20 May 2026 12:30 (UTC)
“In the wider programme, we have a great mix of drivers who are performing well across the board"
After a couple of busy weeks spent back at the factory, where the team has been preparing a number of new components for the MCL40, the Canadian Grand Prix makes for an excellent return to action.
A circuit that is fast and free-flowing, with a healthy combination of long straights and heavy braking zones, the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is a favourite of many drivers. Add in fans that are as passionate as they are friendly, a historic city featuring landmarks such as the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal and Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, and a culinary scene headlined by excellent coffee and Canada’s famous poutine dish. What’s not to love?
Canada also hosts the next round of F1 Academy, where McLaren Driver Development Programme members Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens will compete. To preview this weekend’s action, we spoke with Head of Driver Development, McLaren Driver Development Programme, Warren Hughes. We have also taken a closer look at the key characteristics of the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, revisited a significant race from our past, and put another quickfire question to Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“F1 Academy returns this weekend, with the new three-race format providing more points scoring opportunities and important on track time for our drivers, Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens.
“For Ella Lloyd, we are returning to Montreal, where she had her strongest race weekend last year with three second place finishes in a row. With it being her second year in the series, naturally, there are increased expectations, but she has worked hard over the wintertime analysing where she can improve. Ella Stevens races in Montreal for the first time. Making her debut into single-seaters this year means every test and race weekend is a new experience, and she has shown a lot of promise and talent, so we are excited to see what she can achieve at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.
“In the wider programme, we have a great mix of drivers who are performing well across the board. In Karting, Harry Williams has just joined us, and in Formula 4, Dries Van Langendonck and Christian Costoya are all making good progress in their first steps into single-seaters, with Dries currently leading the British F4 Championship after winning the Formula Winter Series Championship. Ella Hakkinen’s F4 testing and racing have been impressive so far, as she makes important steps in the pipeline to F1 Academy.
“In FIA Formula 3, Matteo De Palo’s season feels like it is yet to properly get underway, but he goes into the year with a strong 2025 season behind him. In the European Le Mans Series, Grégoire Saucy has made a very competitive start, leading the overall LMP2 standings, having also tested the McLaren Hypercar MCL-HY in the past few weeks. Richard Verschoor has also had a great start to the season in LMP2 Pro/Am and currently leads the championship in his class. He will test the MCL-HY this week. For Leonardo Fornaroli, it has been fantastic for his development to be with the team trackside and TPC testing in his role as the McLaren Mastercard Reserve. We look forward to seeing how everyone continues to progress, and how Ella, Ella, Dries and Christian get on this weekend.”
In many of the previous races here, it’s been less about where the race is won and more about where it’s lost, with several big names having been caught out over the years by the Wall of Champions.
Located on the outside of the track’s final corner, the Wall of Champions earned its name in 1999 when three World Champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Jacques Villeneuve, all crashed there. Fellow World Champions Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button have both hit the wall in the years since, along with a host of other notable names.
The reason drivers are so often caught out here is largely due to the fact that there’s plenty of time to be gained at Turns 13 and 14 by riding the kerbs.
However, with cars slowing down from roughly 300 km/h going into this tight right-left chicane, it’s easy to overcook it – if you hit the apex of Turn 13 too hard, the car will lose front-end grip, and if you hit the apex of Turn 14 too hard, the car will lose rear-end grip.
However, any driver who does nail that section, and survives the Wall of Champions, will have set themselves up perfectly for an overtake under braking going into the first corner, following a long run from Turn 14 to Turn 1.
After a tough opening couple of rounds, it feels like the team has really hit their stride, following a much-improved performance in Japan, where we scored our first podium of the season. This was followed up by a double podium in Miami, with Lando finishing second and Oscar third. The reigning World Champion also notched his first victory of the year in the Miami Sprint, leading from lights-to-flag.
22 - 24 MAY
The start to Lewis Hamilton’s career was stellar. Podiums in his first five races, tied at the top of the Drivers’ Championship with teammate Fernando Alonso... a first victory was surely on the way. The team had something of a bumpy ride at the previous race in Monaco: splitting the strategies of the cars locked-in a victory, but the way the race played out gave Fernando an easy run to the top step. Lewis seemed unaffected in the eye of the storm and took his first Pole position when racing recommenced in Montréal.
Race day was hot, sunny, and the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve was packed. The lap chart suggests Lewis had a straightforward run to victory, holding the lead at the start and only surrendering it briefly during his first pit stop. The reality, however, was quite different. Lewis had pace to spare, and kept building a lead, only to have it evaporate each time the Safety Car appeared – and it appeared four times. The race was chaos: accidents, spins, a couple of Black Flags, a horror crash for Robert Kubica that caused the garages to go very quiet for a couple of minutes before word filtered through that he was okay. Lewis executed each restart perfectly, took victory by four seconds, and headed to Indianapolis leading the Drivers’ Championship by eight points. “Surely the first of many,” said James Allen on the commentary. Never a truer word.
“I was Lewis’ No. 1 Mechanic, and I’ll never forget that race," recalled Paul James, Director, Testing of Previous Cars Events. "Working on Lewis's car came with high expectations, given how talented he was from the start. We began the season with a podium at the first race, which meant we were all expecting a win from him at some point.
“Lewis came to Canada in excellent form that weekend. He was quick from the first session and kept it consistent throughout the weekend. He took Pole on Saturday and then drove a fantastic race on Sunday, especially considering everything that was thrown at him. It was an amazing day result for the team and something everyone there will always look back on with happiness.”
Each race week, we’ll be putting the same question to Lando and Oscar or two team members to find out just how similar (or different) they really are. The question could be anything: from their favourite corner on the F1 calendar, to their ultimate pre-race anthem, or even the one food they absolutely refuse to eat on race week.
This week, we asked them what their ideal day off would look like. Oscar: A late start to the morning, followed by some kind of sports, some video games, and spending time with my girlfriend, Lily.
Lando: My ideal day off, as I am sure a lot of you will probably know, would be out playing golf. I don’t mind where – any golf course around the world – but it would preferably be in nice weather with some friends. It could be alone, but I would preferably be with some friends. There’s nothing better.
Follow all of the action this weekend via the McLaren Racing App, available to download on Android and iOS.
