Sebastian Vettel admits the performance of Red Bull on the Hypersoft tyre in Monaco could make them a stronger threat in Canada this weekend.
Even though Daniel Ricciardo won the first V6 hybrid race in Montreal in 2014, the performance of the Milton Keynes outfit on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has often been engine limited with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton claiming victory in the three years since.
However, Red Bull was the only leading team to not suffer from considerable graining and degradation on the new pink-striped tyre two weeks ago and if a similar story is repeated over the next three days, the four-time champion worries the engine advantage Ferrari and Mercedes enjoy may not be enough.
“I think first of all they had a better tyre wear than other people in Monaco and obviously that could help them here,” Vettel admitted on Thursday.
“This track is different again, a different layout but I don’t know what they are having or not and what they have brought for updates and so on.
“I think we need to wait and see, but I expect it to be close just like the other races and hopefully Ferrari (are) in front.”
Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has admitted that this weekend is an important one for the Hypersoft compound as they evaluate its usage for the rest of the season.
“Now we have knowledge of the Hypersoft in a circuit that’s not Abu Dhabi or Barcelona but Monte Carlo is quite a difficult circuit,” motorsport boss Mario Isola stated.
“In Montreal, we will have more data, and that will be very important to understand where we can use the Hypersoft.
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“The Hypersoft was designed for street circuits, it is quite extreme, you can see from the level of grip and the lap time.
“The step in grip of the Hypersoft is quite high. The drivers feel the step in grip, and obviously they also feel the step in degradation.”