The Canadian Grand Prix was first held at the circuit in 1978. Gilles Villeneuve won for Scuderia Ferrari in that inaugural race. The Grand Prix became a mainstay of the Formula One calendar, taking place in Montreal for the next thirty years. The event was moved to mid-June in 1982 to provide a warmer race weekend. The race was dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar and replaced with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A new five-year contract was signed on November 27, 2009, spanning the 2010–2014 seasons. The 2011 edition of the race was the longest World Championship Grand Prix ever, lasting over 4 hours due to a rain delay.
Originally named the Île Notre-Dame Circuit, the circuit was built and finished in 1978. The FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix had been part of the Formula One World Championship for 10 years prior to moving to Montreal. It was previously held at Mosport Park and the Mont-Tremblant circuit. Due to safety concerns at Mosport Park in 1977, the race was moved to the new circuit in Montréal. In 1982, the circuit was renamed in honour of Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve following his death. The circuit is located in Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montréal. The race circuit is on Notre Dame Island, a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River. Almost half of the track runs alongside the Olympic Basin, which was created for the rowing and canoeing events of Montréal's 1976 Summer Olympics. Over the winter of 2018–19, the paddock was demolished and replaced with the current structure.
Barriers run close to the circuit. A particularly famous part of the circuit is the wall on the outside of the exit of the final chicane before the start/finish straight. This wall, bearing the name Bienvenue au Québec, is nicknamed "Mur du Québec" (Quebec Wall) and "The Wall of Champions." In 1999, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Jacques Villeneuve ended their races there. Jenson Button (2005) and Sebastian Vettel (2011) also became victims of the wall. For its first few years, the track consisted of technical, medium speed chicanes. Over the years, the circuit has transformed into a power track. Between 1986 and 1988, the pitlane and start-finish straight were relocated. In 1994, a chicane was inserted between the Casino corner and the hairpin to decrease top speed. The 1996 race saw both the chicane and the Casino corner removed. In 2002, the exit of the pitlane was changed to make exiting safer. Changes made in 2005 to the curbs on the final chicane were controversial. In 2006, Normand Legault was awarded exclusive rights to stage two allowed race weekends on the track. He decided to replace the Champ Car race with races from the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. Kevin Harvick won the first NASCAR Busch Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007. An expansion of the pit lane took place to accommodate a minimum of 43 cars for NASCAR races. The 2008 race was the first NASCAR race to run on rain tires. In 2017, additional Tecpro barriers were installed due to higher cornering speeds of new Formula One cars and new FIA safety requirements. The exit of the last chicane (the Wall of Champions) also had its angle modified.
The complex of turns one and two has become known as the Senna 'S'. From a bird's eye view, turns one and two together can represent an 'S' shape.
The very fast Pont de la Concorde corner (Turn 8) is after the bridge underpass and is known as a 'quick kink' before Turn 9 and the rush to a passing zone at the Hairpin curve.
Turn 10 at Île Notre-Dame is an example of a 180° hairpin turn design. Many overtakes can be seen at this location due to engine differences and drivers' skills.
Entering turns 12 & 13, drivers encounter one of the best passing zones. Turn 14 is dubbed the "Wall of Champions" after three former Drivers' World Champions found the outside wall in the 1999 race. In Formula 1 races, a car damaged after gracing the Wall of Champions brings out a Safety Car or VSC. The exit barrier is marked with advertising by Tourisme Québec during the F1 event.
As part of Parc Jean-Drapeau, the Circuit is open to visitors, between races, for walking, running, biking, in-line skating, and driving. On June 4, 2009, administration of Notre Dame Island forbade access to competitive cyclists due to increasing injuries. The ban on cyclists has since been lifted due to protests.
In 2006, Formula One was 5 to 7 seconds faster than Champ Car on the same track. The fastest lap in the Formula One race was 1:15.841 by Kimi Räikkönen. Sébastien Bourdais's fastest lap was 1:22.325 in the Champ Car race. Patrick Carpentier posted a pole time of 1:42.086 in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series NAPA Auto Parts 200. The track record for the Rolex Sports Car Series is 1:32.620, set by Scott Pruett in 2010. The fastest ever lap around the circuit was set by Sebastian Vettel with a time of 1:10.240 in qualifying for the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton set the previous lap record with a time of 1:11.459 during qualifying for the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix.
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