This weekend is round seven of the 2019 Formula One World Championship, which takes us to Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, home of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The 2.71-mile track layout almost always delivers an action-packed race. Overtaking is relatively straightforward, speeds are high, and the cars are pushed to their limits.
Drivers need to be beware of the close barriers, though, as these will punish any mistakes heavily. It goes without saying that safety cars are a reasonably common occurrence.
The semi-permanent track combines long straights with tight chicanes and each team sets up their car to maximize straight line speed, although the cars also need to deliver a good ride over the relatively tall curbs.
When it comes to the twisty stuff, 11 of the 14 corners are taken below 100 mph, which makes it particularly hard on the brakes and tires when the cars are coming from the high-speed straights. Pirelli has nominated its C3, C4 and C5 compounds for the race.
The weather can be changeable, with cool temperatures and rain quite common, even in July. As a result of the cool weather and track conditions, some degree of graining of the tires, which hurts grip, can be expected, especially at the start of the weekend. The good news is that the weather forecast calls for sunny conditions during both Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race.
A number of teams are expected to run some updates in Montreal. Incredibly, Mercedes-AMG, which has won every race so far this season, has implemented a power unit upgrade.
Going into the weekend, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton leads the 2019 Drivers' Championship with 137 points. Fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas is second with 120 points and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel is third with 82 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 257 points, Ferrari is second with 139 points and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing is third with 110 points. Last year's winner in Montreal was was Vettel, driving for Ferrari.
