Five Things we learned from the Canadian Grand Prix

A definitely exciting and chaotic Canadian Grand Prix has come to an end and we want to take a look back at what we have learnt ahead of the race in Indianapolis.

Rain at last - pure chaos and excitement!

When the weather forecast for the Canadian Grand Prix leaked out, many drivers had to take a deep breath: heavy rain was announced and the race promised to be an extremely wet affair. During the practice sessions, the mood of the drivers deteriorated increasingly and the track resembled an icy skating arena. Eventually, however, the rain was to subside, but the qualifying session continued to be a wet and exciting affair. Contrary to expectations, many drivers overcame this hurdle better than expected and were then able to shine again in the race. On this drying track, Canada then offered an exciting race with accidents, great manoeuvres and battles for victory. We'd love to see it again!

Mixed conditions and tyre poker par excellence

The mixed conditions in the race itself also offered many different strategies in terms of set-up and tyres: at the start, some drivers ventured out on dry tyres, while others started on intermediates. Some only attempted two stops and lost out on victory as a result, while others stopped three times or more. In terms of set-up, some drivers still opted for the rain set-up, while others ventured into their dry set-up and went into the race evening with an ‘all or nothing’ mentality. The result of these different approaches made for the best race of the season so far.

Bastian Paisler's first win in almost five years

It had taken four and a half years for Bastian Paisler to stand at the top of the podium again. After Malaysia 2020, the man from the Niederrhein can finally call himself a VFC winner again. Paisler's victory in Canada is a masterpiece: in extremely difficult conditions, Paisler managed to overcome initial problems and snatch victory in the second half of the race. He showed calmness, the right strategy and learnt from his first attack at the last SC restart. The Razor team boss was then able to beat Sven Schubert on his favourite track and thus join the title fight.

A podium for Velvet!

When Christian Dittmer opted for Tim Brendel as a replacement driver for Canada, he probably had no idea that this would be an absolute stroke of luck, as a Velvet driver ended up on the podium! Brendel's former team boss Paisler had indicated that the East German could handle Montreal very well, which he showed in the race. In qualifying, he put the Velvet in Q2, and in the race he was able to keep all the pursuers behind him with his usual consistent driving style, benefiting from the mistakes of the competition. This put Brendel back on the podium after 2020, which he himself could hardly believe in the interview. Brendel's status as a supersub should therefore be cemented. And Velvet couldn't stop celebrating as a result.

Canada delivers - as always

If you had to pick one track from the VFC that always brings exciting races, it would be Montreal. The track has always been synonymous with excitement, great duels, drama and accidents in the league. In 2022, it was Pascal Pohlenz's dramatic attempt to snatch his first victory from Alexander Kraft. In 2023, Sven Schubert won from pole position, but also had to battle with Alexander Kraft and Heiko Kolvenbach for victory. In 2024, Fabian Szyrzik then took down the then world champion with one of his masterful performances, while Schubert battled with Marc Schlüter for second place. Canada delivers every year, including in 2025: Paisler with his first win of the season, the Falcon drivers with a total of 16 pit stops, Tim Brendel's podium and Alvin Trans freak-accident. Every year, Montreal simply shows anew why it is back on the VFC calendar.