Nico Rosberg seized the Formula One championship lead from aggrieved Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Monaco but he may have to hand it straight back in Montreal this weekend.

With their rivalry sure to be as fierce as ever, despite both drivers playing down talk of feuding in recent days, Hamilton can be expected to hit back hard at one of his favourite circuits.

The 2008 world champion has won three times in Canada and took the first grand prix victory of his career at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with McLaren in 2007.

Until last year, when he started on the front row and ended up third behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the 29-year-old Briton could boast of winning every Canadian Grand Prix he had finished.

“Canada is a very good circuit for me,” Hamilton said after Rosberg ended his run of four wins in a row with victory in Monaco on May 25.

“We were both quite quick there last year but with this car it should be better. It is a late-braking circuit and I am better on the brakes, so it should be a good one for us.

“This one is really important. It’s where I won my first grand prix, so I want to make sure I keep doing that,” he added after driving the layout on a simulator this week.

Even if Rosberg rates Montreal as a favourite venue, with the city’s nightlife making it a great place to celebrate a good result, the German has never finished higher than fifth there.

That must surely change this time, with Mercedes chasing their sixth one-two finish in a row and seventh successive pole and victory, but Hamilton will have the bit between his teeth after falling four points behind his rival.

“I always remember with Lewis that when we had a tussle in a race, or there was an issue between us... the next race he would destroy me. He would come there and be stronger than ever,” recalled his former McLaren team-mate Jenson Button.

“He’s very good at turning it around and coming back because he is a superb driver. He is very fast and he can wrestle a car around a circuit. He won’t have any issues going into the next race with Nico.”

Full power

Champions Red Bull are unlikely to repeat last year’s win even if engine partners Renault say Vettel will finally have full power at his fingertips after a difficult start to the season.

“In the last four races we’ve introduced several new upgrades and we will complete the process in Montreal, effectively giving us the first full opportunity to see where we are versus the competition,” said Remi Taffin, Renault F1’s head of track operations.

Taffin said Renault had fixed the power-unit problem that forced Vettel to retire in Monaco, as well as the exhaust issues that hit both Toro Rosso drivers.

Canada, with long straights and cars hitting top speeds in excess of 330kph as well as brushing the infamous ‘Wall of Champions’, will be the toughest challenge so far for the new V6 power units and energy-recovery systems, and should favour Mercedes.

“You go from one extreme to the other,” said Red Bull principal Christian Horner, of the challenge of Montreal after Monaco.

“The next event is straight-line performance so it’s going to be very interesting to see how we fare against Mercedes-powered teams.”

Ferrari hope to be more competitive, with Alonso – winner in Canada in 2006 with Renault – spending time at the factory in Maranello since Monaco.

“We have been improving the car on the aero side, while in the simulator we have done a lot of work on the set-up,” the Spaniard told the Ferrari website.

“We can’t make any predictions because our improvement has to be seen in relation to what our competitors come up with. We need to match them and then find a plus.”

McLaren, who have gone well in Montreal in the past, are also hoping to step up after ending a three-race run without points.

“It should suit our car and we should be in better shape than we were in Monaco,” said racing director Eric Boullier.

Current standings

Drivers
1. Rosberg 122; 2. Hamilton 118; 3. Alonso 61; 4. Ricciardo 54; 5. Huelkenberg 47; 6. Vettel 45; 7. Bottas 34; 8. Button 31; 9. Magnussen 21; 10. Perez 20; 11. Massa 18; 12. Raikkonen 17; 13. Grosjean 8; 14. Vergne 4; 15. Kvyat 4; 16. Bianchi 2.

Constructors
1. Mercedes 240; 2. Red Bull 99; 3. Ferrari 78; 4. Force India 67; 5. McLaren 52; 6. Williams 52; 7. Lotus 8; 8. Toro Rosso 8; 9. Marussia 2.

Canadian GP stats

• Lap distance: 4.361km. Total distance: 305.270km (70 laps).

• Start time: 20.00 (Malta time).

• 2013 pole: Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull, one minute 25.425 seconds.

• 2013 winner: Vettel.

• Race lap record: Rubens Barrichello (Brazil), 1:13.622, Ferrari, 2004.

• Tyres: supersoft (red), soft (yellow).

• Mercedes have won all six races so far this season. McLaren, in 1988, were the last team to start a season with six wins. They went on to chalk up 11 in a row.

• Red Bull's quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel has 39 career wins, Fernando Alonso 32, Lewis Hamilton 26, Kimi Raikkonen 20 and Jenson Button 15. Niko Rosberg has five.

• Ferrari have won 221 races, McLaren 182, Williams 114 and Red Bull 46.

• Rosberg’s Monaco win ended a run of four in a row for Hamilton. No driver has ever won four races in a row without taking the title the same year.

• Red Bull have now gone six races without a victory for the first time since they became a winning team in China in 2009.

• McLaren have not won for 25 races, a run that dates back to Brazil 2012.

• Ferrari’s last win was in Spain in May 2013.