• Canadian Grand Prix

Canada officials confident over state of track

Officials at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve are confident work undertaken to the track will ensure there are no repetitions of incidents in 2007 and 2008 when the surface broke up.

"I remember they had problems with the asphalt breaking up and I understand that much of it has now been resurfaced," said Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi, who was Red Bull's reserve driver in 2008.

The Canadian Grand Prix was not held in 2009 and that allowed officials to carry out major resurfacing work in conjunction with Shell Bitumen, whose product has also been used at tracks including Sepang, Sakhir, Singapore, Hockenheim and the Nurburgring.

It is believed Montreal's particularly harsh winters and heavy snowfall has contributed to the track surface problems, but for this weekend's event the weather will be warm. There is, however, a high chance of rainfall particularly for Saturday's day of qualifying, with a smaller chance also existing for Sunday.

Some experts are predicting McLaren's F-duct might haul the British team ahead of the fractured Red Bull camp in Canada. But Jenson Button said: "We know there's still a way to go to beat them on sheer pace. Because it's constantly changing; the weather, the surface, the track. You have to be flexible, adjusting and responding quickly."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.