Andrea Stella expects Ferrari and Red Bull to have an advantage over McLaren and Mercedes in Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix after conducting Pirelli wet-weather testing earlier this year.
Pirelli runs development tests throughout each season, with all teams invited to take part if they wish to – taking turns – and data shared among all competitors.
While teams aren’t allowed to run upgrades on their cars, this still provides valuable information about the current cars – especially on a wet track, given these conditions are unprecedented in competitive sessions this year.
Teams and drivers that have enjoyed Pirelli wet-weather testing so far in 2026 are Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson at Suzuka following the Japanese Grand Prix; Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari’s home Fiorano track in April; Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at Magny-Cours earlier this month.
Ferrari and Red Bull also got in one day of wet running during the Barcelona shakedown in early January, the only two teams to opt to run that day, which was notable for a major crash for Hadjar.
This preparation may come in handy, with the Montreal race forecast to be impacted by rain.
“I do think that this is an advantage, because there’s uncertainty in relation to the behaviour of the power unit,” McLaren team principal Stella pondered. “After a few events, still we talk about power unit exploitation.
Andrea Stella, McLaren
Photo by: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
“In the wet, things deviate even more from what you anticipate and from what you can simulate. So the power unit remains certainly an element of variability that is concerning. And if you have tested with it, you might have known a little bit more.
“Likewise, from a tyre point of view, it’s unclear whether the tyres will work within their window or they will be slightly outside their window. And I talk specifically here about temperature window because this circuit doesn’t have any high-speed [corners], so it’s difficult to generate temperature. The surface is very, very smooth. It’s one of the smoothest surfaces of the season.
“And also, it’s not like we have had several sessions [in the wet] – like I said, not at all during a race weekend for Pirelli to even calibrate as to where they have positioned the compound. So many variables to discover for us that we don’t have much experience on the wet. And a little advantage for those who have tested.”
The temperature is expected to plateau around an unusually cold 12C throughout Sunday on Ile Notre-Dame. Combined with the rain, this could make the conditions tricky, with an extremely low grip level.
“Just the track on itself in the dry, it’s difficult to warm up the tyres. So, I think in the rain, it will be extremely difficult,” Gasly said, based on his Magny-Cours outing. “From what I’ve experienced, that will make for a pretty eventful race.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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