Following another tedious round of racing in Spain, F1 heads to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for the 52nd Canadian Grand Prix – a race that historically delivers on drama.
Named after F1 icon Gilles Villeneuve – who captured six wins and 13 podiums in his tragically short career – the circuit has earned an equally legendary reputation, with its low downforce layout and infamous ‘Wall of Champions‘ providing a vastly different challenge for drivers coming from Catalunya.
Nevertheless, it will be Max Verstappen who will, perhaps inevitably, be the man the rest of the field is trying to chase down. The Dutchman added to his impressive tally of pole positions and wins in Spain and extended his lead in the drivers’ championship over team-mate Sergio Perez to 53 points.
Further back, the battle for second place in the constructors’ championship is beginning to take shape. Mercedes will hope to continue to build upon the success of its latest upgrade package to stay ahead of Aston Martin and a struggling Ferrari – the latter having won on Canadian soil 12 times before (second only to McLaren‘s 13).
But as many drivers have learned in the past: anything is possible in Montreal.
How to watch F1: live stream and TV details for 2023 Canadian GP
Practice makes perfect on Canadian asphalt, and drivers will have plenty of time to do so with the usual grand prix format – three practice sessions followed by qualifying and a 70-lap grand prix.
All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Channel 4 showing free-to-air highlights of the weekend’s main events – qualifying and the race.
Live timings will also be available through the F1 app and for viewers in the UK, there will be a four-hour time difference to Montreal.
F1 live stream and TV schedule
All times are BST
|
GP qualifying
Friday 30 June |
Sprint shootout
Saturday 1 July |
Sprint race
Saturday 1 July |
Austrian GP
Sunday 2 July |
| Session start time |
4pm |
11am |
3.30pm |
2pm |
Live coverage
Sky Sports, Sky Go, NowTV |
1pm |
9am |
1.30pm |
10.30am |
Highlights
Channel 4 |
n/a |
n/a |
7.50pm (includes qualifying) |
5.30pm |
Canadian GP circuit details and weather forecast
Hosting its first grand prix in 1978, the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is a 2.7-mile track with 14 corners and two DRS zones which stands on the man-made Notre Dame Island. Renowned for its low-downforce layout and surrounded by unforgiving concrete walls, the Canadian GP has remained a driver favourite since its inception and is made even more unpredictable by a spell of rain.
The forecast for this weekend’s 70-lap race in Montreal will see most of the circuit covered by thunderstorms and rainfall – similar to conditions last year which saw Alonso qualify second for Alpine, whilst Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher qualified fifth and sixth respectively for Haas.
