After his brilliant win in Monaco, Lewis Hamilton is back in pole position for the Formula One drivers' championship, just ahead of  Ferrari rivals Kimi Raikonen, Felipe Massa and even BMW's Robert Kubica.

Canada host round seven of the championships this weekend and all eyes will be on the battle between Hamilton’s McLaren and the other two major forces for the constructors' championship.

The media will, of course, focus on their new track hero Hamilton. The youngster has had a brilliant start to the 2008 season. An easy winner in Australia, he struggled in the next two races before returning to some kind of form in Spain when finishing a creditable third and regaining his place on the podium - a place he was used to occupying for most of his rookie season.

'If the McLaren engineers can get the car in prime condition, then Hamilton can definitely challenge for a victory . . .'


Now, with more pressure on his shoulders after his race six win on the narrow streets of Monaco, Hamilton can look forward to another very consistent race in Montreal - the scene of his first Formula One victory last year.

Before Monaco, the Ferrari team had begun to dominate the races since Australia, but Hamilton and his McLaren are now ready to put pressure on their rivals and Hamilton is hungry to stretch his three-point championship lead. And the only way he is going to do that is by driving as sensationally as he did in last year’s Grand Prix.

If the McLaren engineers can get the car in prime condition, then Hamilton can definitely challenge for a victory to increase his advantage over his closest rival, Raikonnen. 

So much depends on the cars, and all too often driving skills come second to race-car superiority. McLaren will be focused on this race, having secured the top two qualifying positions last year when Hamilton led from start to finish.

Over the remaining races of the season, experience will count for a lot. Hamilton was successful in 2007 on most of the tracks still to come and can be again. Raikkonen, though, is far more experienced and if his Ferrari continues to speed off on the qualifying laps and get that pole position, then Hamilton may struggle to hold onto his lead.

BMW could also play a significant part in the final shake-up as Robert Kubica has been in terrific form at the start of the season and his second place in Monaco has only strengthened his place amongst the top drivers.

With team-mate Nick Heidfeld taking second place in last year’s Montreal race, BMW will be looking for another significant performance from its drivers this weekend.

A lot can happen between now and the end of the season, but I’m prepared to stick my neck out and say that Hamilton will be crowned Formula One champion by the time we reach Interlagos in Brazil come November.