The Canadian Grand Prix is this weekend. This is your guide to everything F1

Open this photo in gallery:

Formula 1 fever is once again taking over Montreal.

The Canadian Grand Prix is starting this weekend, with hundreds of thousands of spectators flocking to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Notre Dame Island. This is the 45th time the race has been held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and the 55th iteration of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Here’s what you need to know heading into the weekend.

When is the F1 race in Montreal? Where can I watch or stream it?

The main event – the Grand Prix – is on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. The driver’s Free Practice and Sprint Qualifying take place on Friday, while the Sprint and the Qualifying for the Grand Prix take place on Saturday.

All events during the race weekend will be broadcast on TSN, and both CTV and TSN will broadcast the Grand Prix itself.

What’s special about the Montreal track?

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has an infamous corner known as “the Wall of Champions.” In 1999, World Drivers’ Champions Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill all hit the corner in the same weekend. Other World Drivers’ Champions, including Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, have also crashed there in 2011 and 2005, respectively.

Notre Dame Island is also known for the groundhogs that live there. Over the years, drivers have had to avoid the animals as they run across the track.

What is the Sprint Race?

The Sprint Race is a condensed F1 race that takes place the day before the Grand Prix. This type of race tends to be straight racing: They’re a third of the length of a regular Grand Prix, have no mandatory pit stops and drivers are a bit more aggressive. Sprint Races take about 30 minutes, and points are awarded to the top eight finishers.

This is the first time a Sprint Race will take place in Montreal after it was first introduced in 2021. This season, sprints will happen in China, the U.S., Canada, England, the Netherlands and Singapore. Mercedes’ George Russell won the Chinese Sprint Race, and the reigning World Drivers’ Champion, McLaren’s Lando Norris, won the Miami Sprint Race.

How long is an F1 race?

An F1 race is around one-and-a-half to two hours of uninterrupted racing. Drivers typically race for however many laps it takes to reach a minimum distance of 305 kilometres. In the Canadian Grand Prix, drivers will race for 70 laps.

The race must be finished within three hours of its start time, even if there are delays from weather or safety cars slowing the pack (so damaged cars or debris can be cleaned up). The race can have a maximum of two hours of active racing time.

Races can be moved up or pushed back based on the weather. The most recent Grand Prix, which took place in Miami, occurred three hours earlier than its original scheduled time, because of thunderstorm threats.

How does the F1 championship work?

There are two championships taking place concurrently during a F1 season: the World Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship. This season is composed of 22 races, with the Bahrain Grand Prix and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix both cancelled because of the war in Iran.

The World Drivers’ Championship is awarded to a single driver from any given team who accumulates the most points over the season. Drivers can earn points in both a Sprint Race and the Grand Prix. Points are awarded as follows:

The Constructors’ Championship, meanwhile, is awarded to a single team that accumulates the most points. (In the sport, teams are also known as ‘constructors’ because they are responsible for building and manufacturing their respective cars.) It combines the points earned by the team’s two drivers based on where they finish on the grid each race.

The winning team receives around a total of US$100 to $200-million in prize money (though the exact amount is not publicly disclosed) and the best pit spot in the pit lane for the next season, which is usually closest to the track entry point. Ferrari currently holds the record for most Constructors’ Championship wins.

How many Constructors are there? Who are the drivers to watch?

Open this photo in gallery:

There are 11 teams (or constructors) in Formula 1, and each constructor has two drivers. The newest team in the paddock is Cadillac, which is making its debut in F1.

The top team of the Constructor’s Championship, Mercedes, has current World Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli. The 19-year-old Italian became the first driver ever to convert their first three poles – qualifying in first place for the Grand Prix, known as a pole position – into three wins. He’s also the youngest person to be the World Drivers’ Championship leader, is the youngest pole sitter in Formula 1 history and is only in his sophomore season.

Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell is the reigning Canadian Grand Prix champion and sits second in the World Drivers’ Championship. The British driver won the season-opening race in Australia, and is one of the most consistent drivers on the grid – he finished only one race out of top 10 last season.

McLaren’s Lando Norris can’t be counted out in the title fight. The reigning World Drivers’ Champion currently sits fourth in the standings, but new upgrades to the team’s car in the previous Miami Grand Prix saw the Brit finish the race in second place. It was his first podium of the season, after finishing fifth in both Australia and Japan, and not being able to start the race in China because of engine issues.

Ferrari has the third- and fifth-placed drivers in the World Drivers’ Championship: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, respectively. While Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, has struggled since joining the Italian-based constructor in 2025, he earned his first podium of his Ferrari career in China this year, and has finished in the top six every race this season. Leclerc has finished the past four seasons as one of the top five drivers on the grid, and has two podium finishes this season thus far.

Despite the Red Bull car struggling with pace because of the new regulations this season (see below), four-time world champion Max Verstappen is always in contention. Verstappen has either maintained or improved upon his qualifying position in all the races he’s finished this season, including finishing sixth after starting 20th in the Australian Grand Prix.

What are the differences between this year’s cars and regulations?

Open this photo in gallery:

Sweeping new regulations in 2026 have changed how the cars look, sound and run.

The new rules keep the turbo hybrid engine design first introduced in 2014, but with more emphasis on the electrical power. The engine rules set out a compression ratio of 16:1, a measurement of how tightly the pistons squeeze the mixture of fuel and air before it ignites. In theory, a higher ratio means more power.

Drivers used to activate a drag reduction system button in certain zones when they were between one second of the car in front of them, improving the car’s aerodynamics for a short period of time and temporarily providing a boost in speed. Now, drivers activate “overtake mode,” unlocking the full power of the battery hybrid system for a short time, which can be used at any point in the race.

Some drivers have complained that overtake mode tends to drain the battery too much, making it inefficient in a lot of situations, or impossible to defend the place afterward. There’s now a cap on the extra power from the overtake “boost” mode, and other limits to electrical power in certain areas, after a crash by Haas’ Ollie Bearman at the Japanese Grand Prix had the 21-year-old hurtling toward a barrier at 306 kilometres per hour.

Nikolas Tombazis, the top F1 regulations official at the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile – the sport’s governing body – said it will keep reviewing how the regulations work at upcoming races and could make further changes. There isn’t an obvious time to do so until the summer break in August, with seven races before then.

The F1 lingo you need to know

Pit stop: When a driver brings their car to have the tires and/or other pieces of machinery changed. A pit stop is around 20 seconds, including around two-and-a-half seconds of stationary time.

Drivers are required to have a certain number of pit stops depending on the track. In Canada, they are required to stop at least once.

Box: Often said as “box box,” it usually refers to the driver’s engineer asking them to come into the pit lane for a pit stop.

Constructor: The individual teams. There are currently 11 in Formula 1, including Mercedes, Williams and Alpine.

Dirty air: Created from the fumes of the car. If a driver is stuck behind another car, it can impact performance because of a reduction in airflow. The inverse is clean air, where the car has no one in front impacting the airflow.

Overtake: When a car passes the one directly in front of it.

Pit lane: The garage area where cars go to change tires or fix broken parts during a pit stop.

Polesitter/being on pole: The driver who finished with the fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying session. They get the top spot to start the Grand Prix.

Safety car: A physical car that comes out to direct the race after an accident. Cars will follow the safety car at reduced speeds for however long is deemed necessary for clearing the track of debris. No one can overtake the car in front when there is a safety car on the track.

A virtual safety car, or VSC, can also be called, which forces drivers to reduce their speeds but without the physical car coming on track. Cars cannot overtake under a VSC.

With reports from the Associated Press and Reuters