The Virgin team are hoping they can match their reliability from the Turkish GP, in which both cars managed to finish – the only newcomers to do so.
The 4.4km Montreal track is notoriously hard on the cars engines, gearboxes, brakes and tyres. With four long straights punctuated by chicanes and tight bends makes brake temperatures a real issue for the teams, something Virgin are looking to avoid.
“We’re very excited to be racing in Montreal at what is a fantastic and technically challenging race track, although it does of course have a record as a bit of a car breaker,” said team principal, John Booth.
“The main areas of concern are brake wear as the cars slow from seventh to second gear six times during the lap, high rear tyre wear due to the traction demands of the circuit and an unusually high number of gear changes.”
Virgin’s technical director, Nick Wirth, says the team will bring an entirely new aero package for the race, to suit the low downforce characteristics.
“We have a nice Montreal aero package which consists of new aero parts all over the car, specifically for this track,” explained Wirth.
“The circuit itself is another interesting challenge, mainly in that it changes throughout the weekend and that makes getting the best race set-up quite tricky.
“Brake wear and temperature is something that will challenge the teams this race, and if a number of people get that wrong, things can get very interesting close to the finish. We’re looking forward to another step in progress and performance this weekend, and more good reliability.”
