Mark’s Canadian GP Preview

On the back of his sensational victory in Monaco last time out, Mark heads to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this weekend for the Canadian Grand Prix. He lies third in the drivers’ standings, just three points behind world championship leader Fernando Alonso.

“Don’t get me wrong,” says Mark. “It was fantastic to win Monaco again and we had a good night out with the boys on the Sunday night after the race. But it’s time to move on from that now and focus on this weekend. It’s going to be incredibly competitive and it’s going to be really important to score a good dose of points.”

Pirelli have brought the same soft and super-soft compounds to Montreal that they used in Monaco two weeks ago, but the circuit characteristics are very different this weekend. Tyre wear is expected to be much more of a factor than it was in the Principality.

“The tyres will be put through more stress here,” says Mark, “so we’re likely to have more pitstops here than we had in Monaco. Along the long straights it might be difficult to keep the temperature in the tyres; we’ll have to wait and see.

“Overall, I like the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The proximity of the walls gives it a street circuit feel, but the low downforce makes the cars feel different – more skittish. You can overtake here, but it’s already been proved many times this year that if you start at the front you have the best chance of finishing at the front, particularly if it’s dry – which we expect it to be on Sunday.”

Mark has had an eventful build-up to this race, starting last weekend when he attended the Isle of Man TT races.

“The Isle of Man is an absolutely amazing sporting event,” says Mark. “Anyone who loves motorsport will love this event and they should go and see it. It was my second time on the island and I loved it. John McGuinness is a friend of mine and to see him win again was very special. I took some mates with me and we all had a great time.

“I went sky diving on Wednesday, which was fun. I was in a wind tunnel, so it wasn’t the real thing and I’m not sure I have any great desire to jump out of a plane.”

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