Canadian GP: Montreal's 'Wall of Champions' adds extra drama to an already exciting race

Many of the sport’s greatest drivers have been caught out and dramatically crashed out of contention at the notorious Isle Notre Dame circuit

Felipe Massa is just one of the victims to crash at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's 'Wall of Champions'. Reuters

The history, and perhaps even the persona, of the Canadian Grand Prix is embodied by a battle-scarred three-foot thick wall of concrete that wraps the outside of the final bend.

Like the Montreal venue, which stages Sunday’s F1 Grand Prix, it is, at first sight, underwhelming, easy to underestimate but utterly deadly.

The Wall of Champions earned it’s moniker not because of the legends who have stood there, inscribed their names or sped past on their way to victory.

It is because so many of the sport’s greatest drivers have been caught out and dramatically crashed out of contention.

Most famously Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve (twice at his home race, that must have hurt), Sebastian Vettel and even the silky smooth Jenson Button.

Of course there are many others, all punished for hunting extra milliseconds with an overly ambitious attack on what looks like an easy right, left flick.

But hit the first kerb (appropriately enough Turn 13) too hard or too fast and it’s game over.

The worst element, surely, is that the ignominious belly-scraping escapade, usually on just two or three wheels, happens on the track right in front of the entire pit lane.

Surely the old Indycar adage applies – there are only two types of driver, those who have hit the wall and those who are about to.

So far the man of the moment, runaway championship leader Max Verstappen, has got away with just a glancing, sparking, ‘kiss’.

Even Lewis Hamilton, who has won there a record seven times, confessed: “I never like to talk about the Wall of Champions. You never want it to suck you in.”

The Isle Notre Dame circuit is located on an island in the St Lawrence Seaway, 10 minutes from central Montreal. Open to winds and spray that impact the unused track so profoundly lap times can improve six seconds between Friday and Sunday as tyre rubber goes down and grip improves.

Car speeds top 350kph and the brake discs (used to running at 900º C) get so hot they have been known to set fire to the suspension.

The high speed set-up conflicts with a low grip track and a need to clatter all five chicanes hard to eek out the best time on a Saudi-like layout with walls just feet away.

The recipe makes for frequent crashes and safety car interruptions which pull the grid together and double the drama which, historically, is not slow in coming. Remember Sebastian Vettel stripped of victory in 2019 or Jenson Button winning a six pit-stop, rain drenched, four-hour epic?

How about Robert Kubica’s fearsome crash in 2007 or his comeback victory a year later? Then there’s Hamilton accidentally ramming the rear of Kimi Raikkonen in the pit lane.

Paradoxically, despite the endless drama, history records that the man who started on pole has won nine times in 14 years and five of the last six.

But Mercedes admit the nature of the track means they will not be as competitive as they were in Spain when they finished second and third with their redesigned car. “We are not thinking we will be nipping at the heels of Red Bull but more in the battle with Ferrari, Aston Martin and even Alpine,” said trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

But it’s races like these that will demonstrate whether Spain was an accumulation of lucky circumstances or that Mercedes are in the foothills of a real championship challenge.

Red Bull’s domination should fade as their 2022 overspending punishment bites late in the season while Mercedes will have vastly more mandated development resource time but not the money to capitalise after such a substantial car redesign.

Having won the season opener by 35 seconds and still a similarly dominant 23 seconds ahead at the last race Red Bull boss Christian Horner refutes suggestions their pursuers have made up ground.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull on his way to winning the Spanish GP at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Getty Images

They are so dominant some pundits are hyping up Red Bull’s chances of winning every race this season. Verstappen has led every one of the last 154 laps since mid-Miami, three races back. Their next win will be the 24th in 27 and the team’s landmark 100th.

A disastrous pair of races has seen erstwhile title contender Sergio Perez slip 53 points behind his teammate ahead of Montreal.

Behind-the-scenes Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted Hamilton’s signing now rests on the numbers and some paddock speculation has it that George Russell nipping at the great champion’s heels for less than a 10th of the salary means he may have to consider a pay cut.

But that is about as likely as a drama-free Canadian Grand Prix.