2026 Canadian Grand Prix Preview: 5 Big Talking Points Heading into the Weekend

Linus O'Howell
7 hours ago
4 min read

Another Sprint Weekend

It honestly feels like there’s been as many Sprint Weekends in 2026 as there have been long gaps between each Race Weekend! With the cancellations of both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix’s in April, Canada plays host to Round 5 of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship. However, on top of that, it also plays host to the third Sprint Weekend of 2026, meaning we’ve had more Sprint Weekends than normal weekends so far this year! This weekend also marks the first Sprint Race around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, so let’s see if this “experiment” works!

Esteban Ocon’s Under Pressure!

During the latest break between Miami and Canada, there have been a lot of rumours floating around regarding the future of Esteban Ocon! Now, it’s no secret that Esteban’s performances haven’t exactly lived up to expectations since he signed for Haas from the start of the 2025 Season, and by the looks of it, Team Principal Ayao Komatsu is far from impressed! In fact, Komatsu is so unimpressed by Ocon’s performances that there are rumours going around that the Frenchman could be replaced as early as the Summer Break! Personally, I don’t think Esteban Ocon has been that bad; I just think it’s a case of Oliver Bearman being quite special! However, by the looks of it, Estie Bestie is going to have to raise his levels to match his teammate, with that potentially being the only way to save his seat in the future!

The Rise of Alpine

It’s no secret that Alpine have been going through it for a while now, with 2025 signalling their worst season in the sport (under their new name), finishing last in the Constructors’ Championship, some 48 points behind the next best team (which was Kick Sauber)! In fact, Alpine only managed to score 14 points in the first 20 Rounds in 2024, also! The reason I’m telling you all of this is that it puts into perspective just how well Alpine are performing this season, with them currently sitting 5th in the Constructors’, with 23 points already on the board! Now, Pierre Gasly has been the star of the show, scoring points across all four weekends, but praise has to be given to Franco Colapinto for taking home a brilliant 7th place in Miami whilst his teammate’s car was flipped upside down! It’s still way too early to say whether that was a one-off for Franco or not, with his earlier start to the season being pretty poor, but if Colapinto can build from a strong Miami performance, Alpine are going to rule the midfield!

We Need to Talk about Audi

If there’s one team that’s annoying me more than any other right now, it’s Audi! Why is that, you ask? Well, Audi have a good amount of pace, like they’re genuinely probably the 6th-fastest on the grid, and that keeps tracking with their constant P11 finishes in both Qualifying and the Races! However, Audi are just 9th in the Constructors’, behind the likes of Williams, Racing Bulls, and Haas, and that simply comes down to the fact that their reliability is shocking! If you’ve been following me long enough, you know that I grade every driver from 1-to-10 for every key/competitive session, with an overall average being revealed at the end of the season to form a Driver Rankings for each year! Now, the reason why I do averages is that some drivers are unable to be graded, either due to issues with their car or simply getting wiped out on the opening lap. This way, everything should even itself out, and boy, do Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto need this! For example, the most amount of sessions that anyone has competed in this year is 12 (let’s say Andrea Kimi Antonelli for the purpose of this explanation), but I’ve actually only graded Gabby 10 times, and Nico 9 times! Audi have clearly done well with one side of their engine, but the reliability has to be fixed because it’s simply not good enough!

Lance Stroll’s Home Race Weekend

A lot of people have this perception that Lance Stroll isn’t that interested in competing in Formula 1, but I’m not sure that even his biggest doubters could say that when it comes to his Home Race in Canada! Of course, a Home Race is always special, but it’s only amplified when the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve actually stands as one of Lance’s best circuits on the entire calendar! See, in the 7 Canadian Grand Prix’s that Lance has competed in, he’s scored points in 5 of them, which includes his maiden points-finish back in 2017! In fact, Canada has always served as a sense of optimism for Lance Stroll fans, with the belief that this would be where their driver stars. Unfortunately, that’s likely not going to be the case this year, with Stroll currently last in the Drivers’ Standings following a horrific start to the season for Aston Martin! I mean, it took until last time out in Miami for Lance to even finish a Grand Prix, so I find it tough to believe that the Canadian’s going to achieve anything other than back-of-the-grid starts and finishes this time around!