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The Canadian Grand Prix - did you know?

03 Jun 2015

Did you know that six drivers have scored their maiden Grand Prix triumphs in Canada? Or that the polesitter has gone on to win in just four of the last 10 races? We bring you all the need-to-know stats, facts and trivia ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015...
  • While Canada has had three Grand Prix venues - Mosport, Mont-Tremblant and Montreal - it is the latter that has become the permanent home of the country's Formula One race. This year will be the 36th time that Montreal has hosted a round of the world championship. Only five circuits have hosted more: Monza (64), Monaco (62), Silverstone (48), Spa-Francorchamps (47) and the Nurburgring (40). 
  • Twenty three drivers in total have triumphed in Montreal, including one Canadian - Gilles Villeneuve, whom the circuit is now named after.
  • Villeneuve's 1978 triumph was also his maiden victory in F1. Since then, five others drivers have repeated the trick: Thierry Boutsen (1989), Jean Alesi (1995), Lewis Hamilton (2007), Robert Kubica (2008) and most recently Daniel Ricciardo, who claimed his breakthrough in a chaotic race in 2014.
  • Michael Schumacher is far and away the most successful driver in history at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The German triumphed here seven times, was on the podium 12 times in total, and also sealed pole position on six different occasions. To put that in perspective, Nelson Piquet is either second or joint-second in those three categories, with three wins, five podiums and three poles respectively.
  • In terms of the current grid, it is Lewis Hamilton who leads the way. The Briton has triumphed three times, and taken four podiums in total - meaning he has stood on the rostrum in every race he has finished in Montreal. From seven races, he has led at least one lap on all but one occasion. His qualifying record is also superb - he has missed the front row just once, when he lined up fifth in 2011...
  • ...a race that holds the distinction of being the longest in F1 history, at 4h 4m 39.537s (which included a two-hour rain break). Jenson Button prevailed in the most dramatic of circumstances, fighting back from 21st on the road to pass Sebastian Vettel on the final lap.
  • In the last 10 races in Montreal, the polesitter has been victorious on just four occasions. Over that time period, both Kimi Raikkonen (2005) and Button in 2011 prevailed despite starting outside the top six.
  • The lowest any winner has started though is 10th. Jacques Laffite holds that particular record, winning for Ligier in 1981. It would prove to be his sixth and final F1 win.
  • Two years later, Ferrari's Rene Arnoux recorded what remains the biggest winning margin in a Grand Prix at Montreal, as he crossed the line 42.029s ahead of Renault's Eddie Cheever. The smallest winning margin came in 2000, when Michael Schumacher took the chequered flag just 0.174s ahead of Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello.
  • In terms of team wins, Ferrari lead the pack with 10 victories to McLaren's nine. Both teams have won for three consecutive years in Montreal - Ferrari between 2002 and '04, and McLaren between 2010 and '12. Williams (7) are the only other team to have prevailed more than twice here.
  • Should either Hamilton or Nico Rosberg claim pole this weekend, it will mark the 18th consecutive time a Mercedes has started from the front of the field. That would lift them ahead of McLaren's run of 17 straight poles recorded by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost between 1988 and '89. Williams are the only team that can better that tally, after claiming 24 consecutive poles between the French Grand Prix in 1992 and Japan in 1993.