2025 Canadian Grand Prix Foresight
TRACK OVERVIEW AND HISTORY
The Canadian Grand Prix is a stapple of the Formula 1 World Championship, having been part of the calendar since 1967. At first, the race alternated between Mosport Park in Ontario and Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, but due to safety concerns, it found a permanent home in 1978 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. A track named after the legendary Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve. This circuit, situated on Île Notre-Dame in the St. Lawrence River, is renowned for its combination of high-speed straights and tight chicanes, culminating in the infamous "Wall of Champions," which is a chicane at turns 13-14 and a barrier that has caught out several world champions over the years.
As of 2025, the Canadian Grand Prix continues to be a highlight of the F1 season, with the upcoming race scheduled for June 15 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The event consistently draws large crowds, with attendance figures reaching 350,000 over the race weekend in 2024. The circuit's layout, featuring 14 turns over a 4.361 km track, offers ample opportunities for overtaking and has been the site of numerous memorable moments in F1 history, including Lewis Hamilton's first career win in 2007 and Jenson Button's dramatic victory in the rain-soaked 2011 race. With its rich history and challenging course, the Canadian Grand Prix remains a favorite among drivers and fans alike.
Wall of Champions taking victims
Official Canadian Grand Prix Track Layout
A big question mark going into this weekend is the hometown hero, Lance Stroll. A day before the Spanish Grand Prix, it was revealed that Lance reactivated his right wrist, which he broke before the start of the 2023 season. So, what does that mean for Aston Martin moving forward to this race and the races preceding? As of now, there has been no official announcement of Lance being replaced, but the team coming out and saying that he has been dealing with these issues for a while now and needs surgery suggests that he will not be participating in his home Grand Prix.
So Felipe Drugovich will be his replacement and will miss out on the 24 Hours of LeMans as a result. Felipe Drugovich raced in Formula 2 from 2020 to 2022, where he won the 2022 championship with MP Motorsport after earning five wins and 11 podiums, making him the first Brazilian F2 champion. After that, he signed with Aston Martin to be their reserve driver and races in other series as well.
LANCE STROLL
Lance Stroll
Felipe Drugovich
UPGRADES BROUGHT TO THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
Ferrari:
Ferrari introduced a redesigned front wing to comply with the FIA's stricter flexi-wing regulations.
They changed the sides of the front wing (called endplates) and adjusted how air pushes on the wing (load distribution) to get good performance, still while staying within the rules.
Close-up of New Front Wing
This image shows the new Ferrari front wing in detail.
The green arrow highlights the larger space between the flaps, showing a change in how the wing layers are shaped to control airflow more smoothly.
The orange and blue arrows point to stiffer support mounts and new attachment points. These are designed to prevent the wing from bending under pressure, following the new FIA rule against flexible wings.
Old vs New Front Wing Design
The second and third images compare Ferrari’s old (second image) and new (third image) front wing designs:
In the old version, the wing elements were more spaced out and had more freedom to twist under pressure, helping with speed, but are now banned.
In the new version, the wing elements are more locked down (green arrows). Ferrari added extra connectors and slightly reshaped the flaps to make the wing stiffer and legal.
Mercedes:
Mercedes reverted to their previous rear suspension setup after encountering issues with a new design introduced at Imola.
They still kept their new front wing and updated parts that cover the front suspension, which help with airflow and car balance.
Mercedes Floor: Old vs New
This image compares the old and new versions of the floor (bottom side) of the Mercedes car.
In the old floor (top), the design has deeper grooves and more aggressive shaping near the back. This helped control airflow, but it might have made the car harder to drive or less predictable.
The new floor (bottom) is cleaner and smoother, with fewer extreme shapes. This helps give the car consistent airflow, improving stability and grip, especially helpful when drivers struggle with the handling.
Rear Suspension
This close-up shows the back of the car, where the rear suspension arms are located (highlighted in red boxes).
These are the parts that hold the back wheels in place and affect how the car absorbs bumps and stays stable in corners.
Mercedes tried a new rear suspension design that changed how the car handled, but it didn’t work as expected. So at the Spanish GP, they returned to their older setup, which gave drivers more confidence.
Aston Martin:
Aston Martin implemented new floor and bodywork designs aimed at increasing downforce and consistency.
These enhancements contributed to improved performance during the race weekend, contributing to Fernando Alonso getting his first point score of the season at his home Grand Prix.
Unfortunately, there is no photo of the floor of the car because that is only viewed after a crash happens, and someone has to take a photo of the underside of the car.
TIRE COMPOUNDS AND RACE STAGEY
For this weekend, Pirelli opted to use the C4 for hard, the C5 for medium, and the new C6 tire for soft. How will this play out, though? For qualifying, most teams will use the C6 soft compound tire, but it will not be a surprise if some teams opt to try the C5 medium, which was used in Imola and a little in Monaco when these tires were in play.
A one-stop strategy may be viable in Canada, but do not expect teams to go for it. With Pirelli bringing out the softest tire compound they could bring (C4-C6), and the track having a combination of long straights and hard braking corners, the tires have a degradation. Teams are going to have to be flexible with their strategy this weekend because of the high chance of a safety car at this street circuit and the fact that the race is taking place in June. A time of the year when the weather is erratic.
