Montreal gets a fresh slot on the 2026 calendar — round seven, sandwiched between Miami and Monaco, and upgraded to a sprint weekend. That's a meaningful shuffle. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve no longer plays its traditional June curtain-raiser to the European swing; instead it follows hard on the heels of the Miami round, giving North American fans back-to-back home races to open the season's second act.
George Russell is the defending winner, having taken Mercedes to victory on the 4.4-kilometre, 18-turn island circuit last year. Now he'll have to defend that win across a compressed format: practice and sprint qualifying Friday, sprint and grand prix qualifying Saturday, and the 70-lap race Sunday afternoon.
For American viewers, the timing couldn't be cleaner — every session lands in prime US daytime windows, with lights out at 4pm ET Sunday May 24. Expect Cadillac's sophomore weekend to draw heavy stateside attention.
Read the full story at RaceFans
