2022 Canadian Grand Prix Storylines: More Engine Issues for Ferrari?

This week, for the first time since 2019, the 2022 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix will return to the F1 Calender. It will take place at the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. After a story-rich weekend in Baku, teams will travel halfway across the world to now race in Montreal. After last week’s race though, there are plenty of storylines to look at. Here are just a few major storylines for the 2022 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix.

About the 2022 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix

The 4.361 km (2.71 miles) hybrid street circuit runs on land in the middle of the Saint Lawrence River and features two DRS zones. The 70-lap race will be live on ESPN at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 19 and on F1TV.

Will Ferrari-Powered Cars Fail Again?

Over the past four races, no group of cars has suffered more than the swath of Ferrari-powered cars. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen have each had two engine issues in that span of time. That excludes the non-engine-related issues both Zhou Guanyu and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz have also suffered. There is no sign of it stopping either. In a recent interview, Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto called the engine reliability issues a “concern” that they are still trying to remedy.

These compounding reliability issues between Ferrari themselves and their customer teams is something to monitor. In the new cost cap era, every new part matters and takes a chunk out of that budget. If Ferrari and their customer teams want to stay in these races, the engineers need to figure out what is going on sooner rather than later.

Will Porpoising Continue To Hurt Mercedes, Physically and In Race?

The Baku Grand Prix attempted to provide Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton specifically, the full Bane against Batman experience. Heading into the race, during the race, and after the race, Lewis Hamilton suffered back pain caused in part by porpoising of the car. While George Russell has also suffered from it, his performance has not been hindered to the same degree.

Much like Baku, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a circuit with a long straight on it. Where it differs in design though is that while Baku City Circut has the tedious castle section, CGV is full of straight or straightish lines. Those long straights and high speeds are part of what causes porpoising to increase to extreme levels. With practice yet to occur, it is impossible to tell to what degree it will affect Mercedes. That being said, they are yet to solve the issue so far this season. It will be there, it is merely a question of how bad will it be and how much will it hurt them in the race.

Is Sebastian Vettel Driving Himself To A New Team In 2023?

Heading into this season, the four-time world champion felt like he was potentially on his way out. He finished 12th in the Driver’s Championship, finished only seven races in the points and was firmly around the bottom half of the field. That has entirely changed in 2022 though.

His start to the season was less than stellar. He scored no points in his first three races: one of which he exited the race and in the other two he was out due to COVID. Since the ensuing race at Imola though, Vettel has been nothing short of stellar for Aston Martin. In the last five races, he finished in the points three times, one spot outside the points in one and was involved in a crash that knocked him out of the fight for points in Miami. In a car that does not look good in the hands of Lance Stroll, Vettel is making the most out of the car.

If these good performances continue and an expiring contract, Vettel could very well end up on a new team in 2023. He has made it clear that he still has juice left, but is there anywhere to take that juice come next spring?

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