After two years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian GP returns to the calendar in 2022, and here we review its history.
11 anecdotes about the Formula 1 Canadian GP
- Three tracks have hosted the Canadian GP: Mont-Tremblant (twice), Mosport (eight) and Notre-Dame Island (40) – named after Gilles Villeneuve after the death of the Canadian driver, hero local.
- The Gilles Villeneuve circuit was built on the Île Notre-Dame, a totally artificial island made for the ’67 Expo, from earth removed for the construction of the city’s metro. Roger Peart, president of the ASN Canada FIA at the time, designed the original layout of the circuit.
- Since it entered the F1 calendar in 1967, the Canadian GP has not been held on just five occasions: in 1975, 1987, 2009 and, due to COVID-19, in 2020 and 2021.
- McLaren is the team with the most victories in Canada: 13. Although Ferrari would have 14 if the victories they achieved in the 60s were taken into account, when the races in that country did not count for the F1 world championship.
- Lewis Hamilton is the driver on the current grid who has won the most times in Canada (seven), equaling Schumacher’s all-time record (he also had seven wins).
- During the 1977 Canadian GP at Mosport, James Hunt had to retire. As he got out of his McLaren, visibly angry, a track marshal, Ernie Strong, grabbed his arm to show him which way to exit. The pilot did not take it well and punched the commissioner in the face, who fell to the ground. The Brit later apologized.
- On October 9, 1977, Gilles Villeneuve, a Canadian (from Quebec), entered his first Grand Prix with the prestigious Scuderia Ferrari. Driving the Ferrari 312 T2, and sharing a team with Niki Lauda, he had to retire with four laps to go, although he qualified 12th for having completed enough laps. A year later, with Carlos Reutemann as his partner, Villeneuve took victory in the last race of 1978, also in Canada. It was his first victory at Ferrari and in Formula 1, and he was also the first driver to win in Montreal, which debuted that year on the calendar.
- Six F1 drivers have achieved their first victory in the category at the Montreal Grand Prix: Gilles Villeneuve (1978), Thierry Boutsen (1989), Jean Alesi (1995), Lewis Hamilton (2007), Robert Kubica (2008) and Daniel Ricciardo (2014).
- In 1978, the Montreal track was 4.5 kilometers long. Jean-Pierre Jarier held the record for pole position with a time of 1:38.015 in his Lotus-Ford 79. Currently the circuit measures 4.361km and the lap record for the track belonged for years to Ralf Schumacher, who took pole in 2004 with a 1:12.275. In 2018 it was surpassed when Sebastian Vettel took pole going down to 1:10.764 and in 2019 the German went even lower, to 1:10.240.
- The 1990 edition of the Canadian GP was finally won by Ayrton Senna, but not on the track. Gerhard Berger received a one-minute penalty for starting early, and that penalty was applied to his final time. Berger was first on the track, but fourth in the final standings.
- In 1991, Nigel Mansell was dominating on the last lap and was already waving to the crowd during the last lap, leading ahead of Piquet, Modena, Patrese, de Cesaris, and Gachot, when suddenly his car slowed down. Mansell noticed that his engine revolutions decreased, until the car stopped. Piquet took advantage of the failure and took an unexpected victory with Benetton.
- The “Wall of Champions” was named after it in 1999, when Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve left after hitting it with their cars. In addition to them, the then FIA GT champion, Ricardo Zonta, also suffered an accident.
- In 2001, the first one-two for brothers in Formula 1 history took place there. Ralf Schumacher won with Williams ahead of his brother Michael of Ferrari.
- The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix was interrupted for two hours due to heavy rain. McLaren F1’s Jenson Button was in the shadow of German Sebastian Vettel, waiting for him to fail. The Red Bull RB7 skidded in a corner with little to go, a moment in which the McLaren driver took the opportunity to take the lead and win the race.
That was the longest race in F1 history. The grand prix lasted 4 hours, 4 minutes and 39 seconds, counting a long pause for a red flag. Since then, F1 established that the maximum that a test can last is four hours. - In 2007 the highlight was not the victory of Lewis Hamilton (his first in Formula 1), but the serious accident of the Polish driver Robert Kubica, who miraculously saved his life despite the fact that his BMW Sauber was destroyed. In fact, he was practically unharmed despite impacting at 280 km/h. Two grand prix later he got back in the car, after overcoming a sprained ankle and concussion. The Vatican came to investigate whether it was a miracle, since Kubica was carrying in his car a stamp of his compatriot John Paul II, Pope who died in 2005.
- In 2008, Kimi Raikkonen stopped his Ferrari at the end of the pitlane at the red light. Lewis Hamilton was behind him in his McLaren. Not seeing the red light, the Englishman hit the rear of the Ferrari. Both had to retire on that lap 19, favoring the first and only victory of the career of Robert Kubica.
- The last edition held before the pandemic caused the race to be absent from the World Cup for two years was that of 2019, and it was controversial. Vettel was leading the race ahead of Hamilton when he ran his Ferrari out of a chicane. The German returned to the track and ran into a Lewis who was passing through that area, and Vettel kept his foot on the board, forcing Hamilton to stop accelerating so as not to end up against the wall. The stewards sanctioned the German, who had crossed the checkered flag first, but lost the victory. There, Vettel left an iconic image when he changed the first classified poster and put it in front of his car, leaving the 2 in front of the Mercedes.
Lewis the fastest
1 / 10
Lewis Hamilton is the driver on the current grid who has won the most times in Canada (seven), historically equaling Schumacher (he also had seven wins).
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Hot blood
2 / 10
During the 1977 race at Mosport, James Hunt had to retire. As he got out of his McLaren, visibly angry, a track marshal, Ernie Strong, grabbed his arm to show him which way to exit. The pilot did not take it well and punched the marshal in the face, who fell to the ground. The Brit later apologized.
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
First race and first victory with Ferrari
3 / 10
On October 9, 1977, Gilles Villeneuve, from Quebec, entered his first Grand Prix with the prestigious Scuderia Ferrari. Driving the Ferrari 312 T2, and sharing a team with Niki Lauda, he had to retire with four laps to go, although he qualified 12th for having completed enough laps. A year later, with Carlos Reutemann as his partner, Villeneuve took victory in the last race of 1978, also in Canada. His first victory at Ferrari and in Formula 1, and he was also the first driver to win in Montreal, which debuted that year on the calendar.
Photo by: Guy Bellerive
A semi-permanent circuit
4 / 10
The Gilles Villeneuve circuit was built on the Île Notre-Dame, a totally artificial island made of earth removed for the construction of the city’s metro. Roger Peart, president of the ASN Canada FIA at the time, designed the original layout of the circuit.
Photo by: XPB Images
The first time
5 / 10
Six drivers have achieved their first win at the Montreal Grand Prix: Gilles Villeneuve (1978), Thierry Boutsen (1989), Jean Alesi (1995), Lewis Hamilton (2007), Robert Kubica (2008) and Daniel Ricciardo (2014).
Photo by: XPB Images
A lap record for many years in force
6 / 10
Photo by: Ferrari Media Center
Victory in a troubled river
7 / 10
The 2011 Grand Prix was interrupted for two hours due to heavy rain. McLaren’s Jenson Button was in the shadow of German Sebastian Vettel, waiting for him to fail. The Red Bull RB7 skidded in a corner with little to go, a moment in which the McLaren driver took the opportunity to take the lead and win the race.
Photo by: XPB Images
Red light
8 / 10
In 2008, Kimi Raikkonen stopped his Ferrari at the end of the pitlane for a red light. Lewis Hamilton was behind him in his McLaren. Without seeing the red light, the Englishman hit the rear of the Ferrari. Both had to retire on that lap 19, favoring the first victory of the career of Robert Kúbica.
Photo by: XPB Images
Also many surprises
9 / 10
In 1991, Nigel Mansell was dominating on the last lap and was already waving to the crowd during the last lap, leading Piquet, Modena, Patrese, de Cesaris, and Gachot when suddenly his car slowed down. Mansell noticed that his engine revs decreased until the car stopped. Piquet took advantage of the failure and took an unexpected victory with Benetton.
Photo by: XPB Images
The ‘miracle’ of Kubica
10 / 10
In 2007 the highlight was not the victory of Lewis Hamilton (his first in Formula 1), but the serious accident of the Polish driver Robert Kubica, who miraculously saved his life despite the fact that his BMW Sauber was destroyed. In fact, he was practically unharmed despite impacting at 280 km/h. Two grand prix later he got back in the car, after overcoming a sprained ankle and concussion. The Vatican came to investigate if it was a miracle, since Kúbica carried in his car a stamp of his friend John Paul II, Pope who died in 2005.
Photo by: XPB Images
