- The first race held in Montreal took place on October 8, 1978 and the 72,000 Canadian fans that packed into the grandstands were gifted with a dream result when French-Canadian star Villeneuve, in his first season with Ferrari, took a memorable maiden victory.
- Villeneuve almost won again in 1979, but after a close tussle it was Williams’ Alan Jones who claimed victory (a feat the Australian would repeat again in 1980). In 1981 it looked like Villeneuve would get another chance to score the top step of the podium, but a collision between his Ferrari and Arnoux’s Renault during the rain-hit event meant he could only manage third. The race was eventually won by Jacques Laffite for Ligier.
- In 1982 Formula One racing was rocked by the Villeneuve’s death during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix and in his honour the Montreal track was renamed the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. However, that year’s race did not escape tragedy either, when Riccardo Paletti drove into the back of the stalled Ferrari of Didier Pironi and was killed. Nelson Piquet won for Brabham.
- The following year the name Villeneuve returned to the Montreal entry list with the younger brother of Gilles, Jacques, attempting - and unfortunately failing - to qualify in a Ram March. Rene Arnoux was more successful, winning for Ferrari. A season later Piquet and Brabham were again victorious, before Ferrari returned to winning form in 1985 with Michele Alboreto leading team mate Stefan Johansson home.
UPDATE: June 5, 2008 06:55 am
- Montreal’s ‘Honda era’ began in 1986 with a win by Nigel Mansell driving a Williams. Mansell, however, was powerless to repeat his victory in’87 when the race was cancelled following a legal dispute. The resulting changes, including a partially redesigned circuit and new garages, meant the track welcomed the Formula One fraternity back in 1988.
- 1993 saw Alain Prost’s only Canadian triumph, while in 1995 Jean Alesi scored the sole victory of his Formula One career at the circuit. But by far the most successful driver in Montreal has been Michael Schumacher, who recorded a record-breaking seven victories. He clinched his first in 1994 but had to wait until 1997 for his next, which came at the expense of McLaren’s David Coulthard, whose race was ruined by last-minute gearbox issues.
- In 1998 Schumacher won again for Ferrari, despite a big first-corner crash, and was on course for victory the following year too, before spinning out and handing victory to McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen. The German was back on mistake-free form, however, in 2000 when he took his fourth Montreal victory, again in the Ferrari.
- Michael went on to win in 2003, while his 2004 victory would prove to be his last at the Canadian track. Over the last three years, three different drivers having crossed the line first - Kimi Raikkonen for McLaren in 2005, Fernando Alonso for Renault in ’06 (also Michelin’s 100th Grand Prix victory) and Lewis Hamilton for McLaren last season.
- Since that 2007 race, the Montreal circuit has seen a number of modifications. A safety fence has been installed along the wall into which BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica spectacularly crashed last year and the paddock has been modernised to provide better facilities for the teams.
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