Pole Canada: Mercedes balanced, Ferrari without mechanical grip

By Carlo Platella
An exciting qualification takes place in Montreal, uncertain right down to the end and where there is no shortage of twists and turns. The surprise of the day is George Russell’s pole position, aboard a Mercedes that reaps the benefits of a friendlier track and the development of recent weeks. The Silver Arrow is negatively contrasted by Ferrari, whose weaknesses seen in Canada outweigh the strengths appreciated in Monaco.

The qualification

It’s hard to distinguish between winners and losers on Canadian Saturday. For the umpteenth time the gaps are very small, with the first three within 21 thousandths and with only one tenth embracing the first four, making it very difficult to make a distinction in values. Those in Montreal also embody of atypical qualificationsfor which the teams had very little time available, considering how Friday’s free practice was canceled out by the rain.

The teams therefore had to deal with more unknowns than usual, finding themselves forced to react promptly to external conditions. The pilots, called upon to interpret, are also a valid approach a slippery and rapidly evolving slope, thanks to the new asphalt and without rubber, washed away by the rain that fell on the track. The human factor thus plays a decisive role in the final result, perfectly reflected by the three drivers from as many different teams in the first three positions.

Finally Mercedes

Taking the day’s titles is George Russell, who took pole position on equal time with Max Verstappen. A pleasant surprise, which contrasts with the role of fourth force played by Mercedes in the month of May. One of the big limiting factors being worked on at Brackley is the balance of the W15, car that so far has appeared competitive in fast or slow speeds, but rarely in both areas, highlighting imbalances in the balance at different speeds. In this, the Canadian track meets the needs of the Silver Arrow, with a certain homogeneity of curves contained in a narrow speed spectrum, facilitating the search for balance.

However, it is not just the track factor behind George Russell’s pole position. From Miami in fact Mercedes brought small updates to each race, the last of which were the interventions on the wing and front suspension introduced between Monte Carlo and Canada. The team members report a slow expansion of the window of use, the result of small but numerous changes. In fact, in Montreal the W15 manages to stabilize tire pressures and temperatures better, at least in Russell’s hands, finally extracting the grip of that softer tire that Mercedes had complained about in previous events.

The couple Red Bull-Verstappen comes out defeated on equal merit from the Canadian qualifications, with the awareness of a package that is no longer overwhelming, but still extremely competitive. The aerodynamic load released at higher speeds than in Monaco alleviates the RB20’s problems on the curbs, which can thus make the most of the progress made in slow corners compared to last year. The test conducted on Friday on the deformation of the suspension pull-rod, however, confirms internal fears of possible mechanical correlation problems with the simulator.

I sink Ferrari

The elimination of both Red cars in Q2 is the big negative surprise of the day. Leclerc regrets the time lost with traffic at the hairpin, also believing that he completed the lap too early and missed the favorable evolution of the track. Factors, those cited by the Monegasque, which certainly have their influence, but which if Ferrari pays dearly for a general lack of competitivenesssuch that we often see the two SF-24s in the lower part of the top-10.

The outcome of the Canadian qualification does not erase what was observed after the victory in Monaco. The suspension mechanics when attacking curbs and rough edges remains a strong point of the SF-24, however insufficient to compensate for other shortcomings. One of these is the lack of agility in medium-low speed corners, which already emerged in the tortuous first sector of China, in another troubled weekend for the Prancing Horse. Also in Canada, Leclerc and Sainz experienced a significant delay in the hairpin bends of the first sector, further amplified by the less than optimal use of the tyres.

Between the curves of Montreal the SF-24 slides on both axes, a condition which is not a symptom of a lack of balance in the set-up, but of mechanical grip from the tyres. Frederic Vasseur speaks of difficulties in starting the tyres, with tire temperatures often lower than optimal. One wonders why there is such a decline compared to Monte Carlo, which has in common with Montreal a low-grip asphalt and the softest compounds in the Pirelli range. In Canada the temperatures are not particularly high, around 30°C on the asphalt, but this observation offers only a partial answer. However, Ferrari will have the opportunity to recover positions in a race which, between graining, variable weather and lack of information gathered on the tires during testing, promises to be decidedly interesting.