Formula One drivers from Canada

There have been 15 Formula One drivers from Canada, three of whom have scored points. Gilles Villeneuve, rated amongst the greatest drivers of all time, died while qualifying for his 68th race. His son, Jacques Villeneuve won the World Drivers' Championship in 1997. Canadian drivers were absent from Formula One since his departure in 2006, until the arrival of Lance Stroll in 2017.

Formula One drivers from Canada
Drivers15
Grands Prix343
Entries367
Starts356
Highest season finish1st (1997)
Wins17
Podiums39
Pole positions16
Fastest laps17
Points484
First entry1961 United States Grand Prix
First win1978 Canadian Grand Prix
Latest win1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
Latest entry2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2021 driversNicholas Latifi
Lance Stroll
Jacques Villeneuve won the title in 1997

Current drivers

Lance Stroll has competed in Formula One since 2017 and is contracted to drive until the end of 2020. Stroll started his Formula One career with Williams and scored a podium at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a third place finish. Stroll moved to Racing Point for the 2019 season with whom he is contracted to drive in 2020.[1][2][3] Nicholas Latifi is contracted to drive for Williams for the 2020 and 2021 season.[4]

Former drivers
Gilles Villeneuve sitting on his Ferrari at Imola in 1979

Gilles Villeneuve started his Formula One career with a one-off drive for McLaren at the 1977 British Grand Prix. He was quickly signed up by Ferrari to replace the outgoing Niki Lauda and he would remain with the team for all his time in Formula One. Villeneuve's most successful year came in 1979 when he won three races and came second in the drivers' championship.[5] He was killed during qualifying in an accident at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix – a collision with Jochen Mass pitched his Ferrari into the air and it was destroyed by the impact when it landed.[6] He never won a Formula One drivers' title and only won six races but is held as one of the best racers to ever compete in the sport.[5] In a survey conducted by Autosport asking drivers to vote for their choice of the greatest driver in history Villeneuve was placed tenth. Former teammate Jody Scheckter said of Villeneuve "I will miss Gilles for two reasons. First, he was the fastest driver in the history of motor racing. Second, he was the most genuine man I have ever known."[7]

Jacques Villeneuve, son of Gilles, was eleven at the time of his father's death. He had a successful career in IndyCar before moving to Formula One with Williams in 1996. He nearly won his first race, but a mechanical failure halted the car after he had led for most of the race. He went on to win four races that year and clinched second place in the drivers' championship. Seven wins in 1997 saw Villeneuve go one better, achieving the title that had eluded his father. However, he would never win another race in his Formula One career, doing no better than four third-place finishes between 1998 and his retirement in 2006.[8]

In 1981 another member of the Villeneuve family had tried his hand at Formula One. Jacques, brother of Gilles, is sometimes now referred to as Jacques Villeneuve Sr. He failed to qualify for either of the two North American races he contested. He tried again at his home Grand Prix in 1983 but was unable to set a time to good enough to allow him into the race.[9]

George Eaton competed in 13 Grands Prix with BRM, the majority of which were in 1970. His debut was in the 1969 United States Grand Prix and he entered one other race that year. He attended ten events in 1970, starting eight of them, and left the sport after a single race the following year, the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix. He only finished in four of the eleven races he started with a best finish of tenth.[10]

Allen Berg drove for Osella in 1986, competing in nine races. He saw the chequered flag on three occasions with a highest finish of 12th place.[11]

A number of Canadian drivers have competed solely in races held in their own country. Al Pease drove an Eagle Mk1 in three consecutive Canadian Grands Prix between 1967 and 1969. He was unable to finish any of the races and is remembered as the only driver in F1 history to be disqualified from a race for being too slow.[12][13] Bill Brack also competed in three home races, starting with Lotus in 1968 then, in 1969 and 1972, driving a BRM. He was unable to finish in any of the events.[14] Eppie Wietzes competed in two home races separated by more than seven years. He drove a Lotus in 1967 and a Brabham in 1974 but was unable to finish either race.[15]

Peter Ryan (1961),[16] John Cordts (1969),[17] and John Cannon (1971)[18] all competed in one Grand Prix each. Peter Broeker and Ernie de Vos were both entered for one race with Stebro in 1963. Broeker competed and finished seventh but de Vos did not start.[19][20]

Accomplishments

World champions

There has only been one Formula One World Champion from Canada, Jacques Villeneuve, in the 1997 Formula One season.[21] However, Gilles Villeneuve finished second in the World Driving Championship in the 1979 Formula One season.[22]

Points scorers

The only Canadians to score World Championship points in Formula One, are Gilles Villeneuve, his son Jacques Villeneuve, and Lance Stroll.[23][24] At the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Stroll became the youngest rookie to achieve a podium finish in Formula One.[25]

At the Canadian Grand Prix

Only one Canadian has won the F1 Canadian Grand Prix, Gilles Villeneuve, at the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix.[21] His son Jacques Villeneuve almost accomplished the feat at the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix, where he may have won, except for Michael Schumacher snatching pole position away from him and Jacques, in an effort to catch Michael, crashing into the Wall Of Champions.[26]

Lance Stroll would score his first World Championship points at the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix, the 50th anniversary grand prix. He is one of three Canadians to score points at the Canadian Grand Prix, the other two being Jacques Villeneuve and his father Gilles Villeneuve.[21][24]

The only time more than one Canadian driver participated at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix was at the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix, when Eppie Wietzes and Al Pease both participated and in 1969 Canadian Grand Prix, where three started, Al Pease being disqualified as only F1 driver for being too slow.[23]

Timeline
Current drivers
Nicholas Latifi 2020
Lance Stroll 2017–2020
Former drivers
Peter Ryan 1961
Peter Broeker 1963
Ernie de Vos 1963
Al Pease 1967–1969
Eppie Wietzes 1967, 1974
Bill Brack 1968–1969, 1972
John Cordts 1969
George Eaton 1969–1971
John Cannon 1971
Gilles Villeneuve 1977–1982
Jacques Villeneuve Sr. 1981, 1983
Allen Berg 1986
Jacques Villeneuve 1996–2006
Source: [27]

See also

References
  1. "Williams F1 team announces rookie Stroll and Bottas as 2017 drivers". Autosport. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. "Lance STROLL - Podiums". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  3. "Stroll's Force India confirmation completes 2019 grid". Formula1.com. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  4. "Russell and Latifi to stay on at Williams in unchanged 2021 driver line-up". formula1.com. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. "Gilles Villeneuve". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  6. "Gilles Villeneuve: Death of a legend". CBC. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  7. "Gilles Villeneuve". Autosport. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  8. "Jacques Villeneuve". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  9. Williamson, Martin. "Jacques Villeneuve snr". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  10. "George Eaton". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  11. "Allen Berg". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  12. "Al Pease". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  13. "Drivers: Bill Brack". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  14. "Bill Brack". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  15. "Eppie Wietzes". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  16. "Peter Ryan". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  17. "John Cordts". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  18. "John Cannon". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  19. "Peter Broeker". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  20. "Ernie De Vos". Manipe F1. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  21. Natasha Henry (10 June 2017). "Why the Canadian Grand Prix will always belong to the Villeneuve family". The Telegraph.
  22. Malcolm Kelly (7 June 2017). "The Villeneuves: In the name of the father". CBC Sports. CBC.
  23. Louis Butcher (8 June 2017). "Des Villeneuve ... à Stroll". Le Journal de Montréal.
  24. "Lewis Hamilton wins third straight Canadian Grand Prix, Lance Stroll finishes 9th". The Canadian Press. Montreal Gazette. 11 June 2017.
  25. "Un premier podium pour Lance Stroll" (in French). RDS. 25 June 2017.
  26. "Canadian Grand Prix". Formula One. 11 June 2017. Sky Sports.
  27. "Canada - Grands Prix started". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
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