Mercedes returned to shine in the Canadian GP with a win and a double podium, showing its ability to seize the moment despite track temperatures nearing 50°C — conditions that had troubled it at other circuits. But this detail needs to be placed in a broader context: let’s try to understand why the heat didn’t stop the W16 this time.
The late-race incident between the two championship contenders, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, nearly overshadowed what was an impeccable weekend for Mercedes, which secured a win and a double podium at a friendly track, having already emerged as the team to beat since Friday.
On other occasions — such as in China, Saudi Arabia, and Imola — Mercedes had already come close to pole position, but always missed that decisive tenth to overturn the hierarchy. For this reason, it wasn’t surprising to see the team in the fight for the biggest prize, but what truly impressed was the performance shown in the race.
Reviewing the season, the trend has been that the car performs better over a single lap than across a full race distance, especially in events where it manages to operate within the ideal performance window. This is closely linked to track and temperature conditions, as the W16 tends to be more competitive in mild weather than in the heat.
In this light, seeing it win despite 50°C asphalt temperatures was almost surprising — but the figure alone doesn’t explain how the team managed to capitalize on its full potential this time.
As detailed in the Friday analysis, Montreal is in some ways a unique circuit. It’s a stop-and-go track with heavy braking zones, traction areas, and many chicanes that require great confidence in the car to attack and fully exploit the curbs. Additionally, the tarmac is very smooth, which generates less temperature and limits tire degradation.
In general, slow sections have never been the W16’s strong point. However, it’s important to distinguish between different types of slow corners — not all are the same. In short, low-speed corners, the W16 can stay close to its rivals. The greatest difficulties emerge in slow, long-duration corners where front-end grip and avoiding understeer are key — an area Mercedes claimed to have worked on over the winter. In Montreal, there are few prolonged slow corners that heavily stress the front, and this played a key role. It’s also one reason why McLaren couldn’t replicate its usual competitiveness.
This shifted attention to other factors, such as braking performance — a key to Russell’s pole lap — and traction, an area where Mercedes has consistently stood out this season. These aspects are fundamental to understanding the team’s performance on Sunday.
During Friday practice, asphalt temperatures were relatively low, around 40°C. Combined with a still-dirty track surface and few corners capable of transmitting high energy into the tires, this created ideal conditions for graining, especially on the front-left. This dynamic fits well into the previously mentioned technical context, but represented the most extreme situation of the weekend.
Over the weekend, session after session, grip levels on the track improved significantly, but graining did not disappear entirely, since key track characteristics remained unchanged. While it’s true that asphalt temperatures rose on Saturday and Sunday — reaching 50°C on race day — this number must be understood within a broader picture.
Both Imola and Jeddah feature medium-to-high-speed corners where tires are heavily loaded, generating movement that increases temperature. Not by chance, Pirelli itself admitted that bringing such soft compounds to Italy was an aggressive move. In qualifying, fresh tires helped mask some of the W16’s weaknesses, but things changed in the race.
High-speed corners begin to generate hard-to-manage temperatures, which in turn reduce grip and create a cascade effect that, in certain circumstances, led Mercedes to suffer from excessive degradation, especially at the rear. But in Montreal, with its abundance of slow corners, this effect was far less impactful, limiting tire wear even with 50°C on the tarmac.
It may seem surprising, but Mercedes was able to effectively manage the external surface temperature of the tires — the outer layer where graining occurs — which is precisely the issue that, on faster tracks, had previously exposed its vulnerabilities.
This time, George Russell was able to control the race comfortably from the front, making the most of track position — a crucial factor in Canada for maintaining an advantage and managing the race’s challenges. A stellar weekend, in which Mercedes seized its opportunity well, now waiting for confirmation in the coming races regarding the effectiveness of its latest technical updates
Leave a Reply