2026 - Race 5 (Canada)

[F1nKS]

Long waits between races. The way the season has unfolded has kind of put F1 on the back foot. The pace will pick up with the Canada race at least until the summer break.

Verstappen, though, is benefiting as he is about to take part in the Nürburgring 24-hour race.

The move to apple TV has significantly increased U.S. viewership.

Reports are that viewership in Spain and France have had significant drops in viewers.

Overall, global viewership is up.

 

[airshifter]

And just FYI..... and a surprising one at that.

I saw the other night that Netflix is advertising the Canadian Grand Prix will be televised live on race day. It must be a tie in with the switch to Apple TV.

 

[F1nKS]

And just FYI..... and a surprising one at that.

I saw the other night that Netflix is advertising the Canadian Grand Prix will be televised live on race day. It must be a tie in with the switch to Apple TV.

Thanks, I had not realized that Netflix was broadcasting the Canada race.

Evidently, Apple swapped content with Netflix. Netflix got 2026 Canada, Apple gets Season 8 of Drive to Survive. Netflix wanted to beef up its live sports options for this year.

 

[Nitrodaze]

oops

 

[Nitrodaze]

So what does Montreal have to offer us this weekend?

Firstly, all eyes are on George Russell. Canada is a must-win race for Russell. If Kimi wins it or finishes ahead of Russell, chances are he would be relegated to Number two status.

Canada was a weak track for McLaren, especially last year, so they may struggle a bit. But this is a track that suits Piastri's driving, hence he may surprise everyone with a win.

Hamilton goes well here, hence it might be a race where he reverses his recent slump. Can Ferrari win in Canada??? I don't know. But if there is a track where Ferrari can pull out a surprise win, Canada is it. The track leans towards Ferrari's cornering strengths. But the straight may be a problem for Ferrari.

A happier Verstappen means that Redbull is going to be in the mix this weekend as well. I would not be surprised if Verstappen ends up on the podium.

What is your podium predictions for the Sprint and the Main race?

 

[gm99]

Hamilton goes well here, hence it might be a race where he reverses his recent slump. Can Ferrari win in Canada??? I don't know. But if there is a track where Ferrari can pull out a surprise win, Canada is it. The track leans towards Ferrari's cornering strengths. But the straight may be a problem for Ferrari.

Is it really a Ferrari track? They have just won once in the past twenty years (Vettel 2018, though he should have won in 2019 as well). The last podium was with Sainz in 2022.

 

[Nitrodaze]

Is it really a Ferrari track? They have just won once in the past twenty years (Vettel 2018, though he should have won in 2019 as well). The last podium was with Sainz in 2022.

Ok, I did not say a Ferrari win. That is so unlikely. But a good race may put a Ferrari among the McLarens. They seem slow to win races at the moment. Mind you, it may rain during the main race. Even so, Ferrari cars are usually not great in the rain. Whatever the case, all eyes are on the Mercedes pair. It seems the gloves are off, and Russell is not playing nice anymore. But Antonelli is not intimidated by this. Hamilton-Rosberg all over again.

They are not that far ahead to be fighting each other. There is a small risk that they lose one of the titles to McLaren.

 

[N. Jones]

I am still not sure if the racing is better or not. There are definitely battles happening, but whether they are skill or a product of the new rules, I am still unsure.

 

[Whyzars]

I am still not sure if the racing is better or not. There are definitely battles happening, but whether they are skill or a product of the new rules, I am still unsure.

The first 3 cars lapped the field and would've lapped LeClerc in 4th given more time.

Something is wrong with that picture but I can't put my finger on it. Did the others stop trying?

I am usually searching for the fast forward once the pit stops are over and that sums up the 2026 season so far...

 

[Nitrodaze]

I am still not sure if the racing is better or not. There are definitely battles happening, but whether they are skill or a product of the new rules, I am still unsure.

Well, it was a cracking race until Russell's car conked out. For me anyway. The close battle, which was possible because of the 2026 car platform, which evidently allows very close racing, indicates that they got something right in the 2026 regulations. The ADUO would improve the racing further and make the competition for the title more hard-fought.

The last regulation change did not improve things much, in my opinion. It definitely punished Ferrari and Haas. Haas was most affected as they have drifted backwards since the changes.

It is interesting how Hamilton is thriving after dumping the Ferrari simulator while Leclerc is suffering using it. There is something going on there which might boost Ferrari if they are able to understand it and resolve it. I suppose we would see how much of a problem it is if Leclerc can bounce back in his home race at Monaco.

Monaco would be an interesting race with these smaller cars and the electric deployment, which may be more effective at this race.

McLaren embarrassed themselves with poor tyre choices. I could not work out if the Lando DNF was similar to the reasons for the Russell DNF. If it is, then it would seem Mercedes is not bulletproof afterall.

 

[Nitrodaze]

The big question now is, can Antonelli carry this 40-something points advantage all the way to Abu Dhabi? He was driving on the ragged edge at Montreal, such that I think he may not have won it had the battle continued to the last lap. He would have destroyed his tyres and ruined his race in that scenario. Russell's stopping took away the punishment on his tyres. The next car behind was the slow Ferrari of Hamilton, which did not pose a threat.

He is very exciting to watch, but his inexperience and hot-headedness would be a disadvantage in future races. It could hand the driver's title to Russell or a McLaren or Ferrari driver (after the ADUO). Which would be a shame.

What is very clear is that we have a proper battle royal this season, and it would make great spectacle.

 

[Whyzars]

I hope you are right but my belief is that the season has already been decided and will become a boring spectacle. I hope I am wrong.

"Young Italian driver wins Formula 1 World Championship" is the headline that may already be written and is just waiting for the presses.

Antonelli is a generational talent performing in an over-regulated, electrified circus. It is not his fault but being able to do Playstation controls better than the rest should not be a defining skill in F1. We will not see the best of Antonelli until he follows Max into other classes of racing as a matured driver.

Maximus is doing his best "Are you not entertained" but I suspect he knows that an enormous error has been made with the current direction.

If Maximus is not entertained it might only be a matter of time before we aren't as well...

 

[Bagwan]

I was well entertained by that race .
Georgie and Kimi skirted disaster until that dash went dark .

This , we need to remember , is not too many races into a completely new formula .
All the teams are improving and figuring it all out , including Merc , at the top of the pile , who missed a one-two finish .

 

[Nitrodaze]

I was well entertained by that race .
Georgie and Kimi skirted disaster until that dash went dark .

This , we need to remember , is not too many races into a completely new formula .
All the teams are improving and figuring it all out , including Merc , at the top of the pile , who missed a one-two finish .

Very true!
The ADUO may well change the complexion of competition when it is finally applied. Ferrari is knocking on the door of race wins, McLaren and Redbull are still finding their feet in this new era of racing. Mercedes and Antonelli have made hay when the sun is shining. But this may become harder in the second half of the season.

The FIA and FOM seem lost on what to do about this electrified racing. This is clearly evident in talks about chucking electrification completely out and turning to big V8 engines with the hopes of winning fan support and admiration. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they are completely wrong. The need for F1 to be road-relevant suggests that they cannot ignore electrification. Dumping electrification is a clear declaration that F1 has failed at doing electrification. Besides, the road-relevant aspect of F1 suggests that they should strive to perfect electrification to feed that knowledge into road cars.

On George Russell, Montreal has simply asked the question of what is he made of? He needs to pick himself up and do what Hamilton did to Verstappen in the 2021 season, where it seemed impossible for Hamilton to catch up and he nearly won it if all things were equal. So it can be done, he just need to go do it to show his true capability.

 

[Nitrodaze]

I hope you are right but my belief is that the season has already been decided and will become a boring spectacle. I hope I am wrong.

"Young Italian driver wins Formula 1 World Championship" is the headline that may already be written and is just waiting for the presses.

Antonelli is a generational talent performing in an over-regulated, electrified circus. It is not his fault but being able to do Playstation controls better than the rest should not be a defining skill in F1. We will not see the best of Antonelli until he follows Max into other classes of racing as a matured driver.

Maximus is doing his best "Are you not entertained" but I suspect he knows that an enormous error has been made with the current direction.

If Maximus is not entertained it might only be a matter of time before we aren't as well...

OOH Yess! We are in for cracking racing between the two Mercedes drivers; Hamilton-Rosberg style.

 

[N. Jones]

Thanks for those comments. I watched the race again and it looked like the battle up front was between the Mercs as the class of the field and everyone else jockeying for position.
So, I guess I am saying that the tweaks to the regulations did help the overall product.

 

[airshifter]

I was well entertained by that race .
Georgie and Kimi skirted disaster until that dash went dark .

This , we need to remember , is not too many races into a completely new formula .
All the teams are improving and figuring it all out , including Merc , at the top of the pile , who missed a one-two finish .

I enjoyed that race as well Bagwan. And people need to give the new formula a chance before becoming either fortune tellers or talk of doom and gloom. The only thing that robbed us from the excellent race up front was a broken car. Lewis and Max were fun to watch as well, and telling of how small things can make a big difference. Max said he couldn't keep his tires fired up enough when he was in clean air, but once Lewis got past him the dirty air helped his tires maintain more heat, and Lewis might have been dealing with the same, since he closed the gap much quicker but then couldn't really create a new gap in front of Max.

I thought you might have missed the race while turning in your firearms.

 

[Bagwan]

Turning in my firearms ?
Huh ?