LOOK BACK: 2023 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2024 Canadian Grand Prix is fast approaching, so ahead of the race, we have taken a look back at what happened the last time we were at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Having joined the calendar in 1967, the Montreal track on Île Notre-Dame was officially made the home of Formula 1 in Canada for the 1978 season.

The 2023 edition of the Grand Prix was particularly important for kick-starting our season, as Alex Albon raced to an impressive P7.

Here is how the weekend in Montreal unfolded.

Saturday saw wet conditions. However, as the countdown for Q1 began, the rain had started to ease, and team discussions were dominated by how close the time was to dry tyres.

Alex finished Q1 comfortably in P6 to move advance. Then, as the remaining drivers proceeded to set their first laps of the second stage, our No23 was the last on track and the only one on slicks.

The decision proved decisive as Albono set three consecutively quick laps to post himself at the top of the timesheet while other drivers continued to weigh up their options.

As he crossed the line at the end of his third push, the rain resumed, and no one eclipsed Albono’s 1:18.75 in Q2 – the fastest lap of anyone in all three qualifying sessions.

The rain then increased for Q3, which kept Alex from setting a clean lap before a red flag was called when Oscar Piastri hit the wall, and our No23 ended the day in P10.

Race day brought about an even better showing from Alex, as his robust driving managed a one-stop strategy to bring home his joint-best point haul of the season.

Unfortunately for Logan Sargeant, an oil leak within his FW45 brought out the Virtual Safety Car, ending his race after eight laps.

Alex had a strong start running in P8 when George Russell collided with the wall at turn 9. As a result, a full Safety Car was called, and our Thai racer boxed for a set of mediums.

From here, Albono gave a racing masterclass as those around him pitted, while he committed to a single-stop strategy, which saw his tyres 27 laps further than the average Hard C3 stint.

By Lap 40, our No23 was running in P7 on ageing tyres, with George Russell for company, though the Mercedes driver couldn’t find a way past and was forced to retire with 15 laps remaining.

That left Esteban Ocon right on the tail of Alex throughout the last 15 laps, but despite everything the Alpine threw at Alex he could do nothing but watch as our Thai racer took the chequered flag.

Alex’s commanding defensive show secured him F1’s Driver of the Day, with 28.7% of the ballot in his favour and a memorable race across the Atlantic.

It was just the fourth time in Albono’s career he was awarded the accolade and would set the tone for the rest of our 2023 season to come!