Canadian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - McLAREN HONDA FORMULA 1 TEAM

Fernando Alonso - "Canada is a great circuit - very demanding and requires absolute concentration at all times. It goes from very slow-speed corners to high-speed corners really quickly, which means a lot of pressure is put on the brakes and power units. It’s a pretty tough circuit on the cars generally, so reliability will be the first thing we need to focus on, to make sure there are no gremlins or technical issues that could jeopardise our performance.

Monaco was a positive result for us; to get both cars home in the points and to keep the chasing pack behind us was very satisfying, but we know there’s still a lot of work to do. We’re definitely making progress, but until we’re fighting at the front, we still need to keep pushing and constantly developing. Montreal is a completely different challenge to Monaco, so I hope we can quickly adapt our package to this circuit and maintain our recent form, but it will certainly be a tricky and unpredictable weekend. I really like spending time in Canada and going back out to North America. Although it falls within the ‘European’ season, the atmosphere does feel quite European - the people are friendly, the food is great and it’s a melting pot of different cultures.

There’s really strong competition emerging at the front of the grid, as teams are getting stronger and pushing their development. It’s a really tight pack in the midfield, and a different team seems to have the advantage at each circuit, so it’ll be a tough battle against our nearest rivals both in qualifying and the race. The teams need to work hard to set up the cars to meet the demands of the circuit, and a lot can happen during the course of the Grand Prix, so let’s see what we can do.”

Jenson Button - “Although this is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar, and very power-hungry, one of the strengths of our chassis is stability under heavy braking, so we shouldn’t be fearful of going to a circuit like this and finding ourselves on the back foot. Our development rate is steep and there’s huge work going on behind the scenes to constantly improve the performance of our whole package, so I’m excited to see how we perform in Canada, given how different the circuit’s characteristics are compared to Monaco.

It’s no secret that I absolutely love this circuit, and it’s the scene of one of my best race wins, in 2011 - definitely up there among my favourites. It’s a real racer’s circuit: tough on cars, tough on drivers, and usually produces stunning racing, whatever the weather. Leaving the final corner unscathed after passing the ‘Wall of Champions’ always feels like an achievement - let’s hope we can achieve that 70 times on Sunday!

Canada is definitely considered a classic on the F1 calendar. It’s a fantastic city and I love going there every year. The whole city offers an incredible welcome and the buzz is like no other place - the atmosphere is definitely unique to Montreal. It’s always a mightily unpredictable race - the weather conditions, the high walls, the narrow track, the slippery surfaces - it really sorts the men from the boys.

Although Monaco is an adopted home for me, the race weekend there is always a massive whirlwind, so heading to Canada will be a completely different feeling, and I’m looking forward to the relaxed atmosphere there. We had good reliability in Monaco, and both Fernando and I managed to keep it on the black stuff in some pretty crazy conditions, so I’m hoping the weather will throw up a few surprises and we can get stuck in on track.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk

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