Memorable Canada: Part 1

Like all other venerable races, the Canadian Grand Prix has an impressive history of its own. We shall take a look into it in two parts – the first will include the most remarkable/exciting events which occurred during the weekends while in the second we shall concentrate on the controversial and fatal incidents.

Canada hosted its first Formula One race in 1967 and the three tracks which have played host to the Canadian Grand Prix have been Mosport Park in Ontario, Mont Tremblant in Quebec and the Ile-Notre Dame situated in Montreal. Since 1967, only three times has the race not been a part of the F1 calendar. Mont Tremblant played host twice in 1968 and 1970, Mosport Park in 1967, 1969 and 1971-1977 while the Ile-Notre Dame circuit has hosted it since then.

Let’s then have a look at the most interesting incidents which have taken place at these three circuits down the years:

Disqualified for being too slow!

When we talk about Canadian F1 drivers, most will talk about the Villeneuves. But there was another driver from Canada who became famous for all the wrong reasons. Believe it or not, he is the only driver in the history of the sport to have been black flagged for being too slow! That feat was achieved during the 1969 edition when he almost forced Jackie Stewart into a DNF and as a result Stewart’s boss Ken Tyrrell lodged a protest which ultimately ended in a disqualification for Pease. It doesn’t get more embarrassing for a racing driver, does it? Maybe he shouldn’t have been driving so ‘peasefully’.

Waving to the crowd, oh wait! the race is not over yet

Nigel Mansell was leading the 1991 race very comfortably and on the last lap wanted to acknowledge the crowd for their support while maneuvering the hairpin. He became so much involved in waving to the people in the grandstands that he let his engine revs drop too low thus stalling the engine. Nelson Piquet came from behind and won the race.

Safety car comes out for the first time

The 1973 Canadian Grand Prix became famous for being the first time that a Safety Car was used during a race. It happened after the collision between Jody Scheckter and Francois Cevert.

Who is the winner?

In the same race when the SC came out for the first time, there was confusion all around as to what was the correct order of drivers on track and things were made more complicated by the absence of electronic timing in those days. Infact the deployment of the SC started all the confusion with nobody exactly sure as who the leader was. As things settled down, Lotus’ Emerson Fittipaldi regained the lead and crossed the finish line and everybody thought he was the winner. But the drama was not over yet. When the Brazilian crossed the finish line no chequered flag was shown which would normally indicate that another lap might be left. But to Lotus’ bewilderment the chequered flag was waved as Peter Revson- who was behind Fittipaldi- crossed the line. With no other option, Fittipaldi had to complete another lap and was classified 2nd. Till this date though, Fittipaldi believes he was the winner of that race!

Legend on home soil

To be frank, Gilles Villeneuve‘s driving was never less than spectacular but what he did during the 1982 race must definitely be considered stuff of legends.While running in 3rd, he broke his front wing which stayed on the car in a cockeyed position almost completely blocking the view of the driver. Most would come in for a replacement but after all this is the same driver who continued to race on 3 wheels just trying to keep his championship hopes alive a few years earlier. This time around he completed several laps in that fashion- mind you in treacherous conditions on a slippery track- until finally the front wing broke off. He finished the race still in 3rd.

Salut Gilles

Canada lost its star driver in 1982 at Zolder, Belgium. As a show of respect, the organising authorities renamed the Montreal track as Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and “Salut Gilles” was written at the start/finish line the same year.

A first for brothers

When Ralf Schumacher won the race in 2001 ahead of his elder brother, they created a new record. It was the first time that brothers had finished 1-2 in the history of the sport.

Takuma ‘super’ Sato

The 2007 race was one of the best races for backmarkers Super Aguri when both their drivers were in the running for championship points for the first time. But when Takuma Sato in the Super Aguri overtook double world champion Fernando Alonso in a McLaren everybody was left dumbstruck. More surprisingly, Sato was able to hold on and ultimately finished ahead of the Spaniard.

Groundhogs take to the race track

Two times during the 2007 Grand Prix weekend, groundhogs affected normal running. Anthony Davidson’s encounter with one during the race forced him to pit for a new front wing and thus dropped from a strong 3rd to 11th at the finish.

The one with the wooden eye

In one of the most idiotic collisions ever, Lewis Hamilton crashed into the back of a stationary Kimi Raikkonen at the exit of the pitlane (there was a red light at the end of the pitlane) in the 2008 race. That prompted Raikkonen to label the Englishman as “wooden-eyed”. That unnecessary incident provided a golden opportunity for BMW and they took full advantage of it by finishing a memorable 1-2 with Robert Kubica ahead of Nick Heidfeld.

Last to first

The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix was one of the most memorable races ever. Mastering the changing conditions for a mammoth 4 hours and 4 minutes- the longest race ever- Jenson Button came from dead last to taking the lead dramatically on the last lap having pitted 6 times during the race.

Next time we would look into the more contentious and unfortunate incidents that have occurred during the past Canadian Grand Prix weekends. Watch this space.

You can read part two of the article here: Memorable Canada: Part 2