GridpediaCircuit Gilles Villeneuve
- Location
- Montreal, Canada
- Races held
- 45 (1978 to 2026)
- Most wins, drivers
- Lewis Hamilton (7), Michael Schumacher (7), Nelson Piquet (3), Max Verstappen (3), Sebastian Vettel (2)
- Most wins, teams
- Ferrari (11), McLaren (9), Williams (7), Mercedes (6), Red Bull (5)
- Most poles
- Lewis Hamilton (6), Michael Schumacher (6), Sebastian Vettel (5), Ayrton Senna (3), Nelson Piquet (3)
- Fastest race lap
- 1:13.078, Valtteri Bottas, 2019 (race laps since 1982; layouts change over time)
- Map
- OpenStreetMap
What is a lap of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve like?
Laid out on the roads of Île Notre-Dame, a man-made island in the St Lawrence River created for Expo 67, the circuit first hosted the Canadian Grand Prix in 1978 and was renamed after Gilles Villeneuve following his death in 1982. The lap is stop-start: long straights linked by heavy-braking chicanes and the slow L'Epingle hairpin at Turn 10, so straight-line speed matters and the chicanes push brake temperatures to their highest of the year. The final chicane (Turns 13-14) exits past the Wall of Champions, which caught Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve in 1999 and Jenson Button in 2005. Through 2025 it ran three DRS zones with only two detection points, the last two back to back on the back straight after the hairpin and on the pit straight.
- Lap length
- 4.361 km
- Turns
- 14
- Direction
- clockwise
- Downforce
- Low
- Longest straight
- about 1,130 m
- Elevation change
- 5.2 m
- DRS zones (to 2025)
- 3
- Character
- High speed (about 24% of the lap is cornering)
- Layout described
- 4.361 km, 14-turn Grand Prix layout on Île Notre-Dame, in use since 2002 and most recently raced at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix
| Turn | Name | Side | Type | Angle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senna S (first part) | Left | medium | 73° |
| 2 | Virage Senna (Senna S, second part) | Right | hairpin | 172° |
| 3 | Right | medium | 64° | |
| 4 | Left | medium | 56° | |
| 5 | Right | fast | 55° | |
| 6 | Left | slow | 100° | |
| 7 | Right | medium | 90° | |
| 8 | Pont de la Concorde | Right | kink | 71° |
| 9 | Left | medium | 71° | |
| 10 | L'Epingle (The Hairpin) | Right | hairpin | 185° |
| 11 | Left | fast | 21° | |
| 12 | Right | fast | 9° | |
| 13 | Wall of Champions chicane (entry) | Right | chicane | 74° |
| 14 | Wall of Champions chicane (exit) | Left | chicane | 75° |
Sources for the checked facts (9)
- formula1.com/en/racing/2026/canada/circuit
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_Gilles_Villeneuve
- formula1.com/en/latest/article/circuit-guide-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-circuit
- formula1.com/en/latest/article/the-risk-perspective-how-f1-drivers-engineers-and-strategis
- tracktitan.io/post/montreal-track-guide-sector-1-f1-2021
- f1da.beehiiv.com/p/canadian-gp-sector-by-sector-breakdown
- lightsoutblog.com/canadian-grand-prix-weekend-information
- f1fordummies.substack.com/p/prixview-canadian-gp-2025
- formula1.com/en/latest/article/highs-and-lows-which-f1-track-has-the-most-elevation-change
Map, character and grey values are approximate (measured from a GPS trace). Report a correction.
Does pole position win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
The pole sitter has won 22 of 45 races here (49%). Across all circuits since 1950 the pole sitter wins 44% of races. The winner started from the front row (P1 or P2) in 31 of 45 races (69%) and from the top three in 35 (78%). Lowest grid position to win: 10th, Jacques Laffite in 1981.
| Winner started from | Wins | Share |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 22 | 49% |
| P2 | 9 | 20% |
| P3 | 4 | 9% |
| P4 | 2 | 4% |
| P5 | 1 | 2% |
| P6 | 3 | 7% |
| P7 | 2 | 4% |
| P8 | 1 | 2% |
| P10 | 1 | 2% |
Where the winner started, every race at this circuit. Pole sitter means the driver who set the fastest qualifying time (first on the grid where no qualifying data exists); a grid penalty can move the pole sitter back, and that race still counts for them. Compare every circuit.
How are races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve won?
- Since 2010
- 15 races; winners made 1 stop in 6, 2 stops in 7, 3 or more in 2; first stop at a median lap 17 (24% of the race)
- 1994 to 2009 (refuelling)
- 15 races; winners made 1 stop in 5, 2 stops in 8, 3 or more in 2; first stop at a median lap 28 (41% of the race)
| Race | Winner | Stops | Stop laps | Tyre compounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 1 | 31 of 68 | C3 hard C4 medium C5 soft |
| 2025 | George Russell | 5 | 13, 42, 67, 68, 69 of 70 | C4 hard C5 medium C6 soft |
| 2024 | Max Verstappen | 2 | 25, 45 of 70 | C3 hard C4 medium C5 soft |
| 2023 | Max Verstappen | 2 | 12, 42 of 70 | C3 hard C4 medium C5 soft |
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | 2 | 9, 43 of 70 | C3 hard C4 medium C5 soft |
| 2019 | Lewis Hamilton | 1 | 28 of 70 | C3 hard C4 medium C5 soft |
| 2018 | Sebastian Vettel | 1 | 37 of 68 | |
| 2017 | Lewis Hamilton | 1 | 32 of 70 | |
| 2016 | Lewis Hamilton | 1 | 24 of 70 | |
| 2015 | Lewis Hamilton | 1 | 29 of 70 | |
| 2014 | Daniel Ricciardo | 2 | 13, 37 of 70 | |
| 2013 | Sebastian Vettel | 2 | 16, 49 of 70 | |
| 2012 | Lewis Hamilton | 2 | 17, 50 of 70 | |
| 2011 | Jenson Button | 6 | 8, 13, 19, 35, 37, 51 of 70 | |
| 2010 | Lewis Hamilton | 2 | 7, 26 of 70 | |
| 2008 | Robert Kubica | 2 | 19, 49 of 70 | |
| 2007 | Lewis Hamilton | 2 | 22, 48 of 70 | |
| 2006 | Fernando Alonso | 2 | 23, 50 of 70 | |
| 2005 | Kimi Räikkönen | 2 | 24, 48 of 70 | |
| 2004 | Michael Schumacher | 2 | 19, 47 of 70 | |
| 2003 | Michael Schumacher | 2 | 21, 48 of 70 | |
| 2002 | Michael Schumacher | 1 | 38 of 70 | |
| 2001 | Ralf Schumacher | 1 | 51 of 69 | |
| 2000 | Michael Schumacher | 2 | 34, 45 of 69 | |
| 1999 | Mika Häkkinen | 1 | 37 of 69 | |
| 1998 | Michael Schumacher | 3 | 20, 35, 50 of 69 | |
| 1997 | Michael Schumacher | 3 | 28, 44, 51 of 54 | |
| 1996 | Damon Hill | 2 | 28, 50 of 69 | |
| 1995 | Jean Alesi | 1 | 34 of 68 | |
| 1994 | Michael Schumacher | 1 | 40 of 69 |