Canadian GP History and Guide at a Glance:
This weekend is the 7th round of the world championship held at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit at Montreal in Canada. The track is named after the legendary father of Jacques who was loved by all in F1, but was killed tragically in the final practise session on the Belgian GP weekend in 1982.
Canada has been part of the calendar since 1967. The race was first staged at Mosport Park, and it then alternated between this circuit and Circuit-Mont-Tremblant.
It was 1978 when F1 then moved to its current home in Montreal. The track is based on a man-made Island called the Ile-Notre-Dame.
In 1987 the race wasn’t held due to a row over sponsorship but the event has been held every year since and shows no signs of being under threat unlike other circuits currently on the calendar.
The Canadian GP continues to have a very huge following in the country. Fans still come in by tens of thousands, and are all very keen, knowledgeable supporters. They have no driver to cheer for at the moment however, due to the fact that Jacques Villeneuve left the sport permanently in 2006. That and Michael Schumacher’s retirement from F1 has never dampened the enthusiasm.
The circuit itself is very point and squirt, just as the previous race in Monaco was. The teams approach the challenges of Montreal rather differently than in Monte-Carlo.
The teams all use low down force settings as straight line speed is very important for the long pit straight and even longer back straight. There are also some sweeping quick sections in between the niggling chicanes which have to be negotiated.
Although not as punishing a circuit as Monaco, mistakes in Montreal frequently end driver’s races, as the track is very close to the barriers in a lot of places.
One place in particular is on the exit of the last chicane leading onto the pit straight. Many drivers in previous races have taken that chicane wrong and hit the kerb, which has thrown them straight into the wall. Any small contact with that wall and your race is over.
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