Montreal is the next stop in the Formula One 2017 season as teams gear up for the Canadian Grand Prix. This will be the seventh race of the season and Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton will have a lot of work to do in the three practice sessions as they hope to get Pirelli's tires working in their right operating temperature window.
This season has not gone according to plan at all for Mercedes and Hamilton in particular after his fiasco in the Monaco Grand Prix. The silver Arrow need to get their car in the best shape possible and strong enough to challenge Sebastian Vettel as another disappointing results could see his world champions hopes come to end.
Also read: Bad news for Fernando Alonso as Honda fail to deliver upgrades for Canada GP
Mercedes' reign as the most dominant team in Formula One over the last few years could also come to an end this weekend as they are already 17 points behind Ferrari in the constructors' championship. Despite Ferrari's dominance and the huge point's gap between Hamilton and Vettel, the Brit feels that he can still catch up to the German.
"It is going to take a lot for us to catch those points up but so much can happen in the season. There are 14 races left. It's too early to say we're on the back foot - it is so early in the season. We are just not in our most comfortable position, but it doesn't mean we can't fight and win the championship. It just means it will be harder for us to do so than perhaps the others," Formula One's official website quoted Hamilton as saying.
As for Ferrari, the Italian based team will be expected to continue their dominance in Canada unless something major goes wrong which is highly unlikely. After struggling for a few years Ferrari finally seem to be the team every Formula One fan is used to seeing. The track in Canada should suit them as it did in Monaco and at the moment they have the best chassis for getting the most out of Pirelli's tires.
This weekend we will also see the return of Fernando Alonso after his stint at the Indy 500 but it looks like it's going to be another disappointing weekend for the McLaren team. They did make some progress in Spain and Monaco but their engine partners Honda failed to deliver their upgrades for the Canadian Grand Prix and they could once again end up with no points.
Apart from all the talk about the big teams and drivers this is a special race for Williams rookie Lance Stroll as he is racing in his home grand prix. He is the first Canadian to race on home soil since Jacques Villeneuve in 2006 said this will be a special experience as not many people will get to experience this feeling.
Where to watch
The first practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix 2017 is set to start at 10:00am local time, 7:30pm IST and 3:00pm BST.
Second practice session – 2:00pm local time, 11:30pm IST and 7:00pm BST
Third practice session (Saturday) - 10:00am local time, 7:30pm IST and 3:00pm BST.
TV and live streaming information
Australia: TV: Ten HD. Live Streaming: Ten Play.
India: TV: Star Sports SelectHD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports F1. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: NBCSN. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Asia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Play.
Canada: TV: TSN, TSN 2, RDS
