After just one race in six weeks, Formula 1 begins a run of more regular races this weekend.
The drivers’ championship fight has been all about the Mercedes pair so far. Will that change in Montreal? Here are the talking points.
Will Russell hit back?
So much for the pre-season predictions that George Russell would romp to the 2026 championship in dominant Mercedes.
There’s no doubt his team have produced the goods with the W17. But four rounds in, Russell trails his junior team mate 3-1 on grand prix victories. The teenager tops the table with 20 points in hand.
If Antonelli makes it four in a row this weekend he could leave Canada with a championship lead greater than a single grand prix victory – always a reassuring psychological buffer.
At this early stage in the season it would be hyperbole to call this a ‘must-win’ round for Russell. Whatever happens there will still be 449 points available over the rest of the season (assuming no further race cancellations or reinstatements). But Montreal will be a telling test of his championship credentials.
Russell won this race from pole position last year. While he described Miami as the kind of low-grip track he doesn’t enjoy, he singled out “Montreal style” tracks as his strength.
No doubt Russell didn’t have the rub of the green in China, where he had car trouble in qualifying, or Japan, where the timing of the Safety Car played against him. However he also lost crucial ground after restarts, making life more difficult for himself.
If Russell is going to beat his team mate to the championship this year, he must start capitalising on Mercedes’ advantage more successfully.
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Can Mercedes pull further ahead?
In Miami, Mercedes was the only one of the ‘big four’ teams not to bring a significant upgrade package. They still won the grand prix, but McLaren were breathing down their neck – and took victory in the sprint race.
While Mercedes will bring an upgrade this weekend, so will several of its rivals, including McLaren. The benchmark team of 2026 will be hoping to pull further ahead but their customer team could be about to halt their winning run.
Red Bull also showed signs of progress with their new package in Miami. An unusual Sunday slip-up by Max Verstappen and penalty for Isack Hadjar masked the gains they have made with the RB22, though the latter did not seem as comfortable in his upgraded car as his team mate.
Ferrari’s place among the top four is harder to read. They began the season competitively but looked out of sorts following their Miami upgrade. Was that a blip or an indication that they are slipping back?
Has F1 got its 2027 engine rules right?
With the classic PR timing for a negative news story, F1’s plans for its 2027 engine regulations slipped out late on a Friday, following the Miami Grand Prix. After years of hyping up its new power units, powered equally by combustion and battery, the FIA admitted it will abandon the ’50-50′ formula next year.
Just four rounds after introducing the 2026 power units, F1 is hastily revising them for next year in probably the most significant way it realistically can. For all the loud defences of the 2026 regulations and insistences that the racing is terrific, this is a clear admission all is not so rosy after all and serious change is needed.
That such a swift and drastic change to the rules was deemed necessary so soon after they were introduced should raise serious questions about how they were conceived in the first place.
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Strolling on for another decade?
Lance Stroll was originally due to mark his 200th appearance in a grand prix weekend at his home event. However the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix have postponed that milestone.
But in his 10th year in the sport, is Canada’s only F1 driver beginning to tire of it – and his unique place among his competitors? After all, none of his 21 rivals owe their place on the grid to the fact their driver owns their team.
His F1 career has had a few high points but has not exactly been replete with success. And 2026 must surely rank as his biggest disappointment so far. He’s driven bad cars before, but none which came with the same expectations which accompanied the Adrian Newey-designed Aston Martin-Honda AMR26.
Stroll’s team mate Fernando Alonso, who turns 45 this year, is often asked how much longer he intends to stay in the sport. But what of the driver he has out-qualified for nearly 24 consecutive months?
While much ink has been spilled over Verstappen’s escapes at the Nuerburgring, he isn’t the only driver who has enjoyed swapping F1’s unloved 2026 creations for a GT car this year. Stroll did the same during the unexpected April break and has not held back in his criticism of F1’s 2026 rules, calling F3 cars “1,000 times more fun”. Does he really fancy another decade of this?
First wet race for the new rules?
The long range forecasts for the Canadian Grand Prix indicated a strong chance of rain to begin with. But as the weekend draws closer, the risk of rain has decreased somewhat.
Nonetheless, there is a 50-50 chance of light rain for several hours on Sunday. F1’s new cars could be about to meet wet weather racing conditions for the first time.
As Verstappen and Charles Leclerc demonstrated in Miami, these cars can be a handful even in dry conditions. Expect action if the forecast drizzle does materialise.
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Are you going to the Canadian Grand Prix?
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