It’s time for my favourite race of the Formula One World Championship. The F1 circus makes its only stop of the season in North America this weekend for the Canadian Grand Prix. This is largely homerism but the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of today’s great Grand Prix circuits. Regardless of the fact that it’s part street circuit and part dedicated race track, it always produces an exciting and unpredictable event. Maybe that’s what some folks need to knock Sebastian Vettel off the top step of the podium.

#1 Sebastian Vettel (Last Race #1)
The soon-to-be-crowned 2011 WDC talks about his love of Canada: “Canada is a very unique place. It’s not a real track because it’s on an island and also used for public roads. It’s a bit similar to Albert Park in Melbourne, as it’s mainly used for traffic with a second function as a race track. It’s very slippery there, the asphalt is very smooth and we saw last year that tyre degradation is huge, but it’s always good fun to go there. It’s a great race, the atmosphere is fantastic and the fans are very special.”

#2 Lewis Hamilton (LR #2)
Lewis Hamilton, PR dynamo: “Perhaps even more importantly, the fans in Montreal and everyone in North America who makes the trip to the city are some of the best in the world. They are so positive, supportive and friendly – my trips to the city have been some of my favourite experiences in Formula 1, and I’m massively looking forward to arriving in Montreal to a friendly welcome next week.”

#3 Jenson Button (LR #4)
Button on Macca’s building momentum: “There’s a real momentum within our team at the moment – I think we had a race car good enough to win in both Spain and Monaco; with a little improvement to our qualifying, I think we can start to dictate race pace, which was something we were briefly able to show at both of the last two races.”

#4 Mark Webber (LR #3)
@AussieGrit also loves going to Montreal: “My favourite thing about Canada is the laid-back attitude of the fans, which makes the atmosphere very good. The track has traditionally thrown up very interesting races due to the street circuit layout and because the low downforce configuration that we race in provides some good overtaking. It’s always nice to get the feeling that there’s a GP in town even when we’re away from the track and that’s certainly the case in Montreal.”

#5 Fernando Alonso (LR #5)

#6 Nico Rosberg (LR #6)
Nico on bouncing back from a tough Monaco weekend: “The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a nice race track; it’s also very challenging and hard on the engine and brakes. I’m looking forward to the weekend, and I hope that we can move up and be back competing where we belong. The spirit within the team is great and we will fight for a better result than in Monaco. I am confident that we will be able to do it.”

#7 Nick Heidfeld (LR #8)
Heidfeld on sitting 6th in the WDC: “This is what I targeted two races ago so it is nice having achieved this short-term goal. I’m now ahead of Nico and Felipe, so it is a motivation for me to keep striving to do well and scoring points to stay ahead. I am quite a way off Fernando in fifth position still, however the season is long and my target is to move further forward. What’s more important, though, is that we continue to understand and develop the car so that our performance improves as a team. Once this happens, the chance of securing big points will become more and more likely.”

#8 Kamui Kobayashi (LR #10)
Kobayashi Maru on trying to improve over last year’s GP: “Last year I made a big, big mistake on lap one. I had overtaken some cars with no problem, but then crashed when trying to catch another one. I have regretted this for a long time. However, I believe with the new devices this year there are better chances for overtaking. The track’s surface is quite special and slippery, I hope we manage to find some grip there. Regarding braking stability, which is crucial in Canada as you are braking pretty hard, I think we should be okay.”

#9 Vitaly Petrov (LR #7)
Petrov on the effect of the Pirelli tyres on racing: “It’s a difficult question to answer because in Monaco we did not feel we would be able to race with just one pit stop, but in the end we did manage to. The tyres are certainly a talking point this season, and we have seen some heavy degradation at the different circuits over the last couple of months but you can’t argue it hasn’t made the sport more exciting for spectators.”

#10 Felipe Massa (LR #9)

#11 Michael Schumacher (LR #11)
Seven-time on what makes Montreal unique: “Montreal is a great city to visit and the Canadian Grand Prix is always one of those races where it feels like the whole city gets involved and creates a really nice atmosphere. The circuit itself is very much a stop-and-go scenario with much of the focus on top speed and braking. We also have the two DRS zones this year for the first time, so it will be interesting to see the impact that this makes. It is really difficult to have an idea of how our car will perform in Montreal.”

#12 Sebastien Buemi (LR #12)

#13 Adrian Sutil (LR #14)
Sutil loves the nightlife of Montreal… To no one’s surprise: “I’m really looking forward to going back to Montreal. It’s a beautiful city, very international, and it’s definitely one of my favourite races on the calendar. I think everybody enjoys going there. That’s why I try to arrive a little bit earlier than usual to see some of the city and acclimatise to the jet lag.”

#14 Sergio Perez (LR #15)
Checo Perez on his return to action: “I feel very good and fit. Of course I want to race in Montreal, but I also know the final decision is up to the FIA doctors. I have never been to Montreal and know the circuit only from watching TV. Originally it was planned I would go to the Ferrari simulator at Maranello, but this had to be cancelled after my accident.”

#15 Paul di Resta (LR #13)
Dario’s cousin on what Force India is bringing to Montreal: “My preparation has included some time on the simulator. It’s clearly quite an unusual circuit where you need good top speed to be competitive. That’s why we run a special low-downforce package, which will be quite a new experience for me. I drove the car in this spec at Monza last year during free practice and the car feels quite different so I will need to get used to that.”

#16 Rubens Barrichello (LR #17)
Rubens on getting the setup right: “It is important to get a good car set-up with a focus on managing the brakes and getting maximum traction. The minimum speed is low but traction is hard on tyres and there are a lot of hard braking areas throughout the lap. Turn One, for example, is a corner that you carry a lot of speed into and then you brake hard into the hairpin in first gear.”

#17 Jaime Alguersuari (LR #16)

#18 Pastor Maldonado (LR #18)
Maldonado on his first trip to Montreal: “This race will be more difficult for me, especially at the start of the weekend, as I don’t know the circuit. The grip level will improve over the three days and so the track will change between the sessions. I will need to adapt myself day by day as it is important to be fully ready in time for qualifying on Saturday. The track is really interesting and I think I’m going to enjoy racing on it.”

#19 Heikki Kovalainen (LR #19)

#20 Jarno Trulli (LR #20)

#21 Timo Glock (LR #21)
Tim O’Glock on his Montreal history (Spoiler: He mentions Champ Car): “I have very good memories from Canada, but not only because I like the track but because I have had some of my best results here, with points in my Formula One debut in 2004, second in Champ Car a year later and fourth in F1 in 2008 where I also led the race for some laps. So it’s always special to come here to Montreal and I love the city also. It has a really exciting vibe and everyone loves to experience time after time.”

#22 Jerome d’Ambrosio (LR #22)
Jerome’s pre-race quotage: “I’ve driven the track on the simulator and it’s one heck of a ride. Like in Monaco, the barriers are very close to the circuit so it will be another challenge, as will the two DRS zones. I’m arriving early to acclimatise and because there are a lot of great opportunities to do some pre-race training, so I’ll be doing a bit of cycling on the track and rowing on the lake behind the circuit.”

#23 Tonio Liuzzi (LR #23)

#24 Narain Karthikeyan (LR #24)

Follow The Lowdown Blog on Twitter @LowdownFM. Become a fan by “liking” us on our FaceBook page. Add us to your newsfeed reader by subscribing to our RSS feed.