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Preview: The 2019 Canadian Grand Prix

Published on 05 Jun 2019 18:28
5
By: Fergal Walsh

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is the venue for the seventh race of 2019, the Canadian Grand Prix. The weekend in Montreal is very popular with teams, drivers and fans because of the unique atmosphere in the city. The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit has been hosting this race since 1982, with the exception of 1987 and 2009.

The circuit

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is located on an island, which sometimes causes animals to run across the track. The course is fairly fast and has an important chicane before the straight. At the exit of this chicane, there is the "Wall of Champions", where great champions have regularly put their cars in the wall.

Length of the circuit	4,361 meters
Number of racing laps	70
Total racing distance	305,270 kilometres
Lap record	1:13.622 (Rubens Barrichello, 2004)

Just like last season, there are three DRS zones around the circuit - betweens Turns 7 and 8, 12 and 13 and 14 and 1.

Driving direction	Clockwise
Number of turns	14 (6 to the left, 8 to the right)
Distance from the start to the first corner	362.1 meters
Braking points of more than 2G	7, of which 6 are heavy
Percentage on full power	64-76 per cent
Number of gear changes in a lap	50
Highest lateral G-force	3.7G at Turn 5
Length of the pits below the limiter	401.1 meters
Duration of the drive through the pits	18.1 seconds
Fuel consumption	High
Side of pole position	Left
Tyre compounds	C3, C4, C5
DRS zones	Turn 7-8, 12-13, 14-1
The opportunity of a safety car	High
Chance of rain	Average

The contenders

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit has completely different characteristics than the circuit in Monaco. Traction and top speed are important on the semi-street circuit and it seems that Mercedes and Ferrari may battle it out. However, Red Bull can't be ruled out either.

Last year in Canada

Canada is traditionally a circuit where Lewis Hamilton performs well, but in 2018 he did not match Sebastian Vettel. The German won the race, while Hamilton didn't even make it to the podium.

Best time FP1	1:13.302 (Verstappen)
Best time FP2	1: 12.198 (Verstappen)
Best time FP3	1:11.599 (Verstappen)
Best time Q1	1:11.710 (Vettel)
Best time Q2	1:11.434 (Ricciardo)
Best time Q3	1:10.764 (Vettel)
Fastest racing lap	1:13.864 (Verstappen)
Total race time	1 hour 28 minutes and 31 seconds
Average speed	207.9 kilometres per hour
Highest top speed	349.7 kilometres per hour
Podium	Vettel - Bottas - Verstappen
Winning strategy	1 stops, on lap 37
Total number of stops	22
Number of retirements	3

Trivia

The Canadian Grand Prix of 2011 became the longest race ever in Formula 1 to date; torrential showers delayed the race for hours. When it got underway again, Briton Jenson Button rushed through the field from last place after the restart on the 41st lap. He caught Sebastian Vettel, forcing him to make a mistake, and grabbed the win.

The most important points of attention for the adjustment are top speed, traction and braking stability, which is indispensable because no Formula 1 track in the season has as many braking zones as those in Montreal.

While Canada has had three Grand Prix locations - Mosport, Mont-Tremblant and Montreal - it is the last to become the home of the country's Formula 1 race. This year will be the 36th time that Montreal has organized a round of the world championship. Only five circuits have more GPs to their name: Monza, Monaco, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nurburgring.

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit got its name in 1982 after the death of Canada's then best-known driver, Gilles Villeneuve. The island on which the circuit is located (Îl Notre-Dame) was built in ten months from the stones that rose above the ground when Montreal built a new metro line. No less than fifteen million tons of stones were conjured from underneath the city. The island served as the location for the Expo 67 and also hosted various sports that were played during the 1976 Summer Olympics. The circuit also hosted the Champ Car World Series between 2002 and 2006.

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Replies (5)

Ram Samartha

Posts: 1,172
Nice write up! The stats are very informative. It would be interesting to see some stats about overtaking.
I think historically this GP has very few overtakes.
- + 0
- Jun 5 2019 - 21:32
- f1fan0101
  
  Posts: 1,804
  I think we could see a few easy ones this year
  + 0
  
  Jun 5 2019 - 22:01
Biggs7

Posts: 38
The atmosphere looks clean and the environment very neat great place for a weekend out one day.
- + 0
- Jun 5 2019 - 23:10
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
I really like this track. Tends to be some great racing, and the surrounding environment looks really pretty. Which is kinda odd, considering I usually don't favour high-speed tracks (aside from Suzuka and Monza).
- + 0
- Jun 6 2019 - 07:53
abhidbgt

Posts: 283
It's a no-brainer that I feel that Ferrari would have sector 3 as their best sector maybe even best of all whereas Mercedes would decimate everyone in sector 1. Feeling like a pundit here. :D
- + 0
- Jun 6 2019 - 10:57