Hermann Tilke didn't design this one. Where did it come from?
The track, completed in 1978 was first named the Île Notre-Dame Circuit, after the island on which it is built.
The Canadian Grand Prix was moved there having previously been run at Mosport Park near Toronto on 8 occasions and in 1968 and 1970, the Mont-Tremblant circuit in Quebec.
It was in 1982 that it was renamed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in honour of Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve following his death earlier in the year.
Two international events have shaped the circuits island home. Firstly the Island itself owes its size to an enlargement for the 1967 Expo. Then for the 1976 Olympics the huge rectangular Basin was created for the rowing and canoeing events. The drivers run alongside this water feature for the entire length of one side of the circuit from the hairpin to turn 2.
It creates an ideal outlook for any driver to stop and gaze out over on the in-lap in contemplation of a team tactical error.
Local Features
Groundhog alert.
This native anilmal has made the circuit's island their home.
In the weeks leading up the Grand Prix, city officials trap as many groundhogs as they can in and around the race course, and transport the animals to nearby Ile Ste-Helene. They do however remain a hazard. In 1990, Alessandro Nannini struck one on the track which damaged his tyre. In 2007, a groundhog disrupted the practice session of Ralf Schumacher. On race day itself a groundhog denied Anthony Davidson his only F1 points finish. He had been running in (a personal best) third in the Super Aguri until he struck a groundhog. Front wing repairs saw him end in eleventh. In 2008, a groundhog crossed the track at the hairpin in the 2nd practice session but luckily did not disrupt the session.
Marshalls
It seems Canada can be a particularly hazardous place to be a race marshall. In 1977 (at Mosport) James Hunt flattened a marshall who had attempted to help him .
The track has seen its share of tragedy with a race marshal killed in 2013 helping to move Esteban Guiterez Sauber in a clear up operation. It was the last F1 fatality and the first one since 2001 in Albert Park when a Marshall was killed (behind a safety barrier )by Jacques Villeneuve's wheel.
Racing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
The lap of the 4.361km circuit consists in essence of a run up the island through a handful of turns and couple of chicanes and then a run back down the island through one chicane. However it has proven to cause costly mistakes to even the very best of drivers.
FSR World Championship drivers will negotiate 70 laps, Ace 56 and Pro 42.
The exit to that one chicane in Sector 3 was named the wall of champions having ended the races of world champions Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve and it has gone on to do the same more recently to Sebastien Vettel and Jenson Button.
The track while seeming very straight forward has it's own challenges. Barriers are close, the aero tends to be low due to a lack of sustained high G corners and there are some tricky combinations in sector 1 that have seen some of the best drivers looking embarrassed.
The start can be tricky as the full grid grid folds into turn one and the turn three four combination with 218 litres and cold tyres and brakes.
The tyre selection for Formuala Sim Racing drivers here is soft and super soft. The prime tyre is quite fast on high fuel, wear rates are not too high and the tyres are pretty drive-able even with significant wear but it does cost you pace. The top teams will have their data and know what they will want to do to optimise their race pace. The fact that a pit stop here is very quick with a total time loss of 14-16 seconds will mean quite a bit of diversity on strategy. It also means that an error can lead to a big recovery on a new strategy.
The hard braking zones and low aero can also lead to flat spotted tyres. We could see up to 5 stops if teams ruin some tyres or fancy the super-soft (option) tyre.
Its a track that some love and some hate. Such tracks can produce surprise results. Lets see what happens.
Season driver and team standings HERE
2014 Broadcast
Author @David O'Reilly
