How Montreal has ridden North America’s F1 wave

In fact, this year marks the 45th anniversary of the first race in Montreal, famously also the maiden victory of local hero Gilles Villeneuve.

The circuit that was later renamed after the Ferrari legend has been a near-constant presence on the schedule ever since, apart from glitches for financial reasons in 1987 and 2009, and during the COVID-hit years of 2020 and 2021.

Significantly, Montreal carried the torch for F1 in North America during periods when there was not…