At first glance there would seem to be little similarity between the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve here in Montreal and the Monaco venue visited a fortnight ago.  But dig deeper and they have much in common.

Montreal is not really a permanent race venue, the barriers are very close to the track and there is little that can be done to modify the layout as it is surrounded by water.  However, this year, several changes have been made in the interests of safety.  A few sections have been widened, the gravel traps are now asphalt and the hairpin corner has been moved back up the straight by a few metres to provide a bigger run-off area.  The final corner before the pit straight has also had its outside wall moved back a metre, as several cars have ended their weekend here with a bang.

However, racing drivers being the competitive animals they are, simply see it as a way of taking the corner at even greater speeds.  The final major change concerns the pit lane exit.  It used to join the track on the main straight before the first corner and there were several near misses because of the speed differential.  Now, pit lane extends all the way to the outside of Turn 2.  One interesting fact emerged from Friday's practice; the cars coming out of the pits are now arriving at Turn 2 quicker than those approaching it on the track and the matter was discussed in last night's Drivers' Briefing.