Preview: The 2019 Canadian Grand Prix
- Published on 05 Jun 2019 18:28
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- 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)
Login to replyRam 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.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I think we could see a few easy ones this year
Biggs7
Posts: 38
The atmosphere looks clean and the environment very neat great place for a weekend out one day.
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).
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