What to expect in Canada: Do Manor have the power? Can Bottas get on the podium?

The Canadian Grand Prix is always one of the most eagerly-anticipated races of the year.

Montreal invariably supplies a huge and feverish crowd for the race on the Isle Notre Dame. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a fast and punishing course which has a tendency to produce surprise results.

Lewis Hamilton struck back in his championship battle with team mate Nico Rosberg. But there's a close, competitive field behind the Mercedes and several of their rivals arrive in Canada expecting strong races. Keith Collantine, editor of blog F1 Fanatic, names them.

"But they're last in the championship," I hear you cry. True enough - and that's where they finished last year as well. But there's one very good reason to keep an eye on F1's tail-enders this weekend: their Mercedes PU106C hybrid power units.

Top speed is critical at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Now benefiting from the best engine in the field, Manor stand to have their most competitive weekend of the year so far.

It's true their MRT05 chassis isn't one of the best but that could work in their favour this weekend. It doesn't produce as much downforce as the other cars but nor does it generate as much drag. That meant they were almost 5kph quicker than anything through the speed trap at the Circuit de Catalunya.

They're still going to need a bit of luck on their side to score some points. But Pascal Wehrlein has made the best starts of any driver so far this year, gaining a total of 23 places on the first lap, and with Mercedes power behind him he could prove very difficult to pass.

Since pre-season testing, rumours have abounded that Ferrari have been restricting the performance of their engine in order to manage a reliability problem. An upgrade to their power unit's turbo is expected to arrive this weekend which is intended to cure it.

It's been a disappointing start to the year for the team in terms of results but they continue to insist the SF16-H is a substantial step forward from its predecessor. This weekend will reveal whether that really is the case, or if they have in fact fallen behind the likes of Red Bull and their upgraded Renault power unit.

Valtteri Bottas gave Williams their best result of the season so far in Russia with fourth place. But it's clear the Mercedes engine customers are facing stiffer opposition this year.​

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has been a strong track for Bottas in the past. In 2013 he took the team's uncompetitive FW35 chassis to by far its best startingposition of the year thanks to an inspired performance in the rain. Last year he beat the Ferraris to a podium finish. This is the team's best chance yet of a top-three result in 2016.