GP Canada: times, standings, track info, weather

Canada GP times

Do you want to sit in the sun all afternoon next Sunday, then have a barbecue and then watch Formula 1 for dessert? Which can! Since it is of course in a completely different time zone, the spectacle in Canada starts quite late in the day for us here in the Netherlands.

Championship standings

While Max Verstappen disappears on the horizon on his way to his third world title, an exciting battle for second place unleashes behind it. Sergio Pérez has managed to increase the distance to Fernando Alonso in Spain, but Lewis Hamilton has come a step closer. Striking behind that is the small difference between the two Ferrari drivers and the (given Alonso’s third place) somewhat disappointing eighth place for Lance Stroll.

There has been a major shift in the Constructors’ Championship. The Mercedes team has knocked Aston Martin out of second place. There is no question of a Red Bull chase, but things are looking a bit better for the former champions. Aston Martin expects to hit back hard in Canada and Mercedes was also suddenly very strong in Barcelona last year, so who knows, they might switch again next weekend in the World Cup standings.

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

With people like Lance Stroll and certainly Nicholas Latifi, the Canadians have not achieved much on the track for some time (except for some podium finishes and a few surprising pole positions for Stroll), but that was different in the past. Jacques Villeneuve and his father Gilles Villeneuve were big names in their time. Especially Villeneuve senior, who tragically lost his life after a crash in qualifying for the Belgian GP in 1982, was a mega talent. The Circut on Île Notre-Dame Circuit was named after him shortly after his death. The old name came from the island on which the track is located, the circuit roughly follows the coastline of that island.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a pretty fast track with quite long straights and some high speed corners. For variety there are some sharp turns and chicanes, especially the sharp turn 14 is notorious. Drivers sometimes want to go into this with a little too much enthusiasm, only to clap against the ‘Wall of Champions’. It got its name because several world champions have seen their race go up in smoke here. The fastest race lap on this track has been in the hands of Valtteri Bottas since 2019, who then lapped here in 1:13.078. Last year Max Verstappen took pole position here in the rain with a time of 1:21.299 and won the race the day after.

Weather forecast

There were some fears that the wildfires in Canada might throw a spanner in the works, but it seems that this will not play a role in Montreal. It is also a bit less dry there and it can occasionally be a wet affair next weekend. It doesn’t seem to get completely rained out, but the teams can at least keep a close eye on the rain radar.