Canadian Grand Prix

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Results The Circuit View All Races

Results

Race George Russell 1:14.895 Fastest Lap 70 Laps 3 rd Lewis Hamilton 1:14.856 Fastest Lap 70 Laps 4 th Qualifying George Russell 1:12.000 Fastest Lap 26 Laps 1 st Lewis Hamilton 1:12.280 Fastest Lap 26 Laps 7 th Read Race Report

The Circuit

Since the first race here in the late 1970s, the circuit hasn’t had many changes apart from adding or removing the odd chicane. There have been upgrades to facilities like the pit buildings, but the circuit itself has been untouched since 2002. Drivers always enjoy visiting here, with Lewis last year saying he “loves driving this track” from the moment he leaves the pit lane!

There are plenty of excellent places for overtaking across a lap – quite the contrast to Monaco last time out – such as the iconic hairpin at Turn 10. There’s also the chicane which is located right before the start/finish straight, which, if not handled properly, could leave you in the Wall of Champions. This concrete barrier at the edge of the chicane has caught out some of the biggest names over the years, which is how it got its famous nickname.

The circuit itself is named after the Canadian racing legend Gilles Villeneuve, who tragically lost his life in 1982.

Montreal is a low downforce circuit, and will require a totally different set-up from the one seen in Monaco just two weeks ago. The 4.361km track also consists of no high-speed corners, so will see our team focusing on making the W15 as stable as possible for leaving slow corners, changing direction or braking, which is high at this circuit. Just as we’ve seen in Imola and Monaco, the three softest tyre compounds have been picked by Pirelli for Montreal. As the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve isn’t a permanent circuit, we are also likely to see high tyre degradation over the weekend.

The weather can also be as unpredictable as the racing in Montreal! If you’re attending, your best bet is to pack for all seasons. Last year rain fell over Free Practice 3 and Qualifying, making conditions pretty challenging for the grid. However, we can’t not mention 2011 when we talk about torrential rain and Canada. The race was postponed for more than two hours because of the heavy downpours. Best pack that poncho, race fans!

DRS Corners Speed Trap

• First GP 1978
• Circuit Length 4.361km
• Race Distance 305.27km
• Laps 70

Everything You Need To Know: Canada

This race week it’s the turn of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and the popular Canadian Grand Prix. As well as being loved by fans and drivers alike, the track is also incredibly picturesque with an abundance of trees and laps around a lake. The circuit in Montreal is built on the man-made Notre Dame island, and is 4.361km in length with 14 unique corners including the notorious ‘Wall of Champions’.

Defined as a street circuit, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has been hosting F1 since 1978. We have won here on four occasions as a constructor and 10 times as an engine supplier over the years, with Lewis also tied at the top of the all-time victories at this circuit with seven. Hamilton also holds many special memories here, including when he equalled Ayrton Senna’s pole record in 2017 and was gifted a used helmet by his family.

The circuit brings with it several fantastic overtaking opportunities, and has been witness to some very iconic moments over the years. It’s a very different circuit to Monaco where we raced last time out, with this being a low downforce track. Weather here can also be very varied, with rain regularly playing a big part over the three days of track action.

Our Successes

As a constructor, we have several big highlights at this circuit. Lewis has helped us achieve four special victories at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with the most recent being in 2019. We’ve also started from pole position on four occasions, and stood on the podium as the Silver Arrows 11 times. Valtteri Bottas also holds the lap record here from 2019: 1m13.078s.

This is a circuit that Lewis excels at. This is where he secured his first win with McLaren-Mercedes in 2007, and has stood on the top step of the podium here with Mercedes on four occasions. The first was in 2015, where the seven-time champion was able to convert pole into another with then-team-mate Nico Rosberg in second.

He was then able to deliver back-to-back wins in 2016, when Lewis came out on top in a tense battle with Sebastian Vettel. For his fifth win at the track, Lewis dedicated the achievement to the late Muhammad Ali, who had passed away several days before the race weekend.

The team got a second one-two result in 2017, when Lewis was able to once again lead from pole to another win and Valtteri finishing behind in second.

Lewis is on a run of three consecutive podiums in Canada, while George finished just shy of the top three in 2022 and was forced to retire with brake trouble last season.

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