Preview 2011 Gilles Villeneuve, Canada GP

Canada Grand Prix or Grand Prix du Canada is built on an island on the St Lawrence River, the Montreal circuit is bumpy and requires heavy braking, putting a lot of strain on the tyres and it will be interesting to see how the new Pirelli tyres last on Sunday.

Wikipedia History

Canadian GP is an annual auto race held in Canada starting in 1961. It has been part of F1 since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario as a sports car event before it alternated between Mosport and Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Quebec after Formula One took over the event. After 1971 safety concerns led to the Grand Prix moving permanently to Mosport. In 1978 the Canadian Grand Prix moved to its current home on Île Notre-Dame in Montreal. In 2005, the Canadian Grand Prix was the most watched Formula One GP in the world. The race was also the third most watched sporting event worldwide, behind the first place Super Bowl XXXIX and the UEFA Champions League Final.
The Canadian Grand Prix was not included in the 2009 Formula 1 calendar and n 27 November 2009 it was reported the race could return in 2010and the 2010 edition then took place on June 13.
The first winner in Montreal was Quebec native Gilles Villeneuve who died in 1982 on the final qualifying lap for the Belgian Grand Prix. A few weeks after his death, the race course in Montreal was named Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after him. Gilles Villeneuve was one of the first inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, and the only Canadian winner at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

In 1999, the final corner of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve became well-known for crashes involving former World Champions. Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed into the same wall which had the slogan Bienvenue au Québec (Welcome to Quebec in English) on it. The wall became ironically known as the "Wall of Champions" . The wall also was involved in a crash with Ricardo Zonta, who was, at the time, the reigning FIA GT sports car champion. In recent years, GP2 Champion Nico Rosberg and CART Champion Juan Pablo Montoya have also fallen victim to the wall.
Technical details
Gilles Villeneuve Circuit has 4.4 km, 70 laps with a race distance of 305 km; 4 highspeed straches, 2 slow turns, 3 ideal spots for overtaking and a top speed around 325 km/h. Best Preview by Mark Webber:

Statistics
Mosport Park 1961–1977
Circuit Mont-Tremblant 1968–1970
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 1978–2011
Number of times held 47
First held 1961
Last held 2010
Most wins for a driver: Michael Schumacher - 7
Most wins for constructors: Ferrari - 13
Last race (2010): Pole position Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.105:

      boring commentary

Podium 2010
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h 33m 53.456s (195.080 km/h)
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +2.254s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +9.214s
Fastest lap 2010: Robert Kubica Renault 1:16.972
Fastes Laps in Montreal:
2003 1:10.502 Fernando Alonso
2004 1:13.622 Rubens Barrichello
2005 1:14.384 Kimi Raikkonen
2006 1:15.841 Kimi Raikkonen
2002 1:15.960 Juan Pablo Montoya