What is the Wall of Champions? All about F1 Canadian GP's iconic feature

The 2024 F1 Canadian GP will be held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve track from June 7 to 9, 2024. While most historic tracks around the globe have a special corner that is renowned in the motorsport world, the circuit at Montreal has an iconic wall called the Wall of Champions.

The Wall of Champions is essentially a regular wall that appears after Turns 12 and 13 chicanes at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. After tackling the long hairpin of Turn 10, and battling each other on the straight, drivers arrive at one of the trickiest braking zones and throw their cars into Turns 12 and 13. Right after the chicane, they need to control their car such that they do not end up hitting the famous Wall of Champions before finishing their lap.

The iconic feature of the Canadian GP track got its name back in 1999. During the Canadian GP in that year, four different drivers crashed into the Turn 13 wall, bringing out four safety car periods. The drivers that crashed into the wall were Ricardo Zonta (Lap 13), Damon Hill (Lap 15), Michael Schumacher (Lap 30) and Jacques Villeneuve (Lap 35).

Since three of the four drivers that crashed into the exact same wall were former world champions, the wall was nicknamed the Wall of Champions after the 1999 Canadian GP. Hilariously, the wall at the time had a local tourism advertisement from Quebec, welcoming the F1 spectators, teams, and drivers to the city.

The iconic wall is made up of concrete rather than a softer material that could save a car from being completely ruined. Hence, drivers try to avoid hitting the Wall of Champions as much as possible, since their car can be completely ruined if they hit it.

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F1 champions that have crashed into the Wall of Champions during Canadian GP

As mentioned above, the Wall of Champions got its name in 1999, when three F1 world champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Jacques Villeneuve crashed into the wall. Ever since then, other non-champions and champions have graced the iconic wall.

Former F1 champion Jenson Button crashed his BAR Honda car into the Wall of Champions in the 2005 Canadian GP on Lap 46. However, it is worth mentioning that he was not an F1 world champion when he crashed.

Apart from him, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was also a victim of the famous wall in 2011 during the first practice session of the race weekend. During that time, he was an F1 world champion after clinching his maiden title in 2010.