Turn 14 of Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, home of the Canadian Grand Prix, is known as the “Wall of Champions”. While its title may seem like something honorable, it is a place of misfortune. The wall of the 14th turn got its name for being a place where multiple world champions have crashed. Despite being in F1 since 1978, the corner earned its nickname after one specific Canadian Grand Prix.
At the sixth race of the 1999 season, four drivers fell victim as they headed into a heavy braking zone into the final chicane. Of these four, three were world champions. The first driver who made contact with the infamous wall was Ricardo Zonta. Zonta wasn’t an F1 champion, but he had won the International Formula 3000 title the year before. The second person was the 1996 WDC winner, Damon Hill. Speaking after the race, the Jordan driver put what happened plainly.
“I lost control of the vehicle and hit the wall, there’s nothing more to it than that.” [via PlanetF1]
The third unfortunate soul was none other than two-time champion Michael Schumacher. After starting the event on the front row, the German driver slid into the wall on lap 29, causing the right-side tires of his Ferrari to detach. The final honoree of the “Wall of Champions” on that fateful day was 1997’s title winner, Jacques Villeneuve. The son of the track’s namesake had also crashed at the same spot previously during the same season he scored his championship victory.
Over time, the wall has claimed the vehicles of non-champions as well. Namely, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel. While Button did score a driver’s title in 2009, his crash came during the 2005 race. Meanwhile, Vettel came into contact while turning in a free practice session at the 2011 Grand Prix.
Canadian GP F1 track changes ahead of 2025 race
At last year’s Canadian Grand Prix event, issues plagued the track. There were major problems related to the rain, which caused leaking and flooding in hospitality suites, paddock buildings, and commentary boxes. There were also communication issues between the local police and those on track, causing delays for team members and spectators to enter the circuit. After the event last year, pundit Martin Brundle shared his disappointment at how the event was managed.
“I’ve been visiting the Canadian GP in Montreal since 1984, and this year was undoubtedly the least enjoyable in terms of the venue,”.
“The popularity and scale of today’s F1 has outgrown the facilities, and the rain turning accesses into mud didn’t help. The police and security appeared increasingly aggressive and unhelpful to boot, it was a logistical mess.”
However, there has been a major overhaul done ahead of the 2025 season’s Canadian Grand Prix. The event organizers have ensured extensive testing done to the track’s facilities to make it waterproof. They have also constructed new hospitality suites and added signage for fans to find their seats more easily.
“Communication now will be under control, so there’s no orders or communication that would be given during the weekend that is not synchronized with all the official communication. So that won’t happen anymore.”
“The park has invested a tremendous amount of time and resources into making sure that the building that was built in 2019 is now completely waterproof. A lot of tests have gone on in recent weeks,” an organizer said. [quotes via Motorsport]
With the new upgrades, the Circuit will hopefully be a solid venue for the Canadian GP, which is on the F1 calendar until 2031. This year’s Montreal event takes place from 13th to 15th June.
