1088th F1 GRAND PRIX | 58th CANADIAN GRAND PRIX | 42nd GRAND PRIX AT CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE
2022 POLESITTER: MAX VERSTAPPEN | 2022 WINNER: MAX VERSTAPPEN
Named after Canadian racing legend, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve made a triumphant return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2022. The 2023 Canadian Grand Prix is set to take place on June 16-18.
2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday 16th June
Free Practice 1 – 1:30pm Local Time / 6:30pm UK Time
Free Practice 2 – 5:00pm Local Time / 10:00pm UK Time
Saturday 17th June
Free Practice 3 – 12:30pm Local Time / 5:30pm UK Time
Qualifying- 4:00pm Local Time / 9:00pm UK Time
Sunday 18th June
The 2023 Canadian Grand Prix – 2:00pm Local Time / 7:00pm UK Time
2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND MILESTONES
This will be the 42nd time that the Canadian Grand Prix has been held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Montreal circuit overtakes the Nurburgring as the venue to have hosted the fifth-most World Championship races in Formula 1.
Fernando Alonso makes his 18th appearance at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, equalling Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello as the drivers to have made the most Canadian Grand Prix starts.
If Lewis Hamilton wins the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix, it would be his eighth win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. That would equal the record for most victories at a single circuit.
If Lewis Hamilton leads 46 laps of the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix, this would be only the eighth time that a driver has led 400 laps at a single circuit.
READ MORE IN MILESTONES AND RECORDS TO BREAK
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
WHAT HAS CHANGED AT THE CIRCUIT SINCE LAST YEAR?
Changes to the circuit since the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix will be posted here.
HOW MANY DRS ZONES WILL THERE BE AT THE 2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX?
It’s yet to be announced how many DRS zones there will be at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. There were three DRS zones at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix.
CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE TRACK GUIDE
The streets of the Ile Notre Dame island have seen plenty of chaos and surprises over the years. As one of the most well liked and well-attended Grands Prix of the season, the Canadian round of the championship always seems to deliver.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is situated on the man-made island of Notre Dame, just a stone’s throw from Montreal. The island, on the St Lawrence River, was constructed to celebrate Canada’s centennial, and for Expo 67, widely regarded as the most successful World’s Fair of the twentieth century.
The site continued to host exhibitions after, but declining attendance figures saw the area begin to struggle. In 1975, the area was transformed, ready to host the rowing and canoeing events for the 1976 Olympics, which were being held in Montreal.
Formula 1 was no newcomer to Canada when the cars first took to the Montreal track in 1978. The Canadian Grand Prix had been held at Mosport Park since 1967, with the Mont-Tremblant circuit in Quebec also hosting the event in 1968 and 1970. Fears had been growing over the safety of the Mosport Park track for a number of years and a crash for Ian Ashley in 1977, in which he suffered leg injuries, proved to be the final straw for F1’s running at the circuit.
Instead, the sport found a new home at the Circuit Île Notre-Dame. The track was designed by Roger Peart and was built quickly in order to host the penultimate round of the 1978 season. Gilles Villeneuve won the first Grand Prix at the track and, following his fatal accident in 1982, the track was renamed in his honour.
The race has been held every year since 1978, with just two exceptions. In 1987, the race was cancelled due to a sponsorship dispute between beer manufacturers Molson and Labatt’s. For 2009, the race was featured on the provisional calendar, but was dropped by the time the final calendar emerged. The 2009 season was the first time there had been no Grands Prix in North America since 1958.
READ MORE IN OUR ULTIMATE TRACK GUIDE
WHO WILL BE IN THE 2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX PRESS CONFERENCES?
The world’s media will have the opportunity to talk to the drivers on Friday morning before the opening practice session. The drivers appearing in the press conference are yet to be announced.
The media will also be talking to prominent members of Formula 1’s teams on Saturday morning. It’s yet to be announced which team members will appear in the press conference.
WHO WILL BE THE RACE DIRECTOR AT THE 2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX?
Niels Wittich will be the race director at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix.
WHO WILL BE THE DRIVER STEWARD AT THE 2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX?
Each weekend a former Formula 1 driver, or a driver from another prominent series of motorsport, joins the stewards to help judge any incidents from a drivers’ perspective. The Driver Steward this weekend is yet to be announced.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
The weather forecast for the week ahead at the circuit currently looks like this:
WHICH TYRE COMPOUNDS WILL BE USED AT THE 2023 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX?
Pirelli have not yet announced which tyre compounds will be used at the 2023 Candian Grand Prix. The C3, C4 and C5 compounds were used in 2022.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME AT THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX?
Following a chaotic wet qualifying session, Verstappen took pole position and won the race in the dry on Sunday – despite coming under immense pressure from Sainz in the closing stages.
Following two dry practice sessions on Friday, the heavens opened on Saturday meaning both Free Practice 3 and qualifying were run in wet conditions. The conditions proved to be tricky for some, with Alex Albon and Sergio Perez making contact with the barriers in Q2, the latter incident bringing out the red flags. It was Perez’s team-mate Max Verstappen who secured pole position. Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in final practice and impressed again in qualifying, lining up on the front row of the grid.
Verstappen was unchallenged at the start of the race, while Alonso came under pressure from third-starting Carlos Sainz. Perez’s bad weekend continued as his engine cut out just eight laps into the race, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car. His team-mate took advantage of the caution period to make a pit stop, as did Lewis Hamilton.
Mick Schumacher came to a halt on Lap 21 at the same spot as Perez had done 13 laps earlier. Hamilton’s fresher tyres aided him to scythe through the field to third place, while Verstappen made a second stop and came out alongside the Mercedes. Hamilton briefly ran second, but was soon overtaken by the Red Bull.
Yuki Tsunoda embarrassingly crashed just after exiting the pit lane on cold tyres, prompting a Safety Car period. The timing of the Safety Car worked in Sainz’s favour, who was yet to pit for fresh tyres. He emerged from the pit lane behind Verstappen but had fresher tyres to attack in the closing stages.
The green flag flew on Lap 55 of 70, as Sainz set about chasing Verstappen. On the other side of the Ferrari garage, Charles Leclerc started from the back of the field following a power unit penalty but a string of overtakes throughout the race saw him eventually finish in the top five. Ahead of him, Sainz was unable to overtake Verstappen, finishing under a second behind the Red Bull. Hamilton completed the podium places.
WHAT’S THE FASTEST EVER LAP TIME AT THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX?
Attending the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix? Learn more about visiting Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the F1Destinations Travel Guide.
