Three victories from six starts is a great deal more than Ferrari has achieved in recent seasons, and the Italian marque has an opportunity to seize the narrative with victory at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Yet triumphing at Montreal is easier said than done, with Mercedes dominant in previous editions, particularly with Lewis Hamilton, who has enjoyed a love affair with Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since his debut victory at the venue in 2007.
The Briton has stood on the podium on all six occasions that he’s seen the chequered flag – five times of which he’s taken the top step – complemented by eight front-row starts comprising five pole positions.
Teammate Valtteri Bottas is also handy, claiming a breakthrough third on the grid in an uncompetitive Williams during his rookie season and enjoying successive third places at the past two events. Now that the Finn is in a Silver Arrows he looms as a formidable opponent on the weekend.
Conversely Ferrari has had little to cheer for some time, with runner-up thanks to Fernando Alonso in 2013 and Sebastian Vettel last year as close as the Prancing Horse has come to victory since Michael Schumacher’s win in 2004.
But then Ferrari hadn’t triumphed at Monaco since 2001 until a fortnight ago, when it emerged with a dominant one-two, which is some cause for optimism.
Despite Vettel’s superiority through his title seasons, and notwithstanding three pole positions, the German has only once prevailed at Montreal, infamously conceding the laurels to Jenson Button on the final lap in the storied 2011 Canadian Grand Prix.
While he claimed victory in 2005, Kimi Raikkonen hasn’t enjoyed much fortune in Canada in the second portion of his career. The 37-year-old is once again dealing with the notion of being a designated second driver following the faux controversy at the Principality. Perhaps he’ll have something to prove.
(Image: Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
What must be remarked is that the Maranello outfit has been the most consistent performer to date. The SF70H has not been peerless at each weekend, but its adaptive qualities mean it has often lost out purely on a marginal strategic call related to unforeseen circumstances. Mercedes’ W08, on the other hand, routinely finds itself operating at contrasting extremes, leading to Toto Wolff describing the car as a ‘diva’.
The latter’s prominent long wheelbase shouldn’t represent the predictable shortcoming witnessed at Monaco. Aside from the hairpin at turn 10, the accompanying long straights are likely to grant Mercedes a slight edge on the power front, which went a considerable way to Bottas realising his maiden victory in Russia.
Hamilton’s tendency to bounce back from disappointing results means that a clinical performance can be anticipated, as he demonstrated at Spain. His forgettable weekend at Monaco offers a similar opportunity to make amends, yet there’s no telling how much pressure the 32-year old is feeling as he deals with the foreign variable of an outside threat in the fight for the title.
Vettel enjoys the comfort of a 25 point lead over the Briton in the drivers’ standings and thus has some leverage if the characteristics play to Mercedes’ strengths once more, though there’s little denying that exiting the weekend with an enhanced lead – ideally another victory – would firmly mark the title as the German’s to lose at the notional one-third mark of the season.
Ferrari, seeking to establish a hold on the constructors standings, will be relying on Raikkonen leading home at least one of the Silver Arrows – as he’s managed during his past two finishes – following a slow start to his campaign.
Grid penalties beckon at forthcoming events due to frequent gearbox and power unit component switches, particularly for Vettel, thus repeated points maximisation as Mercedes continues to explore its capabilities, sometimes culminating in failure – as Bottas learnt at Barcelona – is paramount.
The lustre of the Prancing Horse is growing more evident with each race, though it’s appropriate to surmise that that the lid which is barely fastened threatens to break free should one of its drivers make a statement at a recent Mercedes and Hamilton stronghold.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
They've simply got to continue striking whilst the iron is hot. It's difficult to underestimate Mercedes' resilience over the course of a campaign - even without competition in recent seasons, they were continually evolving and will be waiting to capitalise on Ferrari's inevitable penalties at coming events.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Race-by-race we enter uncharted territory for Ferrari and yes despite the many championships that they've won in the past, in the present they've always succumbed to some sort of complacency which ultimately derails their entire campaign. If they can continue to tick each box as each race goes on, then only can we feel that this title will be theirs. Pertinent too, that you raise the notion of their power-unit situation. It's not really been discussed as much as you'd think so, with outlets focusing on Mercedes AMG and their reliability - though Ferrari should equally be in the spotlight regarding that. If they are going through their components at the rate that they are, then brace for penalties which'll dictate how this championship will fare.