Canadian Grand Prix
 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve |
|
 |
|
| Laps | 70 |
|---|---|
| Circuit length | 4.361 km (2.71 miles) |
| Race length | 305.270 km (189.69 miles) |
| Most driver wins |  Michael Schumacher (7) |
| Most constructor wins |  Ferrari (11) |
| Last race (2007): | |
| Winner | 
Lewis Hamilton |
| Winning constructor |
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Winning time | 1:44:11.292 |
| Pole time | 1:15.707 |
| Pole driver |
Lewis Hamilton |
| Pole constructor |
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Fastest lap | 1:16.367 |
| Fastest lap driver |  Fernando Alonso |
| Fastest lap constructor |
McLaren-Mercedes |
The Canadian Grand Prix (known in French as the Grand Prix du Canada)
is a Formula One auto race held in Canada since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario and
alternated between Mosport and Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Quebec until 1971 when safety concerns lead to the Grand Prix moving permanently to
Mosport. In 1978 the Canadian Grand Prix moved to its current home on Île Notre-Dame in
In 2005, the Canadian Grand Prix was the most watched Formula One GP in the world, the race was also the third most watched sporting event on the planet.[1]
History
The first winner in Montreal was Quebec native Gilles Villeneuve who died in 1982 on the final qualifying lap for the Belgian Grand Prix. A few weeks after his death, the race course in Montreal was named Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after him. Gilles Villeneuve was one of the first inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, and the only Canadian winner at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, already dreary because of the death of Villeneuve a month earlier, saw another horrific accident when Villeneuve's teammate Didier Pironi stalled on the grid. Raul Boesel clipped the stationary car, and Riccardo Paletti then slammed into the back of Pironi's Ferrari. Pironi and F1 doctor Sid Watkins came to Paletti's aid to try to extract him from his car, which briefly caught fire. After a half hour, Paletti was extracted and flown to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.
In 1987, the race was not held due to sponsorship dispute between two local breweries, Labatt and Molson. During the break the track was modified, and startline moved to its current position.
The 1997 Canadian Grand Prix was stopped early due to a huge accident involving Olivier Panis. Panis went off heavily and broke his legs. He was sidelined for nine races and some see it, unfortunately for Panis, as a turning point in the career of the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner.
In 1999, the final corner of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve became well-known for catching out former World Champions. Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed into the same wall which had the slogan Bienvenue au Québec (Welcome to Quebec in English) on it. The wall became affectionately known as the "Wall of Champions". The wall also caught out Ricardo Zonta, who, at the time, was a reigning sports car champion. In recent years, GP2 Champion Nico Rosberg and CART Champion Juan Pablo Montoya have also fallen victim to the wall.
Because of tobacco legislation, new venues, and a maximum of 17 races on the schedule, the Canadian Grand Prix was initially removed from the 2004 F1 schedule. However, Canadian officials were able to raise enough money to keep a Grand Prix race, with the FIA allowing expansion to an 18 race schedule. [citation needed]
Sponsors
Player's Canadian Grand Prix 1967-1971
Labatt's Canadian Grand Prix 1972-1977
Grand Prix Labatt du Canada 1980-1986
Grand Prix Molson du Canada 1988-1996
Grand Prix Player's du Canada 1997-1998
Grand Prix Air Canada 1999-2005
RBS Grand Prix Du Canada 2006-
Winners of the Canadian Grands Prix
Repeat Winners
Only includes World Championship events
| Number of wins | Driver | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Michael Schumacher |
2004 |
| 3 |  Nelson Piquet |
1991 |
| 2 |  Jacky Ickx |
1970 |
|
Jackie Stewart |
1972 | |
 Alan Jones |
1980 | |
| Ayrton
Senna |
1990 |
Year by year
Notes
- ^ Most watched TV sporting events of 2005 - A special report from Initiative
External links
- Official website
- Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame
- Canadian Grand Prix Statistics
- Satellite Photo
- Montreal Grandprix Event
- Intel sponsored Canadian Grand Prix site
- AskMen.com - Grand Prix 2006 Coverage
- 2006 attendance was 332,000
| Races in the Formula One championship |
|---|
| 2007 championship Grand Prix events: Australian | Malaysian |
Bahrain | Spanish | Monaco | Canadian | U.S. | French | British |
| Past championship Grand Prix events: Argentine | Austrian |
Dutch | German | Indy 500 | Las Vegas | Luxembourg | Mexican | Morocco |
| Confirmed future Grand Prix events: |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
