By Karl King
June 5 2005

The 37th Grand Prix of Canada, and it's the 27th in Montreal, a GP our very own Ralf Schumacher won in 2001 with BMW.WilliamsF1. The track has been resurfaced since the times of Olivier and Christiano, who scored a valuable, much needed point for Toyota here in 2004. Oh, then we were disqualified! The Michelin Men explain the unpredictability surrounding the race.

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director:

“In common with certain other circuits on the calendar, Montreal features a blend of high-speed straights, tight corners and heavy braking zones. Drivers negotiate the chicanes at relatively low speeds – about 80-120 km/h (50-75 mph) – and it is vital to gauge your traction control settings correctly to optimise exit speeds onto the long straights."

“The absence of quick corners and the frequent need for hard acceleration places a great deal of emphasis on rear-tyre performance – and the possibility of hot ambient temperatures increases the potential strain. You have to take care not to let the rear wheels spin too much, because that accelerates wear rates. To counter this phenomenon, we will offer our partner teams tyres with fairly stiff sidewall constructions."

“The Montreal circuit has been completely resurfaced since last season. Our engineers have taken a look at the track and their research indicates that the asphalt won’t be particularly abrasive. That said, it is completely new and has yet to be tested by any racing cars. It is likely that track conditions will evolve significantly throughout the weekend, largely due to the chemical reactions that are an unpredictable by-product of any freshly-laid surface.”

Technical Focus: Tyre changes during a race

Nick Shorrock, Director of Michelin F1 activities:

“The FIA regulations state that ‘Unless a precautionary tyre change is necessary for clear and genuine safety reasons, only a punctured or damaged tyre may be changed during a race.”

“With the regulations that are in place this year, whereby both the qualifying session and the race have to be undertaken with the same set of tyres, a certain number of measures were put into place to ensure that teams are not tempted to try to programme strategic tyre changed."

"For this reason the FIA carries out the necessary checks and maintains the right to judge the basis of any tyre changed. The FIA could for example impose a penalty if it saw fit.”

“As for the tyre manufacturer, it is its responsibility to ensure it provides the appropriate product, taking fully into account all aspects of safety, and to provide the necessary advice on tyre use throughout the weekend. However, the ultimate decision as to the choice of strategy to be adopted remains entirely in the hands of each team’s management.”