Canadian Grand Prix: track and statistics

Formula 1 came to Canada in the mid-1960s, for four years the national Grand Prix was alternately organized by Mont Tremblant and Mosport, after which the podium 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 a racing circuit in Quebec, starting from scratch was long and expensive, so they took as a basis the artificial island of Ile Notre Dame, built for the international exhibition Expo 67 (some structures were used during the Olympic Games-76). The city council found two million dollars, connected the sections of straight lines and everything was ready for the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix.

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

The history of Canadian racing is full of tragedies and triumphs. Here it is almost impossible to guess the winner; often a driver who doesn’t claim the title rises to the top step of the podium, and the championship leaders aren’t always lucky…

Characteristics of the trajectory

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

The suspension needs to be both soft, so you can attack curbs effectively, and firm, so you can quickly change direction in chicanes. Finding a compromise takes a lot of time and the situation is difficult to accurately reproduce in a simulator, because the properties of the asphalt change every year due to winter frosts. This year, new asphalt was laid on the highway, making the surface more even.

On relatively short straights the brakes don’t have time to cool down, and there are four serious braking times in the lap. The straights are interrupted by chicanes, so it will be difficult for the brakes and gearbox.

Pole position on the Montreal circuit does not play such a major role compared to other stages. The chance that a safety car will be deployed is high: 80%. High fuel consumption forces drivers to cover the distance in a measured manner.

Diego Ioverno, head of the Ferrari racing team: “The stage in Canada, unlike most European races, requires a different approach to logistics. Some of the equipment is delivered by sea and the burden on the team is not as great as other away Grand Prix, because we return to Europe after the race and do not go to another overseas stage.

In terms of car loads, the race in Montreal is very difficult. The power plant, brakes and other systems operate under difficult conditions, which is related to the configuration of the circuit and its characteristics.

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

Weekend schedule

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Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

Mario Isola: “The Canadian Grand Prix is ​​traditionally one of the most spectacular on the calendar, rich in incidents and surprises due to the fact that the circuit has overtaking areas and takes no prisoners. As usually happens on these types of songs, we bring the softest three – C3, C4 and C5. Last year we had the same tires. We expect the C5 to be used in qualifying, while the C4 and C3 will be the main race line-ups.

There are no fast corners in Montreal, and the most important factors will be the car’s efficiency when accelerating out of slow corners, its stability when braking and its maneuverability when changing direction.

Another important element to take into account this weekend is the weather. Conditions can change quickly – not only from wet to dry surfaces, but also with noticeable temperature changes.”

Kevin Magnussen: “Montreal is a cool city. The track is also good and quite unique – it combines the features of urban and stationary – I like it. At the same time, there are a lot of bumps on the track, so the new generation cars will be difficult to drive, because they are very heavy. I’m sure an interesting challenge awaits us.”