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The 5 craziest Canadian GP moments ever
The Canadian Grand Prix consistently throws up great races but these moments stand out the most.
Since the Canadian Grand Prix moved to Montreal in 1978, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has played host to some of the most incredible moments in Formula One history.
It so often provides a thrilling race that in 2005, the race was the most watched Grand Prix in the world and the third most watched sporting event worldwide behind the Super Bowl and the Champions League Final.
It’d be almost impossible to pick just five memorable moments from such an iconic race but we give it a shot anyway…
1981 - Villeneuve drives blind
In 1978, Gilles Villeneuve won the very first Canadian Grand Prix to be held in Montreal but it was the Canadian’s final home race in 1981 that summed up the ‘never give up’ spirit that made him a hero.
Torrential rain already made visibility pretty poor but when the front wing of Villeneuve’s Ferrari broke off, it obscured his view even further. But Gilles being Gilles he didn’t pit for a change and instead drove almost blind to a podium finish.
Following his tragic death at Zolder the following season, the Circuit Île Notre-Dame circuit was renamed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
1999 - The Wall of Champions
The first F1 race to finish behind the safety car
© Michael Cooper/Getty Images
The inside wall at the final chicane is now referred to as ‘The Wall of Champions’ but how did it get its name? Well back in 1999, three former World Champions crashed into the wall at Turn 13 and the legend was born.
1996 champion Damon Hill crashed into the wall on lap 14 and his former rival Michael Schumacher had exactly the same crash on lap 29 when challenging for the lead. Just 5 laps later, 1997 champion and home favourite Jacques Villeneuve became the third world champion to finish the race in the now infamous wall.
The only other champion in the race was Mika Hakkinen, who went on to win a race that ended behind the safety car for the first time in F1 history.
2007 - Kubica’s horror crash
Kubica won the race just a year after this crash
© Paul Gilham/Getty Images
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Like the race in 1999, the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix was a typical race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with lots of incidents and plenty of safety cars. The most shocking moment however came on lap 26, when Robert Kubica hit the back of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota. The Pole was then a passenger and his BMW Sauber smashed into the wall causing debris to fly everywhere.
Almost unbelievably, Kubica only suffered from a sprained ankle and concussion despite the crash measuring at a ridiculous 75 G! Perhaps even more amazing was that the Pole took his maiden grand prix win in Canada just a year after his horrific crash.
2011 - Button wins record breaking race
Button made six stops on his way to victory
© Les Walker/Getty Images
Perhaps the craziest race in Canada… no, the craziest race in F1 history. The rain-delayed 2011 Canadian Grand Prix was won by Jenson Button after a record 4 hours, 4 minutes and 39 seconds but it was how he did it that is even more incredible.
In a race that saw a record six safety cars, Button was running dead last on lap 39 after a collision with Fernando Alonso that left him with a puncture. Making a record six pit stops during the race, the Brit somehow found himself in contention for the win in the final laps of the race and when Sebastian Vettel made a mistake on a wet-dry track, Button took the lead on the very last lap to win one of the most incredible race in F1 history.
2014 - Last gasp maiden win for Ricciardo
Just three years after the unbelievable 2011 race, the Canadian Grand Prix went down to the wire again.
Mercedes looked set to take a seventh consecutive win of the season but both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s cars suffered from almost identical MGU-K failures. For Hamilton it was terminal but Rosberg continued to lead the race and despite a lack of horsepower, the chasing field were unable to catch him.
That was until Daniel Ricciardo made a daring move on Sergio Perez for second and began reeling in Rosberg for the lead. On the penultimate lap, the Red Bull Racing driver flew passed the Mercedes on the straight and drove home to take his maiden F1 victory. And what a victory it was!
