All Info You Want to See Before the 2024 Canadian F1 GP Starts

The ninth round of the 2024 Formula 1 season is here: the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix will be celebrated this weekend in the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Red Bull's Dominance Challenged

This will be an interesting Grand Prix to look at. McLaren and Ferrari have allowed Red Bull only one victory in the last three Grands Prix, and if the trend continues, we might start to see a battle for the 2024 F1 World Drivers' Championship.

Of course, that's easier said than done, and Red Bull's shortcomings in Miami and Monaco were mostly due to mistakes from Max Verstappen, especially in the Monaco Qualifying.

Still, the Dutchman has taken advantage of Red Bull's dominance this year and has won five of the eight races celebrated this campaign, along with seven Pole Positions.

Verstappen currently leads the WDC with 169 points, 31 ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc (138). Moreover, Lando Norris has already put his McLaren in third place in the drivers' standings with 113 points. Carlos Sainz is fourth in the second Ferrari with 108 points, leaving the struggling Sergio Perez only in fifth with his Red Bull.

Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen

With Perez staying with Red Bull going forward, the team could find itself struggling to win the World Constructors' Championship, as the Mexican has been putting up some dismal performances recently. This season, Red Bull is already under some threat in the WCC, with Ferrari only 24 points behind after eight races.

McLaren is third in the WCC with 184 points, while Mercedes (George Russell and Lewis Hamilton) seems lost in P4, with only 96 points.

Sauber (Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu) remains the only team without any points scored in the 2024 F1 season.

2024 Canadian GP Facts & Figures

Sunday’s race will be the 59th Canadian Grand Prix in history and the 53rd race held as part of the Formula 1 World Championship.

The first Canadian Grand Prix was held in 1961 and was a sports car race. The first Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix happened in 1967, with Jack Brabham winning at Mosport Park with his Brabham car.

From 1967 to 1970, the event alternated between Mosport Park and Mont-Tremblant, two fast circuits with elevation changes and many challenges for drivers and cars. Safety concerns with Mont-Tremblant left the track out of the calendar, and the Canadian GP continued at Mosport Park until 1977.

Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari 126 CK (1981)

The event moved to Montreal in 1978 and the then Île Notre-Dame Circuit (today’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve). Legendary Canadian racer Gilles Villeneuve won the first event at Montreal, as he put his Ferrari in first place, ahead of Jody Scheckter’s Wolf and his teammate Carlos Reutemann.

The win was Villeneuve’s first of his career, in his first full season in the sport.

Williams’ Alan Jones won the race in 1980 to seal his only World Drivers’ Championship and the first for the team. In that race, Renault’s Jean-Pierre Jabouille crashed heavily and suffered leg injuries that ultimately ended his Formula 1 competitive career.

The 1982 event saw Nelson Piquet win for Brabham, but the race was marked by Riccardo Paletti’s death in only his second F1 race. The 23-year-old Italian crashed against the stalled Ferrari of Didier Pironi at the start of the race and died shortly after.

In recent history, some of the most memorable Canadian Grands Prix include Jean Alesi taking his first and only Grand Prix win in 1995 while driving a Ferrari with the number 27 on top of it, bringing memories of Gilles Villeneuve to the Italian crowd.

Monaco GP winner Olivier Panis suffered a career-altering crash at the 1997 event, which left him with leg injuries and caused him to miss seven races. That was the seventh event of the 1997 campaign, and Panis was third in the WDC with his Prost car.

In the 2001 event, Ralf Schumacher won for Williams with his brother Michael sitting second, which was the first time in F1 history that siblings finished 1-2 in a race. Both repeated the feat in Canada in 2003, with Michael winning the event.

Sir Lewis Hamilton took the first of his record 103 Formula 1 victories in the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, as well as the first of his record-setting 103 Pole Positions. That event is also remembered for BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica heavy crash heading to the third-sector hairpin, which caused Kubica to miss the following US Grand Prix, despite many expecting bad news after such a horrific accident.

In the 2008 Canadian GP, Kubica returned to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and won the race, which was his first and only Grand Prix win in F1.

The Canadian round wasn’t part of the 2009 calendar but it returned to Formula 1 in 2010 after a new 5-year deal was signed between organizers and the racing series’ management.

Hamilton won again in 2010 before his then McLaren teammate Jenson Button won a crazy race in 2011 (the longest in F1 history) as the rain created dramatic escenarios throughout the race, including red flags.

Hamilton gave McLaren its third consecutive win at Montreal in 2012 before Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo gave Red Bull consecutive wins in 2013 and 2014 (Ricciardo’s win was his first in Formula 1).

Hamilton dominated from 2015 to 2017 before Vettel won for Ferrari in 2018 (the Scuderia’s first win at the track since 2004). The 2019 race was controversial, as Vettel was given a five-second penalty for re-joining the track unsafely after a mistake in Turn 4.

The British driver was following closely and was going to take advantage of the German’s mistake, but Vettel’s unsafe return to the track forced Hamilton to back off to avoid a collision, prompting the penalty for the four-time champion.

Vettel and Ferrari fans were completely against the penalty and there’s still an exaggerated outrage from media members about it.

The race wasn't part of the calendar in 2020 and 2021 due to issues coming from the pandemic, but it returned in 2022 with Max Verstappen winning the event for Red Bull, and repeating the feat in 2023.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton lead the all-time table in terms of wins in Canada with seven apiece. The German won once with Benetton (1994) and six with Ferrari (1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004). On his side, Hamilton won three times for McLaren (2007, 2010, 2012) and four with Mercedes (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).

Among teams, McLaren leads Ferrari 13 wins to 12, while Williams is third with seven wins in Canada.

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Track Info

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a 4.361 km with 14 corners that is definitely tough on brakes and has a fantastic dynamic of medium-speed ‘chicanes’, with the last one having the “Wall of Champions” on the exit, an infamous place where several World Champions have crashed through the years, and three former champions (Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve) crashed in 1999.

The first F1 race held in Montreal came in 1978, with the aforementioned win of Gilles Villeneuve in a track named Île Notre-Dame Circuit. Since 1978, Montreal has hosted the Canadian GP, with 40 Grands Prix celebrated at the place since 1978.

In 1982, shortly after Villeneuve’s tragic death in Belgium, the track was renamed after the Canadian legend.

The layout of the circuit has had two big changes since entering F1. The position of the start/finish line was placed shortly after the hairpin (which was Turn 19 at the time). Then, the start/finish line was moved to its current place in 1988, and the track had 17 corners after changes were made to the final sector. The first part of the circuit has remained similar since the circuit entered Formula 1.

In 1996, an acceleration zone was added after the hairpin, making that part of the track a straight, creating some overtaking opportunities before the final chicane (Turns 13 and 14). Since then, only small changes have been made to the layout, only being shortened from 4.421 km to the current 4.361 km, after changes made to the pit-lane exit due to safety concerns.

The lap record at the track is held by Valtteri Bottas, with a 1:13.078 min in the 2019 race.

2024 Canadian Grand Prix - Tyres

The dry tyres for the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix will be the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft, which is Pirelli’s softest choice.

Pirelli explained its choice with a statement from its Motorsport Director, Mario Isola, in a press release: "Formula 1 returns to North America after two European rounds in Imola and Monaco.

The Canadian Grand Prix therefore means a change of continent but it’s a case of status quo when it comes to tyre compound choice for the ninth round of the season, because the race in Montreal will be the third in a row to feature the three softest compounds in the 2024 range, namely the C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft and also the trio’s second consecutive appearance at the Canadian track, a semi-permanent circuit built on the manmade island of Notre-Dame, originally created for Expo ’67.

The 4.361 kilometre track is named in honour of Gilles Villeneuve and features six lefthand corners and eight to the right and it has one of the lowest average speeds of the season. Stability under braking and traction coming out of the chicanes and the slowest corners, which include the hairpin leading onto a very long straight, are the keys to being competitive, as is a car that can change direction quickly.

Unlike the previous stop on the calendar in Monaco, overtaking is possible here, especially at the end of the straight leading to the final chicane, the exit to which features the “Wall of Champions,” thus named after three world champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve, all ended their races there in 1999, crashing into the wall on the outside of the turn.

The entire track has been resurfaced for this year and the kerbs have been replaced. On paper, the track’s existing characteristics of low abrasiveness and therefore reduced grip should remain the same, but the real indications will have to wait until the Pirelli engineers carry out their first measurement tests on Wednesday.

For most of the year, the track is only used by people on foot or cyclists and so lap times generally drop significantly as the cars rubber-in the surface. Graining might also occur, especially on Friday and particularly with the softer compounds. The tyres are subjected to very low lateral forces, although the longitudinal ones are greater, but overall, Montreal is one of the easiest tracks of the season on tyres.

While we’re not looking at Monaco levels of proximity, here in Montreal, setting a quick time in qualifying involves getting very close to the barriers and walls, while making best use of the kerbs, so it’s also important for the driver to do as many laps as possible to gain confidence. Obviously, the slightest error is severely punished. That’s especially the case this year at the turn 4/5 chicane, where the old tarmac run-off area has been replaced with grass.

In last year’s race, all three dry compounds came into play with a mix of strategies with some drivers, including the three who finished on the podium, going for a two-stop while others pitted just the once, trying to lengthen the opening stint as much as possible. One has to take into consideration that the Safety Car is a frequent visitor and that a longer first stint therefore offers the best chance of minimising time lost changing tyres.

The weather, always very changeable in June, generally plays its part in the Quebec event. A cold, rainy, windy day, can be followed by sunshine and warmth, but temperatures can even vary considerably in the space of one day.

The Canadian Grand Prix first appeared on the Formula 1 World Championship calendar in 1967 and three circuits have hosted it. Apart from the current venue, the race was held at Mosport in Ontario eight times and twice at Mont-Tremblant, also in Quebec, just under 150 kilometres to the north of Montreal.

There have been 52 editions and the most successful drivers are Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, who have both won it seven times and they also share the pole award with six apiece. McLaren rules the roost among the Constructors’ with 13 wins and 11 poles, while Ferrari has the most (37) podium finishes".

The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 22.0 PSI (front) and 20.5 PSI (rear).

2024 Canadian Grand Prix Weather Forecast

Friday, June 7th - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Mostly cloudy with showers
Max. temperature: 23°C
Chance of rain: 60%

Saturday, June 8th - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Mostly cloudy with showers
Max. temperature: 18°C
Chance of rain: 80%

Sunday, June 9th - Race
Conditions: Mostly cloudy with showers
Max. temperature: 19°C
Chance of rain: 61%

Who will be on the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix Podium?

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 2nd position, Adrian Newey, Chief Technology Officer, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, and Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, 3rd position, on the podium during the 2023 Canadian GP

After 70 laps and 305.27 km on Sunday, we could have a surprise winner, since the weather could be set to give a difficult race for the drivers and strategic teams. In fact, we could even have a mixed grid, as the threat of rain will be present throughout the entire weekend.

Max Verstappen’s 60th Formula 1 is obviously in the cards for this weekend. Even with the alleged struggles for Red Bull and its car, the Austrian team remains favorite for the upcoming Grand Prix. Still, competition from other teams could make things interestings on Sunday.

Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren could be set for an amazing fight on Sunday, while Mercedes and Aston Martin could find themselves far behind. Mercedes looked a bit better during practice and Qualifying in Monaco, but the team remains inconsistent in many areas, not just with the performance of the W15.

The podium prediction for the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix is 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Lando Norris, 3. Charles Leclerc.

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