Erring on side of caution

Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix had everything except something that was probably part of most calculations of race strategy before the event.

The safety car had appeared 14 times in the past 10 editions of the race. That statistic is a function, mostly, of walls that very closely constrain a circuit where 60 percent of the lap is spent accelerating to high speeds (about 320kph) from tight chicanes and hairpin bends.

All this stopping and starting means the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (named after the legendary racer killed 30 years ago) requires one of the heaviest fuel loads of the season - about 150 kilograms compared with 105 at Monaco.