Williams explains turnaround

"On Friday we had a fuel leak on JPM's car and Ralf's had a problem with the brakes, so the times weren't representative," he explained. "On Saturday morning we knew we had a car that could be near the front although we didn't realise it would be good enough for pole."

Schumacher Jr managed to pip Jenson Button by 0.066s to give the team its first pole of the year.

"There are a couple of things to look at," Michael continued. "Firstly, the Michelin runners compared to Bridgestone. Michelin has obviously got a tyre that is very good on the first lap, which has removed Ferrari from the qualifying picture. But I'm sure they'll be strong in the race.

"Then there's our performance relative to BAR and Renault. You move to a different efficiency range of the car in Montreal; the drag ratio increases quite a bit - where the car runs in terms of ride height - and set-up is quite different because of the difference in downforce levels. Your top speed is 5kph quicker than normal and so there is more emphasis on slow speed grip and also power. Just because we've struggled a bit in high downforce trim doesn't mean you'll definitely be good here, but obviously the car is working well."

As far as strategy is concerned, many suspect that Williams was running relatively light in qualifying compared to the Renaults, for example, and Michael confirmed that the mathematics point to three stops being faster.

"Three stops, starting from the front, is 3s quicker than two stops by the time of the last pit stop," he says. "Over a distance that probably grows to about 5s but its all about track position at the last stop. The most critical thing is how much fuel we have to carry, which affects the brakes a lot, an important factor here."

Given Schumacher Jr's opening day brake problems and the team's qualifying pace, three stops for the FW26s looks like a reasonable bet. In an ideal world it may be quicker, but it will also make it imperative for Schumacher Jr not to be beaten away by Trulli and Alonso in Renaults that will likely be heavier but still quick-starting.

It would also leave Williams susceptible to any Safety Car interruptions that tend to favour those who are two-stopping...