After a pandemic-induced two-year absence, the ‘Continental Circus’ returns to Montreal to celebrate the Canadian F1 GP 2022. The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal will once again host the ninth round of a World Championship where Red Bull is dominating at will.

At the current moment at least, Red Bull’s leadership is virtually unrivalled, or at least one could assume so after Ferrari’s third consecutive fiasco of the season in Azerbaijan. The mechanical faults that caused the double abandonment in Baku have the staff in Maranello pulling their hair out.

https://twitter.com/redbullracing/status/1537415443656343554

Ferrari’s star, Charles Leclerc, has had to retire in two of the last three races as  he was leading the race.  As a result of the mechanical and strategic underperformance of his team, the young Monegasque has fallen from second to third place in the standings and is now 34 points down from the leader. 

The situation is even more disheartening for his teammate. Not fully comfortable with the red rocket yet, Carlos Sainz is fifth in the standings with 83 points, 16 behind  George Russell in fourth, unstable Mercedes and all, and 33 behind his own teammate Leclerc. 

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Maranello is now immersed in an internal crisis. It has been two months and five Grand Prix since they’ve had their last victory in Australia. If they continue in this way, their title bid is over.

The situation is now so worrying that, at least for the time being, ‘La Scuderia’ has to resign itself to minimizing the damage, as winning is out of the question. This was insinuated by the Italian team’s sports director Mattia Binotto, who admitted that with just four days in between GPs, there has been no time to make their car any more reliable. 

La Scuderia’ has 199 points in the constructors’ standings ‘, 80 less than its Austrian rivals. 

Red Bull: To continue annihilating its rivals  

The Milton Keynes’ squad, on the other hand, is ecstatic. The Caspian Sea witnessed their fifth consecutive win and third 1-2 of the year last week. After a start of the season when they struggled with faulty mechanics and abandonments, they soon turned the situation around and have now won six out of the eight races ( Saudi Arabia, Emilia-Romagna, Miami, Spain & Azerbaijan, Monaco) disputed so far. 

The Montreal track should also be on their side. Its long straights will reward top speed and low downforce, both the strong points of the blue car. 

At a personal level, Max Verstappen, in top form, has extended his lead of the standings to 21 points. To top it all off, Checo Pérez has now ousted Leclerc from second place in the table. The only concern within the team is the possibility of a civil war breaking out between its two drivers. 

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Mercedes: To continue adding points while the porposing remains unresolved 

Mercedes is holding on to a very meritorious third place behind Bull and Ferrari. The team of the star is managing to make the most of a weak performing W13 ridden with issues, particularly a persistent and violent porposing effect. In Baku, The German squad demonstrated its resilience and took advantage of the Italian debacle to claim third and fourth places. 

Last week’s podium was particularly sweet for George Russell. His third podium finish of the season, he is the only driver to have been in the top five in every single race so far. Lewis Hamilton also showed his tenacity as he pulled through the severe back pain that the pernicious shaking of his car is causing him. 

FIA takes steps to reduce porpoising in the interests of safetyhttps://t.co/XTs7zC4oKx

— FIA (@fia) June 16, 2022

After Mercedes’ team principal, Toto Wolff, at his wits end with the behaviour of the silver arrow, FIA decided to change the regulations. Several teams, however, have voiced strong opposition to his cause and argued that Mercedes should simply raise the height of the car, even if this means compromising on performance and speed. 

Finally, just reminding readers that the Canadian F1 GP 2022 is scheduled for 70 laps of the 4,361m track, adding a total distance of 305.27 km. 

Images of Canadian F1 GP 2022:Red Bull Racing.