Formula 1 announced this Monday that the organizers of the Canadian Grand Prix had agreed to bring forward the date of their event from 2026, to regroup the event held annually at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit in Montreal in May, two weeks after the Miami Grand Prix, and no longer in June. This follows last week’s announcement that the Monaco Grand Prix had renewed its contract with F1 for the years 2026 to 2031, with a change of date from May to the first weekend in June.
The promoter of the Montreal race, the Octane Course Group, owned by Bell, as well as the main partners, including the Canadian government, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, the City of Montreal, Tourisme Québec, Tourisme Montréal and the Park Jean-Drapeau, all participated in the process of this change of date planned from 2026.
“Thanks to this renewed commitment and collaboration, starting in the 2026 season, the Canadian Grand Prix will be scheduled for the third or fourth weekend of May each year, subject to confirmation by the World Motor Sport Council of the FIA for all future Formula 1 calendars. This change will consolidate European races into one continuous period during the summer months and aims to reduce an additional transatlantic crossing for the F1 community each year, resulting in a significant reduction associated carbon emissions” indicates F1 in its announcement.
In fact, it was mainly the logistics that were complicated for the teams in recent years, who left Europe for Miami at the beginning of May before returning to the European continent for Imola and Monaco then flying back to Montreal before extending the European season. This decision is therefore logical in terms of travel costs for F1 but adds a little additional stress to the Canadian Grand Prix because if a winter were to be particularly long, the race to install the stands and other non-permanent elements of the site would definitely be complicated.
Formula 1 has presented the Canadian Grand Prix on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit in Montreal since the 1978 season. That year and until 1981, the event took place in the fall, before being scheduled for June since 1982. Note that if the 3rd weekend of May is chosen for the Canadian GP from 2026, this would mean that it would be run during the Patriots’ Day holiday weekend (Victoria Day Weekend in Canada English), with the Monday holiday but also direct competition with the first road circuit weekend of the season for the Canadian series, at Mosport (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park). The Montreal event, however, will never again compete for dates with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking place in May. Remember that next year, the two meetings will take place again in mid-June.
At the F1 level, the advancement of the Canadian GP is part of the changes already made to the series calendar in recent years to create a more coherent program. The Japanese Grand Prix was thus moved to the spring this year to align with races in the Asia-Pacific region, Azerbaijan was moved to the fall to integrate with the return of the championship to the east towards Singapore, and Qatar was moved closer to Abu Dhabi at the end of the season.
“I am extremely grateful to the promoter and all government partners involved in the Canadian Grand Prix, from local to provincial and national governments,” said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1. “We salute the extraordinary effort from all parties to accelerate temporary preparations for the event to welcome the Formula 1 community earlier than in the past. This change will make the future organization of our calendar not only more sustainable, but also makes more logistical sense for our teams and staff,” he added.
On the side of the Canadian GP, we highlight the environmental aspect rather than logistics: “Our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 remains a priority for us as a sport, and this is thanks to changes like this that we are progressing towards this objective” mentions Jean-Philippe Paradis, CEO of Groupe de Course Octane. “This calendar change is a major step in our commitment, and that of Formula 1, to a more sustainable future. We are determined to offer our fans, our communities and our loyal audience a unique and enriched experience, while extending the summer season for Montreal. This change of date is fully integrated into the dynamic strategic vision put in place by our team, in collaboration with our partners (…) he concluded.
