Canadian Grand Prix

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2026 season

The Canadian Grand Prix used to be a double-header with the United States, but with the races in America migrating to southern states, our visits to Montréal have become a standalone excursion in F1's European summer.

Not that this presents a hardship: the Canadian Grand Prix is one of those races with a real buzz around it. It's an event that generates some of the sport's biggest crowds, best parties and most dramatic racing. The old school Circuit Gilles Villeneuve doesn't take prisoners with its narrow, tunnel-like layout and rarely does a race pass without high drama.

Keep scrolling for everything you need to know for Lance's home race weekend.

RACE STARTS IN:

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Toggle below to highlight parts of the track.

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Turn 10 arrives very fast. You brake and then have a 180-degree turn onto the back straight. It's iconic.

Mathilda Paatz – F1 ACADEMY Driver

Circuit length
4.361km
Number of corners
14
Race distance
305.270km

NEED TO KNOW: CANADIAN GP

Mastering Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The magic of racing in Montréal

The essential Montréal travel guide with Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Ultimate Canadian Grand Prix facts

Mastering Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve isn't one of F1's truly ancient venues but it's 1970s origins put it firmly in the old-school camp. It's tight, bumpy and, surrounded by walls, doesn't allow much margin for error. Following the perimeter of Île Notre-Dame in the St Lawrence River, the circuit is a collection of straights, linked by medium-speed chicanes. It has kerbs to be ridden and ever-present walls, the threat of which makes a race without Safety Cars or red flags something of a novelty.

A recent resurfacing effort has smoothed out some of the biggest bumps – but the massive temperature swings of the Montréal climate are not kind to a racing circuit, and so Friday running is often an opportunity to experience new lumps that invariably appear between races. And this combined with a generally low starting grip level make the track a place to exhibit some caution in the early running.

The stop-start nature of the circuit means it's a hard race for fuel consumption, but also incredibly harsh on the brakes. It's the toughest track F1 visits for braking performance, with the issue being the short intervals between the heavy braking events, during which there often isn't enough time to properly cool the discs and calipers. Retirements due to brake failure are not uncommon.

The magic of racing in Montréal

Île Notre-Dame is an artificial island, constructed in the St Lawrence using spoil excavated when the Montréal Metro was being dug. Today it forms part of park Jean-Drapeau with Île Sainte-Hélène, the two islands linked by bridges. It was originally constructed as a host venue for the Expo 67 World Fair, and then reconfigured for the 1976 summer Olympics, relics of both of which are still prominent landmarks around the circuit.

From the Expo, the French Pavilion is now the Casino that sits in the middle of the island and lends the back-straight its name. The US Pavilion is the huge geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller, which now houses the Montréal Biosphere. From the '76 Olympics we have the rowing basin which runs the length of the back straight and hems in the paddock and pit building – which used to be up by the Hairpin – and the Turn One grandstands. For most of the year, it's a place for walking, running, cycling and visiting the attractions, but on grand prix weekend there's only room for one thing.

One of the best things about the Canadian Grand Prix is that almost every corner provides action, and so almost every grandstand provides a great view of action. This is interesting for the teams, given the start-finish grandstand is relatively small, and the start-finish straight is relatively narrow, which at times makes it feel like the spectators are in the garage. While there are good views from grandstands out in the woods, the two main concentrations are at the ends of the track, with the stadium sections around T1-T2 and the Hairpin.

Lance has his own grandstand at the Hairpin – which is the gift that keeps on giving because not only does it have an excellent view of the track, it also has the iconic geodesic dome as the perfect backdrop for pictures. The other advantage of this – or any of the other stands around the Hairpin – is that they're closest to the Jean-Drapeu Metro station on Île Sainte-Hélène. This can be significant. There isn't any public parking at the track. Walking down to the big bleachers at T1-T2 can take an hour from the station, though it provides a very nice run for members of the crew after the day's activities have ended.

It's also worth noting that the grandstands are uncovered, so an umbrella is a useful accessory. The Canadian Grand Prix tends to be a wild ride, from torrential rain to baking sunshine and everything in between – sometimes in the same session. On the upside, it's extremely welcoming, packed to the rafters for all three days, and has an amazing, positive atmosphere.

The essential Montréal travel guide with Regent Seven Seas Cruises

To experience F1's most European Grand Prix… you really have to go to Québec. We're joking… but only a little bit. The Canadian Grand Prix sits in the middle of the European racing season and feels right at home there. This is a race with a history that stretches back almost 60 years, on a track in use for nearly 50 years. It has an enormous and loyal following and it is an event that spreads far beyond the confines of Île Notre-Dame.

Montréal is a city that embraces its race probably better than any other. When the action at the track dies down, everyone walks to the metro, dives under the river and surfaces in the middle of party central. The race is very much the centre of attention downtown, there are pop-up stores and chequered flags everywhere, the restaurants spill out onto the pavement, but the official hub is on Crescent Street, where the roads are closed and pedestrianised for the duration, a stage erected, and the live music goes on deep into the night.

Beyond the race-based entertainment, Montréal has all of the big city attractions. Mount Royal Park is a terrific place to spend an afternoon – perhaps more so this year with a midsummer date. That might mean we're still in hockey season for anyone wanting to visit the Bell Centre, which is usually home to live music during race weekend – though avoid the top tier if you're afraid of heights: cramming 20,000-plus spectators into the tight, intimate arena makes the stands very steeply raked – definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Ultimate Canadian Grand Prix facts

1 | This is the 55th Formula One World Championship Canadian Grand Prix. The race made its debut in 1967, skipping 1975, 1987, 2009, 2020-21. The early races were held at Mosport Park near Toronto, except 1968 and 1970 when the Mont-Tremblant Circuit here in Quebec hosted. Since 1978, the race has been held on the current track.

2 | The 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, held on 8 October, is officially the coldest Grand Prix on record, with temperatures of 5°C.

3 | Back when this was an end-of-season race, the Canadian Grand Prix was a Drivers' Championship decider in 1980, and settled the Constructors' Championship in 1967 and 1981.

4 | Lance scored his first F1 points on this circuit, finishing ninth in the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix.

5 | The track was originally named the Circuit Île Notre-Dame, taking its name from the island on which it is situated. The first race at this venue was won by Gilles Villeneuve, after whom the track is now named.

6 | Villeneuve is one of six drivers to take a debut victory at his eponymous track. The others are Thierry Boutsen (1989), Jean Alesi (1995), Hamilton (2007), Robert Kubica (2008) and Daniel Ricciardo (2014).

7 | The 2011 race made history for many dramatic reasons. It holds the record for the most Safety Car deployments (six), the most pit-stops by a winning driver (also six, for Jenson Button, now shared with Verstappen at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix), the longest duration race at 4h4m39.537s (due to a two-hour red flag), and as a result of that, statistically the lowest average winning race speed of 74.844kph / 46.506mph.