Canadian Grand Prix: Race Preview

Canada first featured on Formula 1’s calendar in 1967, with road course venues Mosport Park and Mont-Tremblant hosting grands prix, before Montreal emerged as the singular permanent host in 1978. A course was designed around the roads of the man-made Ile Notre Dame, which was built for Expo67, and had been a host location for the Summer Olympics event in 1976. The circuit was renamed in honor of local hero Gilles Villeneuve, in the wake of his tragic death in 1982, four years after he triumphed in the inaugural grand prix in Montreal. 

The circuit has a length of only 2.7 miles, making it among the shortest on the calendar, but it is deceptively tricky, featuring medium-speed chicanes, a couple of hairpins, and a few heavy braking zones. That challenge is amplified by the need for the cars to ride the aggressive curbs while drivers have to be wary of the close proximity of the walls. There’s even the occasional risk of groundhogs wandering onto the track from their nearby residences within the leafy parkland.

The Canadian Grand Prix will feature F1 Sprint for the first time in its history, marking the second successive Sprint event, following on from the last round in Miami. From 2026, as part of Formula 1’s ambition to greater regionalize its calendar, Canada’s grand prix moves up the schedule to May, the earliest in the year the event has ever taken place. That brings the greater risk of chillier and wetter weather, throwing in another challenge at a circuit that is used only sparingly during the year.

F1 Academy will return to action at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for its second of six planned events, with Kaylee Countryman continuing to represent TGR Haas F1 Team colors on her ART Grand Prix-run machine. A third race has been included on the schedule to compensate for the cancelation of a planned race in Saudi Arabia.

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“As a team, we always look forward to the Canadian Grand Prix. It’s a great city to go to and a very unique circuit with lots of rich history. This year we're going slightly earlier than usual, so I'm sure the weather is going to play a part. For us, we're looking forward to the weekend as we have an upgrade package coming. As it's a Sprint weekend, we'll only have FP1 to evaluate it, understand it and get the best out it. It's quite a lot to do, but that's what a lot of other teams did in Miami, so we're really up for the challenge. We're all looking forward to having this package to fight in the top ten. We're aiming to get the best out of the car and push forward in what's already proving to be a close, competitive season.”

Ollie Bearman:

“Last year in Montreal I thought there was more we could’ve achieved, so I’m definitely looking to improve on that P11. We’re bringing our next upgrade to Canada, but of course with it being a Sprint weekend it’s going to be a hard task to get it into the perfect window right away, however I have no doubts that we should be in that midfield pack fighting for points in both races. I love the city of Montreal, the fans, the circuit…and even the weather! We’re coming three weeks earlier this year than last, so I wonder if that will spice things up.”

Esteban Ocon:

"It’s been nice to have a couple of weeks after Miami to regroup and prepare ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. We’ve been hard at work training and in the simulator with the team, so I’m looking forward to getting back in the car. Coming back to Montreal is always special and it has a bit of a home race feeling given it’s in North America and, of course, because French is the local language. The vibe in the city is always electric – the Canadian fans are always great, and the track is exciting to drive. Miami was a tough race for us, but it provided quite a few pointers on where we need to improve, so we’ve been closely looking at that. We’ve also got an upgrade coming to the car this weekend and hopefully we’ll get that working straight away as it’s another Sprint weekend.”