The 2025 Montreal Grand Prix in a pilot project

LAS VEGAS | With one month less in preparation for the end of winter 2026, the organizers of the Grand Prix will have to roll up their sleeves and begin the assembly of the Grand Prix next fall so that the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit is ready for mid -May 2026. Besides, The Journal learned that Parc Jean-Drapeau and the promoter are already following a “pilot project” on the ground in order to prepare the June 2025 edition more quickly.

• Also read: The Canadian Grand Prix will take place in May from 2026

While the Grand Prix has been held in June for decades, the promoter usually began its assembly and logistical operations in March.

But to deliver the track on time in May 2026, he has no choice but to get to work earlier and build the stands, among other things. Especially since during the last two springs, the metropolis was hit by ice storms.

When our photographer visited the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, the assembly of the stands had begun, as well as work in certain places on the route.

The track, although very dusty for the cars in June, would also be ready earlier. Work on a brand new roadway, completed in 2023, will facilitate, among other things, this early delivery.

In the city center, restaurateurs welcomed the news with positivity, as long as Mother Nature was on their side. The weather is the main issue.

Miami changed the game

This change in position on the calendar had been in the air for several years, according to the information collected. In 2023, the appearance of the Miami Grand Prix, scheduled at the beginning of May, accelerated the trip.

And the multiple problems encountered last June, at all levels of the organization of the event, did not allow the organizers to resist the demands of Formula 1’s senior management.

Moreover, a meeting did indeed take place this summer between big boss Stefano Domenicali and the Montreal authorities, but by videoconference. According to our sources, F1 was seeking to know, among other things, how it could be better served in the metropolis and how to take advantage of the master plan in the transformation of Jean-Drapeau Park visited by nearly 350,000 people during the week of the Grand Prix. .

So, for the last time, the Montreal stopover is placed in mid-June, right in the middle of the European segment which brings together nine races. It is for environmental and logistical reasons mentioned by F1 that it will be brought forward by a few weeks from 2026.