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The 2025 F1 Canadian GP will be the 10th race of the season as the second third of the calendar is now in full flow. The race prior in Barcelona might prove to be a decisive one when we look back at it at the end of the year. That might have been the race where one of the three title contenders dropped out of the race and we're left with the McLaren duo.
Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris in the championship standings by just 10 points. The gap is small, but it also shows how quickly the duo has made sure that even when they have bad races, they don't have complete disasters. Oscar Piastri had his in Australia in the rain, and Lando Norris is yet to have something similar, but at the same time, Max Verstappen just had his in Barcelona.
The F1 Canadian GP has often been a race with the potential for chaos. There are times when this chaos ends up throwing everything in the air, and then there are times when it is a blip in an otherwise straightforward race.
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With that being said, it has been iconic in its own way and will continue to be. As we head to Montreal this weekend, what can we expect? Let's take a look.
2025 F1 Canadian GP: Preview
Key Storylines
#1 Max Verstappen being at 11 penalty points
Max Verstappen's antics at Barcelona, coupled with some of the things he did last season, have finally come to a head. We're looking at a situation where the Dutch driver is one tiny mistake away from getting banned for a race.
The fact that the next race is in Austria, Red Bull's home race, means Verstappen cannot afford to get banned for that one, and hence a lot of the spotlight would be on him during the F1 Canadian GP race weekend.
#2 The intra-McLaren title battle
While Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri appear to have made up their minds that the title this season is going to end up with either of them. However, what has been a major surprise is the lack of fireworks between the two.
The conversation is still cordial and almost friendly. The two hardly treat each other as rivals, and most importantly, there's no needle between the two. Will that remain the same, or will it change? That's going to be a question that pops up even more when the two start battling each other on the track.
#3 Lewis Hamilton's underwhelming form
Lewis Hamilton had a disastrous run in Barcelona, where the driver was just nowhere close to the level of performance one would expect from him compared to his teammate Charles Leclerc.
The unfortunate reality is that we're now in the 10th race of the season. If the driver doesn't start putting a few over on his teammate, we're probably heading in a direction where tough questions would be asked of him by the team itself.
Form Guide
On Form
If there wasn't too much noise around other things, then the stuff that Charles Leclerc is doing in a Ferrari right now is mind-blowing. Lewis Hamilton has had his struggles adapting to the car, but Leclerc is making him look mediocre in the other seat, and you just don't do it to the legend.
We're heading to the Canadian GP, a track layout that has not been Leclerc's best in general. At the same time, he's coming to the race on a 2-race podium streak. It will be interesting to see how the weekend goes for him.
Out of Form
Red Bull needed a stronger result in Barcelona, but it didn't get it. For the F1 Canadian GP, the team would be hoping for a stronger run, but the problem is the rear-limited nature of the track, which means that it could suit McLaren more than it suits the RB21.
With rain expected to maybe play spoilsport, it would be interesting to see how the F1 Canadian GP pans out for Red Bull.
Driver with the biggest spotlight
This has to be Max Verstappen, doesn't it? The Dutch driver almost got banned in Barcelona, and if the stewards had been a bit harsher, he would not even be in Canada this weekend.
Verstappen did admit to guilt to a certain extent after the race in Barcelona, but it would be interesting to see what his outlook is as he is inevitably questioned about the incident this weekend.
2025 F1 Canadian GP: Predictions
Who wins the race?
McLaren should have the edge this weekend over Red Bull, and what that means is another battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. What we've learned so far is that the Australian has been the more dominant of the true drivers this season, especially when it comes to nailing the most important part of the weekend.
Unless Lando Norris can establish that again, Oscar Piastri is going to be the favorite for the F1 Canadian GP.
Biggest surprise of the weekend? (Team)
The cooler temperatures this weekend are going to play a big role in helping Mercedes climb the pecking order a bit. George Russell got pole in the Canadian GP last season, and the Brit might end up having a good one this time around.
Biggest surprise of the weekend? (Driver)
We're going with Carlos Sainz for this one, as the Spaniard has been slowly getting the hang of Williams. The F1 Canadian GP is going to be a race where the car is back to being competitive as well.
Expect Sainz to start scoring points with Williams from now on, as the driver has a huge deficit to make up.
Biggest disappointment of the weekend? (Team)
Ferrari comes to the F1 Canadian GP on the back of consecutive podiums for Charles Leclerc. Unfortunately, the colder temperatures are going to hurt the team this time around, just like they did last season as well.
Montreal has not been a happy hunting ground for Ferrari in the ground effect era, and we don't see that changing this weekend.
Biggest disappointment of the weekend? (Driver)
It's going to be a toss-up between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, as Ferrari are looking at a challenging weekend this time around. Leclerc is not a huge fan of the Canadian GP, and his results have not necessarily been the best here. Hamilton has been spectacular around this track, but his form has not been good this season.
This season, there hasn't been a single race where Lewis Hamilton has outperformed Charles Leclerc on pure pace. If we see it this weekend, then that's not a good look for the young driver. On the other hand, if the form guide continues to stay the same, that's alarming for Hamilton and could start a few uncomfortable questions at Ferrari.
