Circuit Gilles Villeneuve equals the Nurburgring, Sergio Perez equals an unwanted record and Mercedes could equal Lotus’ pole position tally. Here are the records which are up for grabs over the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix weekend!
The Numbers and Milestones
This will be the 1004th F1 Grand Prix weekend, the 56th Canadian Grand Prix, the 50th Canadian Grand Prix to be held as a round of the Formula 1 championship and the 40th F1 race to be held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
This weekend, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will equal Nurburgring this season as the track to have held fifth-most F1 races.
The seventh lap of the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix will be the 2700th racing lap of the circuit since F1 first visited the track in 1978.
The Canadian Grand Prix will be the 350th time a driver from the Netherlands has appeared in an F1 race.
The Records to Beat
If Lewis Hamilton wins this weekend, he’ll equal Michael Schumacher’s record tally of seven Canadian Grand Prix victories. On the other hand, though they’re already the most successful team at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, if Ferrari win this weekend, the team will equal McLaren’s tally of 13 wins in the country; the most of any team. Ferrari are currently tied with Ford Cosworth as the most successful engine manufacturer at the Canadian Grand Prix, with 12 wins apiece. Ferrari will also take that record should one of their cars win this weekend.
A pole position for Mercedes would see them become the fourth most successful team by way of pole positions in F1 history. Having taken all but one pole so far this year, they are currently on 106 total starts from the front of the grid – one behind Lotus’ tally.
If Lewis Hamilton wins this weekend, he’ll become only the second driver to have won the same Grand Prix seven times. Michael Schumacher is the only other driver to have won the same race seven times, having won the French Grand Prix on eight occasions, and taking victory at the Canadian and San Marino Grands Prix seven times!
Lewis Hamilton winning will also see British drivers equal German drivers for the most wins at the track. Germany currently have ten compared to Britain’s nine.
This weekend, Sergio Perez is likely to equal Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert’s joint record of most Grands Prix without a pole position. This will be the Mexican driver’s 165th race.
Lewis Hamilton is currently tied with Michael Schumacher for the most pole positions at the Canadian Grand Prix. Should he take another this weekend, it’ll be his seventh at the circuit, setting a new record.
If Lewis Hamilton, or any other British driver, leads a lap of the Canadian Grand Prix, this will be the 600th race in which a British driver has led.
Williams and McLaren are currently tied for the most poles at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with eight each. Each of them have the – somewhat unlikely – chance to set an outright record this year, while Ferrari could join them on eight poles at the track, should they set the fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying hour.
Mercedes-powered cars could equal Renault-powered cars as the engine manufacturer to have taken the most pole positions at the Montreal track. Mercedes engines have taken pole eight times here so far compared to Renault’s nine.
If Kimi Raikkonen sets the fastest lap of the race, it’ll be the fifth time he’ll have done so in Canada, setting a new record for the driver with the most fastest laps at the event. He’s currently tied with Michael Schumacher for the honour.
If Sebastian Vettel outscores Lewis Hamilton by 13 points, he’ll become the driver to have scored the most points at the Canadian Grand Prix, while Hamilton himself can extend the record. Hamilton has currently scored 160 points at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, compared to Vettel’s 148.
If Sebastian Vettel takes pole this weekend, it’ll be the second occasion where he’s taken consecutive poles at the track, having previously done so in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He’d become only the third driver, after Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, to have taken consecutive poles on multiple occasions at the track (Schumacher did so in 1994 and 1995, and then again in 1999, 2000 and 2001, while Hamilton did so by taking pole on F1’s three consecutive visits to Canada in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and then again in 2015, 2016 and 2017).
If Sebastian Vettel wins the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, he’ll become the fourth driver, after Alan Jones, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, to have taken back-to-back victories at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
If Kimi Raikkonen scores this weekend, it’ll be the fourteenth race where he has scored points at this track, beating the previous record of thirteen currently shared between him and Michael Schumacher. If he reaches the end of the race, it’ll be the fifteenth time he has done so, equalling Schumacher’s record of finishes at the track.
If Daniel Ricciardo scores six points this weekend (by finishing seventh or better), he’ll equal 1,000 points scored in his Formula 1 career.
