Preview: The Canadian Grand Prix

Look back

Last year, Lewis Hamilton completely dominated the entire weekend. The (then) three-time champion was the fastest man in qualifying by a mile as he equalled the pole record of his idol Ayrton Senna.

When the lights went out of Sunday, it was Max Verstappen who blitzed out of his place. The Dutch teenager picked up three places and went from P5 to P2 in the very first corner of the race; a spectacular piece of racing from him. During the process though, he damaged the front wing of Sebastian Vettel, who had to pit early to replace his nose.

The first lap ended with a safety car, as Carlos Sainz rammed his Toro Rosso into the wall. When the track was cleared, Verstappen immediately had a go at Hamilton, but the Brit allowed the Dutchman no space to pass him.

Verstappen's race then ended only a few laps later, as his engine simply gave up. Another very frustrating race for Verstappen, who seemed to have no luck with his reliability.

It was also Lance Stroll's first home race, and he did very well in front of his home crowd. The teenager finished ninth.

Daniel Ricciardo finished third behind Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton, and Vettel came back to finish fourth. Both Force India's could have ended on the podium, but as per usual, they ended up fighting each other on the track which cost them a lot of time. They finished P5 & 6.

Podium 2017

Expectations

There will be a lot of new engines in Montréal, as this is the first place where teams can legally switch engines. The engine total for the year went down from four to three, and as this is the seventh race of the season, a switch to the second power unit would be logical.

Everyone will also be bringing their upgrades to Canada. Red Bull designer Adrian Newey already talked down the impact of the team's upgrades, saying it will only make them about a tenth of a second quicker.

Ferrari are rumoured to have 20 bhp more in Canada, whereas Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff announced that the German team will not only be making upgrades, but they'll also be attaching new parts on the W09 bodywork. Mercedes will be the team to beat again, as they've dominated the track over the last three years.

The Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve has a lot of straights, which means that every Renault-powered car will struggle that little bit more. Straight-line speed has been the Achilles heel of the team for a long time. However, in Red Bull's case, the availability of the hypersoft tyre is a good sign. The Bulls seem to get the most out of the new compound, whereas Mercedes had no idea how to get it in the right window.

That's why Mercedes have brought way fewer hypersofts to Canada. They'll try to make it through qualifying on the ultra softs, which is something Ferrari and Red Bull should take full advantage of.

Predictions

Even though the title race is much closer this year, Mercedes will still be the favourites in Canada. It's just one of those tracks where one team performs way better than the other, kind of like what we saw from Red Bull in Monaco.

Lewis Hamilton has won the Canadian Grand Prix six times already, and he could make history this Sunday by becoming the second driver ever to win seven times in Montréal.

Ferrari have had a delay with their upgrades as the reliability seems to be an issue still, which is why the Italian team could struggle a bit. Red Bull Racing could be the second best team because of this. Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo both have an excellent understanding of the hyper softs, and the RB14's famous chassis could well be the difference between the Bulls and the prancing horse. However, Daniel Ricciardo has received a ten-place grid penalty after his Monaco-win, which should take him out of the picture for any real contention. Verstappen will have a big point to prove in Canada, and we're expecting a big performance out of him.

In midfield, the only real team to keep an eye on is Toro Rosso. The has reportedly installed a massive upgrade which should boost their pace by quite a bit. Reports have come out that the upgrade will feature around 40 bhp more power, but Honda have responded by saying it's 'only' 27 bhp.

Predicted top 5

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Valtteri Bottas

3. Max Verstappen

4. Sebastian Vettel

5. Kimi Raikkonen