Formula One News

Location: Montreal Race Date: 12th June 2011 Circuit Length: 4.361 km Number of Laps: 70 Race Distance: 305.270 km 2011 Pole Sitter: S.Vettel 2011 Race Winner: J.Button  Grands Prix Held: 32 Circuit Website: Canadian GP Website Circuit Diagram Produced By: Adrian Dean

Brief History

The Canadian grand prix circuit takes its name from the great Canadian race driver Gilles Villeneuve. It was after his death in 1982 that the circuit was renamed in his memory. The circuit was special to Villeneuve, as it was the track where he took his very first victory in Formula one when driving for Ferrari. His son, Jacques, never won at the track but some of the great drivers of the sport have. Michael Schumacher currently holds the record of having won seven times in Canada.

The circuit can be found on the Ile Notre-Dame, a man-made island in the St Lawrence River. Literally due to not having a big enough budget to build a new race track in the seventies, the French Canadian’s decided to simply connect all the island’s roads to make the circuit. Two million dollars was spent on upgrading the track to Formula One standards, and the circuit held its first F1 race weekend there in October 1978.

This is apparently one of the most watched Formula One races in the world, and in 2005 it was the third most watched event on the planet.