Montreal mayor says 2017 Canadian GP will go ahead

2017 F1 calendar

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The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will remain part of the 2017 F1 calendar, according to the mayor of Montreal.

The Canadian round was listed as provisional on the draft 2017 schedule issued by the FIA in September.

Denis Coderre announced on social media an “agreement in principal” had been reached between Formula One and race promoter Octane. Tickets for the June 9th to 11th event will go on sale tomorrow.

The race’s future had been in doubt after Bernie Ecclestone criticised the venue’s facilities and questioned why they hadn’t been able to attract a sponsor. The promoters agreed a new ten-year deal with Ecclestone in 2014 but according to the sport’s commercial rights holder it was conditional on improvements being made which had not been completed.

Ecclestone had said he doubted the race would go ahead if the improvements were not made. However race promoters cited disagreements with Ecclestone as the cause for the delays.

The Montreal circuit has held the Canadian Grand Prix since 1978 with two exceptions, in 1987 and 2009, due to contractual reasons. Next year’s race will be the first to feature a Canadian driver since 2006, as Lance Stroll is set to make his debut for Williams.

Along with Canada, Brazil and Germany’s rounds of the championship are also in doubt for next year. The final 2017 schedule is expected to be confirmed next month and may include as many as this year’s 21 races.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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15 comments on “Montreal mayor says 2017 Canadian GP will go ahead”

  1. I imagine the presence of Lance Stroll will help enormously as well – more exposure in Canada, more tickets sold, and maybe the sponsor that Bernie has mentioned in this article.

    1. Indeed, I’d go as far to wager that the bank of daddie Stroll will step in if all else fails to ensure that his son has a home race!

  2. Finally some good news about a race staying and not going

  3. Bring back Istanbul Park!

    1. As much as I’d love to see Istanbul Park return, I don’t think the Turks want the world’s attention.

      1. @wildfire15
        Why not? It’s not like a little civic unrest/civil war have stopped Bahrain or Russia. I’m sure Erdogan and Bernie are besties.

  4. I never really felt like the race was all that threatened, since they talked about this at the last Canadian GP, about it being about upgrading facilities which is a far cry from getting governments to commit etc etc.

    As to the Strolls…if I’m not mistaken they are Montrealers so this will be very much a home race for Lance.

    1. The crowd will be louder than it’s ever been.

  5. For those who’ve not been to Circuit G.V., it’s difficult General Admission viewing. Too many trees everywhere.

    Which is explained by the fact that it’s a public park when not running an F1 event.

    1. I went a few years back with General Admission tickers, and while it was neat to experience, I won’t do it again without seats.

  6. It’s a great venue for a race, pretty well every year it produces fantastic racing. It is lots of fun to go to, the city knows how to throw a great party.

  7. Great track, great park and access, wonderful and free city, party everywhere on the weekend. One of the gems of F1. Would return every year.

  8. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
    23rd November 2016, 19:12

    I actually want race tracks to threaten to leave F1, it will force F1 to change.

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