Formula 2 Montréal Preview

For the first time in F2 history, the championship will race at the iconic Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montréal for round 3 of the 2026 season.

(Image credit to F1)

The Canadian circuit will be making its debut with the F2 championship this weekend. The 4.361km long track with its 14 turns has hosted the Formula 1 championship since 1978 - with the exception of four years where the event was cancelled.

A particularly famous part of the circuit is the wall on the outside of the final chicane, just before the cars head onto the start/finish straight. 

The wall’s reputation was cemented in 1999, when it claimed the race of former F1 champions Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve, as well as FIA GT champion Ricardo Zonta. These incidents gave it its infamous nickname “The Wall Of Champions”. Over the years, several champions - including Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button - have fallen victim to the wall.

With a circuit that punishes the smallest mistakes and rewards confidence under pressure, Montréal sets the stage perfectly for emerging talent to either slip up or shine.

Drivers to look for:

Nikola Tsolov is one of the main drivers to look for. The championship leader had a strong performance throughout the whole Miami weekend - despite DNF’ing due to a collision with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in the feature race. Tsolov will be looking to extend his championship lead, as he is currently only one point ahead of tied Gabriele Mini and Rafa Câmara.

Gabriele Mini is another driver to look for. After placing 7th in the sprint race and winning the feature race at Miami, the Italian driver moved from 13th to a tied 2nd in the championship standings. 

The last driver to look for is Dino Beganovic. The driver is currently sitting 6th in the standings, but after finishing 2nd in the Miami feature race, Beganovic proved himself to be a contender for wins this season. In past races, the Swedish driver has also shown great performances on technical tracks, similar to Montréal.

With iconic places like “Senna 'S' turns”, “Wall Of Champions” and “The Hairpin Curve”, F2 is looking to have an exciting weekend ahead. Below you can find the schedule.

Schedule (All timings in ET):

Friday:

Free Practice - 10:05 - 10:50

Qualifying - 14:00 - 14:30

Saturday:

Sprint Race - 14:10 - 14:55

Sunday:

Feature Race - 12:05 - 13:05

Article written by Laura Friis