Montreal
4.361 km of park roads on a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a lap of long straights and tight chicanes, with walls close to the track and a famous one waiting at the last corner. Learn how the lap works, then open it in the designer and make your own version.
The track at a glance
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Canada. It is 4.361 km long with 14 turns, runs clockwise, and a Grand Prix there is 70 laps. The first race was held in 1978.
The island was built up for the Expo 67 world fair, and the track uses roads through the park, beside the rowing basin made for the 1976 Olympics. For most of the year it is open to cyclists, runners and skaters.
The lap is all about braking and traction: long straights end in slow chicanes and a hairpin, and the walls are close enough that a small mistake usually ends the race.
A lap of Montreal, corner by corner
Few of the corners in Montreal have official names, so this guide follows the key turns by their numbers. Turns 1, 3, 6, 8, 10 and 13 are marked on the map.
- T1–2Senna S. A quick left into a slow right straight after the start. Busy on the first lap.
- T3–4The first chicane. A quick chicane where cars ride the kerbs to keep their speed.
- T6–7Through the trees. A slower pair of corners that tests traction on the way out.
- T8–9Pont de la Concorde. A corner by the bridge, followed by a quick kink onto the run to the hairpin.
- T10The hairpin. A slow 180° right at the end of a straight. One of the best overtaking spots of the season.
- T13–14The final chicane. A heavy stop into a right-left at the end of the long back straight. The wall on the exit is known as the Wall of Champions.
Racing on the island
The circuit was built on the site of a world fair and has hosted the Canadian Grand Prix in most years since 1978.
- 1978The first Canadian Grand Prix on the island is won by Gilles Villeneuve.
- 1982The circuit is renamed in honour of Gilles Villeneuve, who died earlier that year.
- 1996A chicane and the old Casino corner are removed, and the run from the hairpin becomes a straight.
- 1999Three world champions crash into the wall at the last corner in one race, giving it its nickname.
- 2002The pit exit is changed for safety, giving today’s length.
- 2019The race lap record is set at 1:13.078.
Designed around the brakes
Montreal has few fast corners. Instead it has a series of straights joined by chicanes and a hairpin, so cars need strong braking and good traction more than downforce. That makes the hairpin and the final chicane natural places to overtake.
The walls are close all the way round, more like a street circuit than a permanent track. For more, read what a chicane is for or our guide to hairpin design.
Ideas for your remaster
The Remaster button opens the traced layout in the designer. You can move any point and the lap time, speed trace and corner analysis update as you go. A few places to start:
Add a fast corner. The lap has almost no high-speed corners. Can you add one without losing the overtaking spots?
Move the wall. Rework the final chicane so a small mistake is not always the end of the race.
Name your turns. Group and name the turns in the designer, and they will show on your exports and share link.
Finish it properly. Add track width, kerbs, run-off and a pit lane so it reads like a real venue.
When you’re happy with it, share your version with its own link. The original stays here for the next person to remaster.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
It is 4.361 km (2.710 miles) long with 14 turns. A Grand Prix there is 70 laps.
What is the Wall of Champions?
The outside wall at the exit of the final chicane. In the 1999 race it caught out three world champions, and the name stuck.
Which way does the Montreal circuit run?
Clockwise. The lap starts with the Senna S, runs through the chicanes along the island, reaches the hairpin and returns down the long back straight to the final chicane.
Why is the circuit on an island?
It uses roads on Notre Dame Island, which was built up for the Expo 67 world fair in the St. Lawrence River.
Is the remastered Montreal an exact copy?
It is a close trace of the centreline using 50 editable points, within a few metres of the real layout. Track width, kerbs, run-off and the pit lane are left for you to design.
Layout traced from the open circuit data in bacinger/f1-circuits (MIT licence). Circuit facts: Wikipedia. RaceTrackDesigner is not affiliated with the circuit, its owners or any racing series.