MONTREAL, Canada – The Ile Notre Dame Circuit, as it was known in 1978, is set on an island in the Saint Lawrence River It had been home to the 1967 World's Fair, and there were a bunch of futuristic looking buildings left over, which the local government decided would be the perfect backdrop to a grand prix.
The circuit was later named after the man who took the first victory there, Gilles Villeneuve, after his untimely death in 1982.
The track lacks grip at the start of the weekend because it's not used much throughout the year, and a lot of spray from the adjacent rowing basin is blown onto the track due to high winds. The winds can be incredibly unpredictable and play havoc with finely tuned gear ratios.
The circuit layout lends itself to some good battles, with long straights and a lot of slow corners and chicanes, which present a couple of good overtaking spots each lap. It is one of the toughest circuits for brakes and tires.
Because the walls are close to the tarmac, there's a high chance of safety car deployment.
Due to the stop-start nature of the layout, gearboxes are put under enormous strain.
They experience around 2,000 changes during the 70-lap race.
Combined with the unforgiving run-off areas and high curbs, Canada tends to claim many casualties, but we're always rewarded with an exciting race.
2013 CANADA GRAND PRIX: KEY TRACK STATISTICS
Local start time: 14h00
Number of laps: 70
Circuit length: 4.361km
Race distance: 305.270km
Grand prix debut: 1978
Lap record: Rubens Barrichello
(Ferrari, 2004), 1:13.622
2012 QUALIFYING
1) Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2) Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
3) Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
4) Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2012 RACE RESULTS
1) Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2) Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
3) Sergio Perez (Sauber)
4) Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
7) Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
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