Walking Around One Of My Favourite F1 Tracks Was A Very Special Experience

Whenever I’m on a Formula 1 racing game, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is always my track of choice. And it always produces great real-life F1 action too. It’s been the scene of some brilliantly iconic and memorable moments from the series, so you can imagine visiting it was number one on my list of ‘things to do’ while recently visiting Montreal.

One of the best things about the track is the fact you can go and walk around it when F1 isn’t visiting. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is located on Notre Dame Island in the St. Lawrence River. Alongside Saint Helen’s Island, the two make up Parc Jean-Drapeau, and the circuit is open for the public to explore.

It’s actually very easy to get to as well, which made things a lot easier. The neighbouring Saint Helen’s Island is a stop on Montreal’s Metro system and a short walk across a bridge leads you right onto the track, just prior to the sector three hairpin. With F1 not in town until June, the circuit looked a little scruffy, but it obviously gets spruced up before the race weekend.

It was very quiet when I visited the circuit with my father on a cloudy Friday afternoon. The track is divided into two: one side is for cyclists and walkers, the other for cars. We saw very few of the latter, although it was certainly a popular spot for cyclists. And if there’s an open race track close by, why wouldn’t you make the most of it?

My perspective of the race track changed drastically just by spending an hour or two walking around it. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve looks wider, smoother and less undulating on TV. But, in fact, it’s a narrow beast, with plenty of mild undulations and one lined with barriers. It has the feel of a street venue, despite being lined with trees and parkland.

The back straight alongside the Olympic rowing basin feels like it goes on forever and the kerbs are extremely high. Tyre marks from where drivers got a bit too close still remain, which provoked many debates as to who could have created them. And there was of course plenty of reminiscing about classic Montreal F1 moments.

From Nigel Mansell’s last lap retirement in 1991, to Lewis Hamilton crashing into Kimi Raikkonen at the pit exit in 2008 and Jenson Button snatching the win from Sebastian Vettel in 2011’s record-breaking race, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has produced some stunning racing and brilliant moments. It was great to think back to them and stand on the exact spots where they took place. It was a bit surreal, if anything.

The same can also be said for standing on the start line and looking back down the grid, thinking about all of the cars that have parked in those positions and headed down to Turn 1, passing over the ‘Salut Gilles’ message to the Canadian racing maestro the track was renamed after following his death in 1982.

Deviating off the F1 path also leads to some stunning views of the Montreal skyline. It’s a beautiful location for a race track and walking around it was naturally a brilliant experience, one I’d recommend to anyone interested in motorsport. It may have been cold, the track may have looked a bit rough around the edges, but it was very special all the same.