was Max, therefore, the car was in a maximum direction.”
The theme of the second seat in Red Bull has been delayed since Ricciardo left the team after the 2018 season, and now even Verstappen wonders why this is still a problem for the team.
“Yuki is not a pancake. This [with the 2nd Red Bull driver] He has been happening for a long time, “Verstappen said in the Spanish Grand Prix.
“Maybe that is a sign. Or what? What can you decide yourself.”
Then there are the rumors that the team is looking for approval for Arvid Lindblad, 17, to receive a super license from the FIA. Lindblad, who is third in the classification of the F2 pilots championship and comes a victory in the F2 characteristic race in the Spanish Grand Prix, is considered one of the brightest sports talents. But since he is not 18 years old, he would need to approach the FIA to drive in F1.
He will turn 18 in August.
Could this be a support should see Verstappen a penalty as described above? Consideration for another mid -season movement?
Or simply more fodder for people like me?
Is the front wing saga resolved?
Upon entering the Spanish Grand Prix, the front wings were the Paddock talk.
With the governing body of the sport instituting stricter evidence on the front wings, to reduce the “flexible wing” saga that dominated the conversation in recent months, there was an unbridled speculation that the new requirements shook a hierarchical order.
The corresponding front row block and Norris ended that speculation, at least for now.
Is the “Flexi-Wing” saga really finished, or Montreal Spring is a surprise?
Has a new contender emerged in the center of the center of the field?
Williams expected a difficult week in Barcelona, and those premonitions were demonstrated correct since the team endured their first race without points from the Bahrain Grand Prix. Even so, sit comfortably in fifth in the race of the Builders Championship with 54 points, 26 points away from Visa Cash Application Race Bulls. Haas is in the seventh in the table with 26 points, only two behind the VCarb account.
But a new contender emerged in Barcelona?
The impressive fifth place of Nico Hülkenberg in the Spanish Grand Prix, which included an advance of Lewis Hamilton in the penultimate return, delivered ten massive points for Sauber, promoting them to Eighth in the classification. Despite entering the Spanish Grand Prix in the tenth of the Construction Championship, that result led its season to 16, writing them with Aston but giving Sauber the tiebreaker advantage.
Can Sauber keep that impulse in Montreal?
