Pedro de la Rosa has predicted a “very interesting” weekend in Canada.
In comments provided by his press office, the experienced McLaren reserve driver said the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a layout on which overtaking can usually be done “quite easily”.

In 2011, the new ‘DRS’ adjustable rear wing system has debuted and for the Montreal race this weekend it will for the first time be deployed twice per lap.

De la Rosa, who has been working in recent days in the McLaren simulator, said Canada will be “extremely interesting for many reasons”.

One reason is DRS, because its influence in Canada will mean teams take different approaches to setup.

“We will have cars with a variety of (top) speeds depending on the aerodynamic settings. With DRS everything has changed so we won’t know if teams are opting to have a fast car for the straights or for the curves,” said de la Rosa.

And the 40-year-old Spaniard predicted qualifying to play a minor role.

“This is the circuit where the importance of grid position is probably least, so it’s better to concentrate on having a fast and consistent car for Sunday.”

Renault test driver Bruno Senna agrees that predictions for the weekend are difficult.

“Our car has been consistently among the five fastest in a straight line,” the Brazilian told Globo Esporte when contemplating the long straights of Canada.

“But downforce is essential, especially for the chicanes. Therefore, it will remain very difficult to tackle the cars that are aerodynamically the strongest, like Red Bull and McLaren,” added Senna.