The numbers behind the Canadian Grand Prix

We’re back in Montreal for the first Canadian Grand Prix since 2019, a mere 1,104 days ago.

A lot has changed since then, but the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has remained a firm favourite amongst fans, despite its recent absence from the calendar.

Join us as we crunch some of the numbers behind Formula One’s visit to MTL.

Nicholas Latifi finally makes his first appearance in front of his home fans in Montreal, having previously driven on Canadian Grand Prix weekends in both 2018 and 2019 in the Friday free practice sessions. His total of 61 laps driven here in those sessions amount to nearly a full Grand Prix distance (70 laps), without ever having driven in the actual race!

Nicky is the third Canadian to race for Williams in Canadian GP history, following Jacques Villeneuve (1996-1998) and Lance Stroll (2017-18). In a good omen, both Villeneuve and Stroll scored points in Montreal, with Stroll’s ninth place in 2017 being the first points finish of his F1 career. This will be Nicky’s 48th Grand Prix for the team, one behind Villeneuve’s total and seven more than Stroll.

Williams are 8-time pole winners in Montreal, tied for the circuit record with traditional rivals Ferrari and McLaren.

Williams have scored 20 podium finishes in Montreal, more than at any other circuit on the 2022 calendar. The team’s most recent top three finish here was courtesy of Valtteri Bottas in 2016.

We clinched our first-ever world championship successes on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. When Alan Jones crossed the line to take victory in the 1980 Canadian GP at the wheel of the FW07B chassis he confirmed not only the Drivers’ Championship for himself, but also the first of nine Constructors’ Championships for the team, the second-highest total in F1 history.

The Île Notre-Dame is a man-made island originally built to host the Expo 67 World’s Fair. In between its time as an exhibition venue and a racetrack, it also moonlighted as an Olympic venue, as the rowing events for the 1976 Summer Olympics took place on the specially-constructed strip of water adjacent to the pit and paddock complex.

The 2019 Canadian GP saw the opening of Montreal’s upgraded pit and paddock complex, expanding the capacity above the garages from 1,800 to 5,000. Constructed at a cost of C$59 million (£38m), the building won an award from the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada upon its completion.