The teams now move on to the seventh stop of the season – the Canadian Grand Prix. The race has been part of the Championship since 1967 (with three years not run) and is considered one of the season’s best by many.
Held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since 1978 the Canadian GP enjoys a picturesque setting on Notre Dame Island in Montreal and is also one of the best when it comes to racing and overtaking.
In stark contrast to last time out in Monaco the Canadian GP has good opportunities for wheel to wheel action and overtakes.
SO HOW DOES CANADA COMPARE FOR OVERTAKES?
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has a number of opportunities for overtaking with four braking zones defined as “hard” by brake supplier Brembo – it is the hardest circuit on brakes on the calendar. Following the 2017 Regulation changes the circuit was one of the few to actually have more overtakes last year than in the 2016 race. The 2017 race had 33 overtakes (as defined by our criteria) which compared to an average of 22 over all tracks that year.
It’s hard to forget Jenson Button’s dramatic win in 2011 with McLaren. Having started seventh on the grid JB was last on lap 37 of 70 after his second crash of the race. After a number of safety cars and a red flag (the race lasted a record 4+ hours) JB passed Seb Vettel for the lead on the last lap to take one of the all time great GP wins! Passing is definitely possible in Canada!
SO DOES THAT MEAN QUALIFYING ISN’T IMPORTANT?
Well yes and no! A good qualifying result is still important in Canada as 48% of winners have started from pole – slightly higher than the average of all tracks. The difference to most tracks though is that 21% of winners in Canada have started from the third row or worse on the grid. Of the current tracks with more than three GP’s to date only Spa has a higher proportion (24%) of winners from 4th or lower on the grid.
Dan Ricciardo’s win in 2014 (the first of his career) after starting from sixth on the grid is a good example of the opportunity for drivers to advance on this fantastic circuit. Perhaps an even better example is Jenson Button’s win from seventh in 2011 – as we mentioned above that was an amazing race!
The lowest grid position to win in Canada was Jacques Laffite who started 10th in 1981 in his Ligier-Matra. That race was a wet one so with showers forecast Sunday the weather could also play a part in mixing up the 2018 race result!
WHAT HAPENNED HERE LAST YEAR?
As you will see below Lewis Hamilton is the master of Canada. 2017 was no exception with the Briton starting on pole and leading the entire race for the win (and scoring the trifecta with the fastest lap as well!).
Not so straight forward was Seb Vettel’s race. As you can see from the Race Map above after starting second on the grid he sustained front wing damage and after pitting was last.
Vettel stormed through the field on fresher tyres after Ferrari elected for an alternate two stop strategy and finished just behind Dan Ricciardo in fourth
Lance Stroll became the first Canadian since Jacques Villeneuve to score a point in a GP (Stroll’s first points). Lance had an impressive race starting 17th and bringing his Williams home in ninth place.
WINNERS AND PODIUM RECORDS
Eight of the current drivers have finished on the podium in Canada though there is clearly one standout – Lewis Hamilton. Of his 10 starts Lewis has won six times and finished third on one occasion.
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| 1st | ||
| 2nd | Hamilton (6x) | |
| Vettel (2x) | Alonso (1x) | 3rd |
| Alonso (1x) | Vettel (1x) | Bottas (2x) |
| Bottas (1x) | Ricciardo (1x) | Alonso (1x) |
| Grosjean (1x) | Räikkönen (1x) | Hamilton (1x) |
| Pérez (1x) | ||
| Ricciardo (1x) | ||
| Räikkönen (1x) | ||
| Vettel (1x) |