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Circuits

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Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

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Circuit Gilles Villeneuve RSS


Montréal, Canada

  • Circuit type Street
  • Circuit Length 4.361kms
  • Circuit Turns 13
  • Circuit Direction Clockwise
  • Capacity 100,000
  • Established 1978
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve circuit diagram
Circuit Info | Notes | Latest Articles | Latest Photos
Records and Statistics
Race Date Winner
First race Canadian Grand Prix October 8, 1978 Gilles Villeneuve (CAN) full results
Last race Canadian Grand Prix June 12, 2011 Jenson Button (GBR) full results
Total races 32
Next race Canadian Grand Prix June 10, 2012

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Circuit Info

Formerly called the Ile Notre-Dame Circuit and built on a partly man-made island in the Saint-Lawrence River, the circuit held its first race in 1978 after too many complaints over the safety levels at Mosport. It was renamed in 1982 to honour the late French-Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve who claimed his maiden Formula One victory at the venue's inaugural F1 race in 1978.

Known for its tricky hairpin bends and the kilometre-long straight, the circuit is also famous for its "Wall of Champions". Situated at the end of the very long high-speed straight, the chicane has caught out many drivers over the years, notably in 1999 when three world champions - Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill - all fell foul of the tricky chicane.

The first lap is notorious for accidents, the cars are funnelled from the grid into the tight Senna curves, and so frequent is the safety car deployed that teams actually prepare strategies with one or two safety-car periods in mind.

The 2009 Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from the calendar following the failure to reach a deal with F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone. The government refused to pay the increased fee that they were faced with on renewal of the contract. However, after further discussions a deal was brokered that saw the popular event making a return in 2010.

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Notes

Notable fatalities: Riccardo Paletti, 1982. Starting from the back of the grid, crashed heavily into polesitter Didier Pironi's stalled car.

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Latest Articles
  • The making of a Canadian legend (June 10, 2011)
  • Back to an 'old-school' circuit (June 8, 2011)
  • Two DRS zones in future (May 21, 2011)
  • Canada officials confident over state of track (June 7, 2010)
  • Burst water pipes could threaten Canadian GP (May 20, 2010)
View the full list of related articles »

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Latest Photos

June 10, 2010

A safety car laps a soaking Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Thursday

© Sutton Images

June 10, 2010

A flooded apex at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Thursday

© Sutton Images

June 8, 2009

The hairpin at Montreal

© Sutton Images

June 5, 2008

A message on the start-finish line pays homage to Gilles Villeneuve

© Sutton Images

        

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