F1 Academy Arrives in Canada for Round 2 - All You Need to Know
Whether it's your first time or simply need a refresher, here's your breakdown on what you need to know about the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve ahead of Round 2 of F1 Academy.
Constructed on the man-made Notre Dame Island in the middle of the St Lawrence River, the island was originally created for the 1967 Expo World’s Fair. Once the expo, and the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics that followed, were over, an idea was hatched to use the island in a different way. The Formula 1 circuit that we know and love today was born.
The inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix to be held in Canada was back in 1978. It was the final race that season and took place on October 8th - a far cry from the modern place on the calendar of May/June. French driver Jean-Pierre Jarier claimed Pole Position while Alan Jones took the fastest lap. Fittingly though, it was home hero Gilles Villeneuve who won the Grand Prix, with Jody Scheckter in second place and Carlos Reutemann in third.
Forty-Four Grand Prix have been held in total at this circuit since then and it’s seen some incredibly memorable moments throughout the years. These include the modern classic that was the 2011 edition of the race where Jenson Button stole victory from Sebastian Vettel on the final lap of the race as well as the iconic podium in 2023 of Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Newey.
F1 Academy’s History at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
F1 Academy first visited the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last season - and it gave us one of the best rounds that the series has had in its entire history to date. Normally, there are two races held over an F1 Academy weekend - but on this occasion, there was a third added due to the cancellation of the second race in Miami at the previous round due to adverse weather conditions.
Chloe Chambers claimed Pole Position while Chloe Chong took Reverse Grid Pole.
The first race was full of drama as the two Campos Racing teammates of Chambers and Palmowski collided as they were battling for the lead early on. Mathilda Paatz, then a Wild Card Driver in the series, made contact with the infamous Wall of Champions and a chain reaction of incidents at the end of the race led to the event ending behind the Safety Car. The incidents in question were Ferreira and Chong colliding while behind them, Ciconte and Crone did the same in an attempt to avoid the incident unfolding in front of them. Doriane Pin won the race, with Ella Lloyd in second and Nina Gademan in third.
The second race of the weekend was filled with close battles throughout, some of which were too close for comfort at times, and resulted in Emma Felbermayr taking her maiden win in F1 Academy. It was quite the whirlwind for the Austrian driver as she’d been disqualified from the first race for having an underweight car. Once again, it was Ella Lloyd in second and Nina Gademan in third.
Anagnostiadis and Paatz made contact with one another early on in the final race of the weekend. Nina Gademan received a ten second time penalty after colliding with Felbermayr in the turn 10 hairpin but both drivers were able to continue. Lia Block then ran into the back of Ferreira (who was having the very definition of a bad luck weekend) and brought out the Safety Car once more. Nobels also had to retire as a result, having collided with Ferreira too. The third and final race of the F1 Academy weekend would again end under Safety Car conditions with Chloe Chambers winning from Ella Lloyd in second place and Doriane Pin in third.
It was also confirmed over that weekend of F1 Academy racing in Canada that the series would return to race there until at least 2028.
Circuit Details and Weather Expectations
Valtteri Bottas still holds the lap record at the 2.7 mile circuit which he set back in 2019 when he was driving for Mercedes. The legendary circuit boasts fourteen corners, including the famous hairpin at T10, where Robert Kubica crashed spectacularly in 2007 and the long back straight that ends with the final chicane of T13 and T14 with the Wall of Champions on the outside of the last corner.
Being held in June, the chances of good weather are rather high. But as has been proven a number of times before, such as in 2011 and 2023, the rain will happily come along to challenge those out on track. Once again, three races will be held across the weekend when F1 Academy returns to Canada. This time, it’s due to the cancellation of the original second round of the season, which was to be held in April in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.