Which multiple Grand Prix winner set the only fastest lap of their career in Montreal? What happened for the first time since 1979 at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix? And what was unique about the 1999 race? Here’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in numbers!
1
Four-time Grand Prix winner Eddie Irvine set the only Fastest Lap of his 147-race F1 career at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1999.
Jean Alesi and Robert Kubica also recorded their sole Formula 1 victories in the Canadian Grand Prix.
2
There have been two races at the Montreal track where the top three have finished in the same order in which they started. The first time it happened was in 1979, and the second time was last year.
5th
Gilles Villeneuve never finished below fifth position at the track which is now named after him. He finished on the podium in three of his four starts on Ile Notre Dame, with fifth in 1980 being his worst finishing position. The Canadian took his first F1 victory at the track in 1978 on his very first appearance with Ferrari.
8
Eight drivers have failed to qualify for a race here twice. Perhaps surprisingly, this list includes 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg, who failed to qualify for the Canadian Grand Prix in 1979 and 1981. Jacques Villeneuve Snr. also failed to qualify for his home race twice. The younger brother of Gilles made three total F1 appearances, failing to successfully qualify for the Grand Prix on all three attempts.
10
No driver has had more than ten DNFs at this circuit. Andrea de Cesaris and Riccardo Patrese share the record for the most DNFs here. De Cesaris has the higher non-finish rate, having entered fourteen races compared to fifteen for Patrese.
On his ten appearances so far, Sebastian Vettel is yet to retire from a Canadian Grand Prix. He holds the record for the most number of starts at the track without a DNF. Impressively, Vettel has also scored points in every race he’s entered at the track. In total, there are 49 drivers who have finished every race they’ve entered at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and there are eight drivers other than Vettel who have scored points on every appearance at the track.
14
A driver has been disqualified from a race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve fourteen times. Juan Pablo Montoya is the only driver to have been disqualified from a race here twice. He was disqualified in consecutive years (2004 and 2005). Meanwhile, the disqualifications of Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella in the 2007 race, for ignoring a red light at the end of the pit-lane, are the most recent times a driver has been black-flagged during a Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen jointly hold the record for most points-scoring races at the track, with 14. Raikkonen could set a new record this weekend, if he finishes in the top ten. Schumacher has the most race finishes at the track, having finished the Canadian Grand Prix on fifteen of his eighteen appearances.
16
Tight qualifying sessions are a regularity in Canada. There have been sixteen occasions where pole position has been taken by less than a tenth of a second at the circuit. Four of the last six qualifying sessions here have seen pole decided by less than a tenth.
18
Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher hold the record for the most races entered at the Ile Notre Dame circuit, with eighteen starts each.
22
The number of drivers who have entered a race in Montreal but didn’t qualify for the Grand Prix.
45
The number of drivers have a 100% DNF rate at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Brendon Hartley is the most recent driver to join the club. The club includes thirty drivers who have only started one race at the track, eleven drivers who started two races here and two drivers who started three races at the circuit. It also includes Maurício Gugelmin and Piercarlo Ghinzani who each started four races here without finishing any of them!
100%
Haas are the only team on the grid to have never recorded a DNF at the Canadian Grand Prix. Despite all six of their entries finishing the three races they’ve entered, the American team have scored only one point here. Romain Grosjean finished tenth at the track in 2017.
119
The largest advantage held in the Constructors’ Championship after the a race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. This came in 2014, when Mercedes had dominated the early stages of the championship. The Canadian Grand Prix was the first race of the 2014 season which Mercedes failed to win. Instead, Daniel Ricciardo took his maiden Formula 1 victory as Mercedes struggled with mechanical issues throughout the race.
229
The number of different drivers have entered a race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since the first race at the track in 1978.
433
The number of laps led by Michael Schumacher at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, more than any other driver. Lewis Hamilton is next on the list, with 352 laps led so far.
1999
The 1999 Canadian Grand Prix was the first ever Formula 1 race to finish behind the Safety Car. The 2014 race here also ended behind the Safety Car after a last lap collision between Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez.