Canadian Grand Prix: Track and Stats

Formula 1 came to Canada in the mid-1960s, for four years the national grand prix took turns taking Mont Tremblant and Mosport, then the stage settled in Mosport – the other circuit proved too dangerous.

In 1977, French Canadians, impressed by the success of Gilles Villeneuve, expressed the idea of ​​building an autodrome in Quebec. Olympics-76). The city council found $2 million, bonded straights together, and everything was ready for the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix.

The first stage winner was Gilles Villeneuve, who drove a Ferrari 312T3 for 70 laps of the 4500m circuit in 1:57’49. In 1982, after Gilles died in qualifying for the Zolder race, the circuit was named after him.

The history of the Canadian race is full of tragedies and triumphs. Here it is almost impossible to guess the winner, often a driver who does not claim the title rises to the top step of the podium, and the championship leaders are not always lucky…

Track features

The Canadian circuit places high demands on the brakes, engines and suspension tuning and less on aerodynamics – this is the second circuit (after Baku) where relatively little downforce is required. The absence of some problems gives rise to others, it is not easy to find the optimal balance and settings, so the track is not empty during training.

The suspension should be both soft so that you can attack the curbs effectively, and hard for quick changes of direction in chicanes. Finding a compromise takes a lot of time and it is also difficult to accurately represent the situation on the simulator because the properties of the asphalt change every year due to winter frosts.

Uneven asphalt will contribute to the manifestation of the build-up of cars for those teams that are affected by it.

On relatively short straights, the brakes don’t have time to cool down and there are four heavy brakings on the circle at the same time – the straights are torn by chicanes, giving the brakes and gearboxes a hard time.

Pole at the Montreal circuit plays a smaller role compared to other podiums. The chance that the safety car will leave is high – 80%. High fuel consumption forces riders to attack from a distance.

Diego Ioverno, head of the Ferrari racing team: “A stage in Canada, unlike most European races, requires a different approach to logistics. Some of the equipment is brought in by sea and the load on the team is not as great as in other away grands prix as we return to Europe after the race and not go to another stage overseas.

In terms of load on the car, the race in Montreal is very tough. The power station, brakes and other systems operate in difficult conditions, which is related to the configuration of the track and its characteristics.

Montreal is a beautiful city with a great atmosphere. The people here are incredibly hospitable, wherever you go, you feel that Formula 1 is loved here. For most teams, the Canadian Grand Prix is ​​one of the favorite stages of the season.”

Weekend schedule

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Tire sets given to teams for the weekend

For Canada Pirelli chose a soft trio of compositions – C3 and C4 as Hard and Medium for the race and C5 for qualifying. This combination of compositions is used for the third weekend in a row, the teams are familiar with it.

A set of the softest tires must be kept for the qualifying final – after that those who raced in the final must return this set to Pirelli.

One set of medium and hard tires must be kept for the race – unless declared wet, riders must use at least one of these sets.

Performance of Active Riders in Canada

Sebastian Vettel: “The combination of the first and second corner, Virage Senna, is very difficult – you have to brake in the corner. If something happens, you have to cut the bend on the grass – you have to be prepared for this. At the exit, the car is prone to oversteer.

In the hairpin of the tenth corner it is very important that the car accelerates efficiently – it depends on how fast you pick up speed for the long straight.

Everyone knows the “Wall of Champions” when exiting the last corner at the finish line – it’s easy to lose control of the car on a high curb. If you overdo it, you’ll hit a wall – we’re all trying to avoid this.