The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a track where you need to have good speed because you have that long straight. I would say in the last two years we’ve done really well in Canada. I think we’ve had a competitive car so I really hope we can repeat that performance again this year. It’s a place I really enjoy going. It’s a really nice town where everyone goes completely crazy for Formula One. I think this is due to the history of Canadian drivers, like Gilles Villeneuve and Jacques Villeneuve. I hope we can have a competitive race there and maybe even fight for the podium.

Canada is one of my favourite races. The track is pretty fast and it’s really enjoyable to drive. We finished on the podium there last year so I have some very good memories. Montreal is such a nice city and such a nice place. As a big ice hockey fan, it’s a big ice hockey city as well. I’m really looking forward to going back there and seeing all the Canadian fans. Hopefully we can have a strong result.

Being a fast track with long straights, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve certainly favours the characteristics of the Williams car, as shown by our strong performances last year, so this should mark a return to form for the team. The circuit itself has very low-average speed corners, with one quick corner at turn five being easily flat and therefore not counting for much these days. Good top speed, stable braking with the track being hard on brakes, good change of direction for the multiple chicanes and adequate traction are key things required here. It’s also the second race in a row that we see the new ultrasoft tyre, but even with this we expect most cars to be on a one-stop strategy. We have a number of new aerodynamic and chassis parts to continue pushing our development of the FW38.