Booth: Marussia keen to turn the corner

Team boss John Booth says Marussia is hopeful that the Canadian Grand Prix will mark a turning point for the team after it lost tenth place in the constructors' championship last time out in Monaco. The team heads into the weekend on the back of a tough run of form that he seen it fail to get both cars to the finish since the Chinese Grand Prix back in April, with Charles Pic retiring from the last three races. Speaking ahead of the Montreal event, Booth admitted that the team had to resolve the issues it has encountered in recent races with Canada being the ideal place to return to the kind of form that saw it emerge as best-placed of the three new teams in the early part of the season. “We're hoping that Canada will represent a bit of a turning point that puts us back on the right track again,” he said. “The disappointment has centred less around car performance and pace, and more around a few set-up niggles and reliability issues that have crept in, particularly for Charles. We need to have both cars qualifying consistently and reaching the chequered flag. “The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a temporary street circuit, yet it is very different to Monaco. The track can be very demanding of the car and requires a careful compromise between the varying low and high-downforce elements. Operating the tyres and brakes can also be a challenge. In common with Monaco though, the barriers are very close and the drivers need to be careful of 'that wall'. In the past, Montreal has not been short on surprises; we've had everything from small animals to torrential rain intervening in the course of events. “According to the early forecasts, the weather is likely to range from very hot to very wet through the weekend. It is however a trip we all love to make, as Montreal is such a fantastic Grand Prix destination and the fans are very warm and welcoming.” Pic himself said he was hopeful of a finish in Canada, with his recent run of results not giving a true indication of his performance on track. “I'm very excited about my first experience of racing in F1 in Canada next weekend,” he said. “It's a great circuit and another new and different challenge. My first objective is to learn the track quickly. This is a circuit Timo knows well, so this will be a good benchmark for me. The potential is certainly in the car. With regard to performance, I am quite happy about the last three races, but unfortunately we didn't finish them because of some car-stopping problems. We need to put that behind us and look forward to Canada in a positive way."