Weather conditions look good for this weekend’s 2014 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, with the forecast for Sunday’s race just a touch of cloud scatter and a warm peak temperature of 81 degrees F (27 degrees C). The weather is predicted to be much the same on Saturday, and though there was meant to be some rain today teams have been able to practice without issue.

The race is being held once again at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, located on Montreal’s man-made island, Ile Notre Dame. Named after Canadian F1 great Gilles Villeneuve, the circuit stretches some 2.71 miles and is notorious for its close barriers, which can often upset even the most experienced of drivers.

Furthermore, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a semi-permanent facility, which combines bespoke sections of track with normal park roads. This makes the surface extremely inconsistent, thus grip levels vary considerably. Pirelli has nominated its P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero Red supersoft tires for this year’s race.

After the initial practice session this morning, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso proved quickest, although Mercedes AMG driver Lewis Hamilton was little more than a hundredth of a second behind. Predictably, fellow Mercedes AMG driver Nico Rosberg was the third fastest. Hopefully Alonso will be able to continue his pace throughout the weekend and make this an exciting race.

Going into qualifying tomorrow and Sunday’s race, Nico Rosberg sits at the top of the of the Drivers’ Championship points table with 122 points. Lewis Hamilton is close behind with 118 points while Fernando Alonso is a distant third with 61 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes AMG leads with 240 points followed by Red Bull Racing with 99 points and Ferrari with 78 points.

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