By Lorenzo Gotti
June 9 2002

The circuit named in honour of Gilles Villeneuve is the fastest track on the 2002 world championship trail. In yesterday afternoon’s qualifying, Michael Schumacher easily went over the 330 km/h mark, eventually hitting a top speed of 334.3 km/h.

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There is no doubt that the qualifying version of the 051 engine fitted to the F2002 played a significant part in achieving this top speed, as the second fastest driver on this list is Rubens Barrichello in the other Ferrari, who went through the speed trap at 329.5 km/h. From the fastest to slowest there is a difference of around 20 km/h, with Alex Yoong’s Minardi timed at just 315.8 km/h.

On a track where overtaking is possible, for example under braking for the final chicane before the straight, a good top speed is vital. Traditionally, the Canadian Grand Prix is won with just one pit stop, taken as late as possible. However, a two stopper can sometimes work, as Michael Schumacher showed in 1997 and 1998. On the second of these two occasions, the Ferrari driver managed to pull it off even though he made an additional third stop because of a penalty stop imposed by the stewards.

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