Montreal rain threatens a step into the unknown for the grid

The weather forecast in Montreal has shifted, and for once, the rain looks like a genuine threat to disrupt the order. We have yet to see an official wet session this season, which means the 2026 cars and tyres remain a total mystery in the rain. At a street circuit like this, where the walls are always looming, the lack of data is a recipe for absolute chaos.

While some teams managed early wet testing in Barcelona or Silverstone, those sessions feel like a lifetime ago given how much these cars have evolved. More recent efforts by Red Bull, Racing Bulls, and Lewis Hamilton in wet tyre tests—or Alpine’s recent work at Magny-Cours with a 2025 mule—might offer a slight edge. McLaren’s Andrea Stella admits that any existing data on power unit exploitation in the rain is a massive advantage, noting that wet conditions cause performance to deviate sharply from simulations.

For the drivers, the concern is universal: temperature. George Russell, Lando Norris, and Kimi Antonelli all highlighted the struggle of keeping these tyres in their operating window. With a thousand horsepower on tap and a low-grip surface, those first few laps will be treacherous. Max Verstappen, a seasoned rain master, kept it simple: it’s going to be a big struggle for everyone to make it work. If the rain arrives, Montreal will stop being a race of strategy and start being a test of raw survival.