Hoagy Nidd thinks grand prix montreal 2026 should produce more overtaking, with Formula 1’s new regulations reshaping how drivers attack the Canadian circuit. Haas’s head of automobile engineering said the Montreal race could turn into a stop-start duel through the lap, especially as cars manage energy under the revised rules.
“Je pense qu’il y aura plus de dépassements,” Nidd said, adding that drivers will likely see a “yo-yo” effect before the last corners and then a reply at the first corner. The new chassis and power-unit rules have troubled teams and drivers since the start of the season, and Esteban Ocon summed up the mood in Miami when he said he would “voudrait pas être un ingénieur en ce moment.”
Montreal’s first sector
Nidd said the first sector of Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is “très sinueux” and includes several low- and medium-speed corners. That opening stretch, he said, will reward cars that recover electric energy well, while other cars should gain more from the last two sectors.
He said the track layout forces drivers to recover energy in one concentrated area and then spend it over the rest of the lap without many chances to recharge. “On récupère un peu plus d’énergie pour pouvoir en dépenser davantage au tour suivant. Le point de détection se situe juste avant le dernier virage. Il faudra être malin pour déclencher cette détection, rester à moins d’une seconde de la voiture devant et choisir soigneusement où porter l’attaque pour ne pas se faire repasser immédiatement,” he said.
Thermal engine split
The regulations split the hybrid power units 50% thermal and 50% electric, and Nidd said that balance should shape which cars are strongest in different parts of the lap. He said the last two sectors, with long straights broken up by a few slow corners and the hairpin, should favor cars with a better thermal engine, while the opening part of the track should favor others.
That split gives Montreal a different rhythm from one section to the next, and Nidd called it “C’est un défi mental pour les pilotes.” For drivers, the friction point is clear: they must decide where to use energy, where to defend, and where to launch the pass before the field compresses again.
Gilles-Villeneuve surface
Nidd also said the Montreal circuit evolves very quickly. He described the surface as often starting out dirty, dusty and littered with debris, with tires struggling to generate grip in those conditions.
That means the opening laps can look very different from the final phase of the race, as the surface improves and the energy-management game becomes more precise. Nidd said the two-sector performance split will be “ce sera passionnant à suivre,” and Montreal’s layout now looks set to test both the power units and the drivers’ timing on every lap.
