Vital Statistics - the Canadian Grand Prix

The first Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal was won by the man after whom the circuit is now named - Gilles Villeneuve. But did you know that the only other Canadian driver to reach the podium on home soil was his son, Jacques, in 1996?

Ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2014 we present all the need-to-know facts, stats and trivia…

Circuit: Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

Circuit length: 4.361 km

Number of corners: 14 (6 left, 8 right)

DRS zones: 2

Race laps: 70

Race distance: 305.270 km

2014 tyre compounds: Soft, supersoft

Circuit lap record: 1m 13.622s - Rubens Barrichello (2004), Ferrari

First world championship Grand Prix: 1967, Mosport (won by Jack Brabham, Brabham)

First world championship Grand Prix in Montreal: 1978 (won by Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari)

Number of races: 44 (34 - Montreal; 8 - Mosport; 2 - Mont-Tremblant)

Number of races with at least one safety car appearance: 7 of the last 13 races

Longest race in Montreal: 2011 (4h 4m 39.537s)

Shortest race in Montreal: 1997 (1h 17m 40.646s)

Last year’s pole position: 1m 25.425s, Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull

Last year’s podium: 1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 2 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Most appearances (current field): 13 - Jenson Button; 11 - Fernando Alonso; 10 - Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa; 7 - Nico Rosberg; 6 - Lewis Hamilton; 5 - Adrian Sutil, Sebastian Vettel

Most wins (driver): 7 - Michael Schumacher; 3 - Nelson Piquet, Lewis Hamilton; 2 - Jacky Ickx, Jackie Stewart, Alan Jones, Ayrton Senna; 1 - Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme, Peter Revson, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, Emerson Fittipaldi, Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Laffite, Rene Arnoux, Michele Alboreto, Nigel Mansell, Thierry Boutsen, Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost, Jean Alesi, Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen, Ralf Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel

Most wins (constructor): 13 - McLaren; 11 - Ferrari; 7 - Williams; 4 - Brabham; 2 - Tyrrell, Benetton; 1 - Wolf, Ligier, Renault, BMW Sauber, Red Bull

Most wins (engine manufacturer): 12 - Ford/Cosworth, 11 - Ferrari; 6 - Mercedes; 5 - Renault; 4 - Honda, BMW; 1- Repco, Matra

Most pole positions (driver): 6 - Michael Schumacher; 3 - Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel; 2 - Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Ralf Schumacher; 1- Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx, Peter Revson, Ronnie Peterson, Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Mario Andretti, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Alan Jones, Didier Pironi, Rene Arnoux, Elio de Angelis, Nigel Mansell, Riccardo Patrese, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso

Most pole positions (constructor): 11 - McLaren; 8 - Williams; 6 - Ferrari; 5 - Brabham, Lotus; 3 - Red Bull; 2 - Tyrrell, Benetton; 1 - BAR, Renault

Most pole positions (engine manufacturer): 14 - Ford/Cosworth; 9 - Renault; 6 - Ferrari, Honda; 4 - BMW, Mercedes, 1 - Repco

Number of wins from pole in Montreal: 15 wins from 34 races (44 percent)

Lowest winning grid position in Montreal: 10th (Jacques Laffite, Ligier, 1981)

Laps led (current field): 163 - Lewis Hamilton; 157 - Sebastian Vettel; 103 - Fernando Alonso; 27 - Kimi Raikkonen; 4 - Felipe Massa; 1 - Jenson Button, Romain Grosjean

Most podium places (current field): 4 - Lewis Hamilton; 3 - Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso; 2 - Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel; 1- Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez 

Number of Canadians to have started at least one Grand Prix: 11

Number of victories for Canadian drivers in the Canadian Grand Prix: One (Gilles Villeneuve, 1978)

Fascinating fact: Ile Notre-Dame, the man-made island on which the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is situated, was the site of the 1967 World Fair and also home to the rowing events in the 1976 Olympic Games.

Percentage of 2014 season complete: 31 percent

Maximum number of world championship points still available to a single driver: 350

Significant running sequences going into this weekend: Mercedes - five consecutive one-two finishes, six consecutive wins, six consecutive podiums; Ferrari - 73 consecutive races in the points; Nico Rosberg - 15 consecutive races in the points and six consecutive podium finishes; Max Chilton - 25 consecutive classified finishes.

Turbo history: If a Renault-powered car wins Sunday’s race it will be the first Renault turbo victory since the 1986 Detroit Grand Prix. Similarly, if a Ferrari-powered car wins the race it’ll be the first Ferrari turbo win since the 1988 Italian Grand Prix. The last turbo-powered victory in Canada went to Ayrton Senna in the McLaren MP4-4 in 1988. 

(source: f1.com)

2014 Canadian Grand Prix preview

Are you ready for the Canadian Grand Prix? I know I am! Can't wait to see what the Mercedes drivers argue about in this race. Maybe if Lewis Hamilton wins then everything will be ok but if Nico Rosberg wins it will be a much darker sight. 

Make sure to check Hamilton's face if this happens. He will have a fake smile on his face like last time. Rosberg probably will have a fake smile too but at least his expression won't look as obvious. That's one thing Hamilton should work on. Rosberg on the other hand should work on being a better driver than Hamilton.

Even though I probably like Rosberg more as a person I must say that I think Hamilton is a better driver. Don't take this the wrong way! I don't hate Hamilton and Rosberg is also a very good driver. This is just if I had to take a pick.

What about the previous races in Canada? This is actually the place where Hamilton took his first victory back in 2007. I remember people saying that Hamilton was leading the championship because he had better consistent results than Alonso, Räikkönen and Massa. The three other "better" drivers had won races but Hamilton was still leading the championship with podium finishes (2nds and 3rds). Then in Canada he showed everybody that he is a superstar who is also able to win races. He also won the race after that in the US.

The same race in 2007 was also the race where Robert Kubica had his terrible accident. The following year he won the race. 
Here's a video of the accident:



What else has happened in Canada? In 2011 Canada offered us the longest F1 race in history (4:04:39.537). Sebastian Vettel was leading the race from the start till the last few laps and made a small mistake. Jenson Button was behind and overtook him right away and won the race. He was waiting the whole day for Vettel to make a mistake and he finally did. Sebastian Vettel was soooo frustrated...



Speaking of frustrated who remembers what happened in 1991? Nigel Mansell was about to win the race and was already waving to the crowd on the last lap but then his car broke down. Nelson Piquet was behind him and won the race for Benetton.



I have always enjoyed the Canadian Grand Prix and will probably enjoy this one as well.


Then it's time for my predictions again!

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

1. Lewis Hmilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

Surprise: McLaren will show some improvement in Canada.

Remember to post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE.

The rules:

POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes.

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side JT, AE & MW. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps.

THIS TIME YOU ALSO GET BONUS POINTS! PREDICT POLE POSITION AND FASTEST LAP CORRECTLY TO EARN 2 EXTRA POINTS!

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

A Winning Partnership (McLaren and Senna)

I found some more Senna again!

Ayrton Senna - Journalists Special

More Ayrton Senna for you! I always watch everything I find on Senna.

Racing Games: Mario Kart 8

OK so this is not actually about F1 but it is about racing. I have talked about racing games before and haven't done it for a while. Haven't had a reason to do that until now.

I bought Mario Kart 8 on Wii U today and this game is absolutely awesome! I own tons of racing games but this is better than anything!

If you have played Mario Kart before then this is a game for you but if you haven't then it may not be as exciting. Some people just love these games and some say that they are for kids etc.

Anyways, I don't care what kind of game this is supposed to be but I know that I can beat anybody! Nobody can beat me if we all drive with the wheel. No controller BS! Challenge me with a steering wheel. It's more challenging and more fun. It also feels more like you're actually driving.

Check out the trailer:

Do you have a favorite racing game? An old or new game? Tell me on facebook or email me f14lifeblog@gmail.com

Ayrton Senna - The Last Teammate (documentary)

Watch this!

Legends Of Formula 1 - Ayrton Senna (2014) Documentary

The newest documentary of Ayrton Senna. Enjoy!