Canadian Grand Prix Winners List (1967-Present)

Last updated: 28/05/2026

The 2026 Formula 1 season has been an absolute masterclass in engineering and understanding regulations by the Mercedes F1 Team. As the paddock touches down in Canada, the Silver Arrows are riding a terrifying wave of momentum. Rival teams are desperately rushing upgrades to bridge the gap, but the rumors suggest that Mercedes is bringing a major upgrade package to the Canadian Grand Prix.

Most eyeballs, however, will be glued to the intense inter-team battle brewing between the veteran George Russell and the Italian phenom Kimi Antonelli. Russell took a commanding victory here at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, proving that this heavy-braking, curb-riding track perfectly suits his precise driving style. But Antonelli’s raw, aggressive speed could be exactly what is needed to challenge for pole position in Montreal.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve offers the claustrophobic, barrier-lined feel of a temporary street circuit combined with the high-speed, purpose-built flow of a traditional track. Teams are forced to run low-downforce setups while demanding maximum stopping power from their brakes. Add the notoriously unpredictable Montreal weather, where brilliant sunshine can morph into a torrential downpour in minutes, and you have a recipe for pure chaos. To prepare you for the weekend, we’ve dug into the history books to bring you the full Canadian Grand Prix Winners List from 1967 to present day.

A Brief History of the Canadian Grand Prix

From Mosport Park to Ile Notre-Dame

The Canadian Grand Prix has not always been synonymous with Montreal. When the race officially joined the Formula 1 World Championship in 1967, it was hosted at Mosport Park in Ontario, a notoriously dangerous circuit. The race occasionally rotated to the picturesque Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, but neither venue could safely accommodate the increasing speeds and commercial demands of growing Formula 1.

By 1978, the event moved to its permanent home on the man-made Notre Dame Island in Montreal, a strip of land originally constructed for the 1967 World’s Fair. This new venue perfectly blended the high-speed straights needed for slipstreaming with tight, technical chicanes that challenged driver bravery. It was an instant hit among drivers and fans alike.

The Gilles Villeneuve Legacy

There is perhaps no race globally that is more deeply connected to the soul of a single driver. During the inaugural 1978 race at the new Montreal venue, local hero Gilles Villeneuve drove his Ferrari to a historic maiden win in frigid, near-freezing conditions. It was a fairy-tale moment that cemented Formula 1 within the sporting culture of Canada.

Following Villeneuve’s tragic death during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, the Montreal track was immediately renamed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in his honor. Today, his legacy lives on, with the words “Salut Gilles” painted across the start-finish line, welcoming every modern gladiator to the grid.

The Complete Canadian Grand Prix Winners List (1967–Present)

From Jack Brabham to George Russell, the list reads like a hall of fame for motorsport royalty. The table below presents the full and complete list of every driver who has conquered the Canadian Grand Prix since its official inclusion in the World Championship in 1967.

*Table displays official F1 World Championship winners. The race was not held in 1975, 1987, 2009, 2020, and 2021.

Canadian Grand Prix Winners: The Most Successful Drivers

Lewis Hamilton & Michael Schumacher (7 Wins Each)

To win consistently in Montreal, a driver must possess an innate feeling for heavy braking and aggressive kerb riding. It’s no surprise that the two most statistically successful drivers in F1 history share the record here. Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have each conquered this circuit an incredible seven times.

Schumacher’s victories were often defined by clinical precision and Ferrari’s strategic brilliance during the intense refueling era, pounding out qualifying-style laps to jump his rivals in the pits. Hamilton, conversely, announced himself to the world here. He burst onto the F1 scene in 2007 to claim his very first career pole position and victory at this exact circuit during his rookie season. Hamilton’s ability to dance the car through the chicanes without unsettling the rear axle remains a benchmark in modern telemetry analysis.

Max Verstappen & Nelson Piquet (The Modern and Classic Chasers)

Before Mercedes reclaimed the throne in 2025, Max Verstappen was the undisputed king of the Île Notre-Dame. The Dutchman executed a brutal three-peat (2022, 2023, and 2024), utilizing the Red Bull’s immense straight-line speed down the Casino Straight and his own flawless tire management to keep the pack at bay.

Verstappen shares elite company with the legendary Nelson Piquet, who also boasts three historical wins in Canada. Piquet’s 1991 victory for Benetton remains one of F1’s most famous finishes; he inherited the win on the final lap after his fierce rival Nigel Mansell bizarrely stalled his Williams while reportedly waving to the crowd.

The “Wall of Champions”: Montreal’s Ultimate Test

You cannot discuss the legacy of the Canadian Grand Prix winners without paying respect to the track’s most notorious feature: the final chicane at Turns 13 and 14. Drivers arrive at this intense braking zone at over 320 km/h. They must brutally decelerate, throw the car over the aggressive inside curbs, and apply throttle mere millimeters from an unforgiving concrete barrier.

This barrier earned its iconic moniker, the “Wall of Champions,” during the chaotic 1999 race. In that single Grand Prix, three established World Champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Jacques Villeneuve, all misjudged the exit and slammed their cars into the very same piece of concrete. It was an unprecedented sequence of errors from the grid’s finest.

Even four-time champion Sebastian Vettel became a victim during a Friday practice session in 2011, and Jenson Button famously clattered the wall in 2005. It stands today as the ultimate litmus test of concentration; overcook the corner by a fraction of a degree, and your weekend is instantly over.

Conclusion: The Unpredictable Nature of Montreal

The Canadian Grand Prix remains a crown jewel on the Formula 1 calendar precisely because it refuses to be tamed. Between unexpected groundhog invasions on the back straight, sudden torrential downpours, and the constant threat of the safety car, strategy algorithms are often thrown entirely out the window. Montreal separates the good from the great; it is a true test of a driver’s mettle, brake management, and raw courage.

We brace for the 2026 battle, and wait to see if George Russell can tame the new Mercedes upgrades to go back-to-back or if his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, takes charge in the championship battle. Or perhaps teams like Ferrari, McLaren or Red Bull have caught up with engineering and can offer direct competition to the championship favourites? One thing is for certain, it will be an interesting weekend in Canada.

Check out our Japanese Grand Prix Winners List or if you would like to know how does an F1 steering wheel work, we have an article about that too.