It’s time for the best race of the Formula One World Championship season! I might be a little biased but the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve always proves to be one of the more interesting Grands Prix that we see each season. Either we get some great battles or something incredibly weird happens or there’s a highlight reel crash. The teams love the party atmosphere in Montreal and the fans love the racing action in Montreal. This race is a win-win for everyone involved.
Montreal
F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Perfect No More
When previewing the Canadian Grand Prix, I often referred to it as one of the most exciting races on the Formula One calendar. Once again, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve played host to a race so exciting and so dramatic that you couldn’t pull yourself away because you would certainly miss something. In fact, the action was so continuous and intense that the cameramen and FOM race feed missed a whole pile of it as it was happening because they were too interested in crowd reaction shots.
While Mercedes looked like they could be the first team to sweep a Formula One season, the racing gods decided that this wasn’t their year. Instead, ERS failures on the Mercedes cars resulted in a dramatic final stint in which the field caught but couldn’t pass Nico Rosberg. Well, the field bar Daniel Ricciardo who pulled off an epic pass with two laps to go to win his first Formula One Grand Prix.
F1 Power Rankings: Canadian Grand Prix
And so the Formula One World Championship makes its annual summer pilgrimage to North America for the best event on the calendar. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve may not be the most impressive looking track on the calendar but it does provide some of the most impressive racing on the calendar. And Montreal might not be an internationally renowned cultural mecca but that doesn’t stop the teams from claiming this race weekend has the best atmosphere this side of Monza.
So who wants to let the two Mercedes boys loose on F1’s most exciting track?
F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Tyres? What Tyres?
Given the recent history of the Canadian Grand Prix and the controversy over the Mercedes GP tyre test, one would have assumed that tyres would have played a factor in the outcome of the race. While the tyres were a story, they weren’t the deciding factor of the Canadian GP as Sebastian Vettel stormed off into the distance en route to a dominant win. Don’t worry, though, there was plenty of off-track drama to keep us entertained.
F1 Power Rankings: Canadian Grand Prix
The Formula One World Championship briefly interrupts the European portion of the season for a quick fly-away adventure to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. This is my favourite race of the season but not just because it’s my home race. The Canadian GP is famous for scads passing and being nearly unpredictable. It’s easily one of the most exciting races every year. I may have rank these drivers based on how they’re driving now and how they will do in Canada but we have no idea how this race will pan out.
NASCAR Nationwide Series at Montreal Wrapup
Since 2007, Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has played host to the only Canadian stop for NASCAR’s three national touring series. This year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race featured the usual hodgepodge of established stars, up-and-comers and road course ringers. Of course, Canada was well-represented with the likes of 1997 Formula One World Drivers’ Champion Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani, Ron Fellows, Patrick Carpentier and Andrew Ranger leading a Canadian contingent of 10 drivers.
So who took the checkered flag? We have a race recap, analysis, results and driver comments after the jump. Continue reading
F1 Canadian GP: Rubber, Rubber Everywhere
Like the last few years, the story heading into the Canadian Grand Prix was tyres. This year, tyres weren’t expected to be as much of an issue as the pre-race talk suggested that a one-stop strategy was ideal. It turns out that the winning strategy was two stops. Lewis Hamilton used the fresh tyres from his two-stop strategy to beat the one-stop strategy of Fernando Alonso to the win. Hamilton’s win also made it seven different winners from seven races so far this season. Continue reading
F1 Power Rankings: Canadian Grand Prix
After six races, we’ve seen six different race winners and six different drivers set the fastest lap of the race. It looks like removing downforce through the exhaust-blown diffuser ban has levelled the playing field as parity is at an all-time high. With any one of a number of drivers capable of winning any given Sunday, it’s hard to figure out who are the best drivers in F1 right now. I suppose that’s why this week’s F1 Power Ranking has so much change in it. Continue reading
2012 F1 Canadian GP: Drivers And Teams Primer
For the second part of our preview of the 2012 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, we take a look at the drivers and teams who will be contesting this weekend’s race. There weren’t many changes as the front of the grid since last year’s race as the top four teams and Sauber retained their 2011 driver line-up. The other seven teams had at least one new driver join their team.
So today, we look at the drivers, teams and their 2012 seasons so far. Continue reading
2011 NASCAR at Montreal Wrapup
For the fifth time, the stars of the NASCAR Nationwide Series went north of the border for a race in Montreal at the famed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Nationwide Series features a hodgepodge of top NASCAR stars and up-and-comers. This race also featured some of Canada’s best racing talent with Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani, Patrick Carpentier, Andrew Ranger and Ron Fellows.
So who took the checkered flag? We have a race recap, analysis, results and driver comments after the jump. Continue reading
The Lowdown 