T

he Canadian GP is in Montreal this weekend and we could be in for the most open race of the season. It'€™s a track that lends itself to overtaking unlike Monaco, which we visited two weeks ago.

It is among the favorite events on the calendar where the city of Montreal embraces Formula One for the week.

It is considered a street track as it is only used twice a year, but it is more like Melbourne than a classic street track, with run off areas aplenty.

It is still a very tricky track to drive on especially on the Friday when it is still green. It is all about top speed here as there are some very long straights and you also need good braking stability for the tight chicanes and hairpins following these long straights.

There are no long fast corners here and this means tires are not abused too badly. Nonetheless, you will need good traction out of the slow corners, so drivers, be wary of this.

Pirelli brings the super soft and medium tires here and this means we can expect to see a variety of different strategies, assuming that the teams can get the super softs to work. Last year saw Hamilton use his fresh rubber to reel in Alonso and Vettel, who were on old tires in the closing stages and I think we will see that sort of excitement again.

Hamilton really likes this track where he has won three times. He really needs to pull off a good performance this weekend because if his teammate gets the upper hand on him again, I am sure it will really start to affect his confidence.

Mercedes will be in the hunt for pole position but I think they will still suffer with tire degradation in the race and it will be tough for them to hang on for the win, especially when overtaking is so easy here.

RedBull may lead both the drivers and constructors championships but they have never won here before. Vettel and Webber will be out to break that jinx and I expect them to be on the hunt for the win.

 Ferrari had a bad day at Monaco where they suffered from too much wheelspin.

Traction is key here and if they want to challenge for the win, they need to stay on top of that. Kimi and Lotus also had a poor race at Monaco but I expect them to be firing on all cylinders again this weekend.

The big question mark, however, is Mclaren. With this being a slightly unusual circuit, I think we may see them at their most competitive.

They also have a good record at this track (having won the last three Canadian GPs), so I expect them to be strong too. How strong? I think fighting for the top five on genuine pace is a real possibility.

In Montreal there is always a chance of rain, which will spice things up no doubt. Even with no rain, we have had exciting races in the past. Safety cars are very likely as the blind corners mean any accident will probably bring them out.

Whatever the case, I fully expect a thrilling race, so join us in the wee hours of Monday morning to share the thrills.

Catch Alex Yoong on STAR Sports'€™ coverage of this weekend'€™s Canadian Grand Prix starting from Formula Friday, to Race Day and Chequered Flag! Watch all LIVE races in high-definition on FOX SPORTS PLUS.