Montreal F1: The Fan Experience

Since 1990, I’ve attended hundreds of races as a journalist—but rarely as a fan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of all forms of motorsports. But when I’m at a track, most of the time, I’m there to work.

I made an exception during the recent Montreal GP F1 weekend. The Netflix series has gotten my wife (Melody) and me engaged to the point where we thought it would be fun to experience a race weekend in person, as fans. This is a story and some galleries about our experience.

In short: it was fantastic. All of it.

More than just a race, it was a three-day party/festival that brought the entire city to life.

We arrived downtown late Thursday afternoon. Our hotel was on Crescent Street, just below where the main Grand Prix Street Festival was happening. Once we checked in, we parked the car—and didn’t go near it again until after the race on Sunday.

The only exception to the “not working” thing was the excellent Puma/Aston Martin event I attended Thursday evening. Held at the beautiful Dorsia Restaurant in Old Montreal, the event featured an incredible five-course meal with premium wine and cocktail pairings from the LVMH (Louis Vuitton/Moët Hennessy) portfolio.

Alongside great food and company, former World Champion Fernando Alonso made a brief appearance for a Q&A and photo session. Aston Martin’s Head of F1 Academy and Driver Ambassador, Jessica Hawkins, spoke after Alonso. An impressive young woman, she shared stories about driving an F1 car and her experiences across various forms of racing. Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak (7 Olympic medals!) was also there, celebrating her 25th birthday! It was a memorable night—and a fun kickoff to the F1 weekend.

And once dinner was over, I was officially “off the clock” for the weekend.

To get around, we bought three-day Metro passes—highly recommended. A labour disruption had threatened the transit system, but thankfully, subways and buses continued running during F1 weekend. Without transit, I can’t imagine how the event would have gone ahead. Or at least, not with full grandstands.

I don’t know the exact numbers, but it felt like 95% of attendees arrived at the track via the Metro. The closest station to the track is Jean-Drapeau, located on Île Sainte-Hélène—adjacent to Île Notre-Dame, home of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

I’ve been to the Daytona 500 and many large sporting events, and the crowds in Montreal felt just as massive. The promoter reported a three-day attendance of 352,000. I believe it.

Every practice and qualifying session on Friday and Saturday had packed grandstands, just like the main event on Sunday. We sat in Grandstand 34, on the inside of the hairpin (Turn 10), so we could witness the incredible braking and acceleration—and hopefully some passing. It did not disappoint.

The only downside—and I’m sure the promoters will smile reading this—was how tight the seating was. Every hard, aluminum seat was filled, and the bench space per person was very limited. You were literally shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, and knee to back with those around you. I now sympathize with sardines.

And God help you if your row had a few Kim Kardashian-types in it. People were literally spilling into the aisles. Pro tip: bring seat cushions! Our sore bums sent us to Dollarama, near our hotel, after Friday’s sessions. We paid $4 for foam pads, which beat the $45 CGV cushions at the concession stands. Bonus: our cheap, goofy seat cushions got a few laughs throughout the weekend.

Speaking of crowds—as Toronto tries to fine-tune its new Rogers Stadium venue in Downsview Park, it’s impressive how smoothly Montreal handles 115,000+ people per day. No one complained about the 20+ minute walk from the Metro station to the track. The flow of people through fences and pathways was clearly the result of decades of fine-tuning. Well done.

The weather was incredible all three days: blue skies, 20°C, and a light breeze off the St. Lawrence River. Apparently, that’s rare for Montreal GP weekend—no complaints from us!

After spending Friday at the track, we returned to the hotel and headed up to Crescent Street for the street festival. It felt like the entire crowd from the track—plus more—was there. We made a point to see The Hip Trip, a Tragically Hip tribute band. They delivered a fantastic one-hour set of high-energy classics. The lead singer did Gord Downie proud.

After the concert, we kicked off our Montreal smoked meat tasting tour. Friday’s stop was Reuben’s Deli & Steakhouse on Sainte-Catherine Street—delicious and close to the action. Saturday night, we walked up St. Laurent to Schwartz’s (the best!). And after the race on Sunday, we stopped at Smoke Meat Pete’s on Hwy. 20 in L’Île-Perrot. I’m drooling again just thinking about it.

Back at the track, there was plenty to do and enjoy. The sponsor activations were great—DJs, lounge areas, food and drink stalls. The $14 Heineken Silver tallboys felt like buying overpriced water, but they were the only game in town—and probably helped keep the crowd relatively sober.

As for the racing—it was excellent. There’s nothing like F1 cars: the speed, the braking, the acceleration. Even qualifying is something to behold—the way cars weave around each other, some flying, others crawling, all on the same track at the same time. It’s almost terrifying.

George Russell won on Sunday, in a race highlighted by the McLarens colliding with each other. Lewis Hamilton’s race went south after hitting a gopher on the way into the hairpin. Yes, a gopher. I know they’re a known “thing” at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but it was wild to see how many were darting across or near the track. I’m shocked they don’t round them up for the weekend.

The F1 Academy and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America support races were also very entertaining.

When the checkered flag flew at 4 p.m. Sunday, we skipped the podium ceremonies and headed straight for the exit. By 5 p.m., we were back in our car on Crescent Street and headed home to Toronto. Again, kudos to Montreal and the organizers for how efficiently they move crowds. Bravo.

Looking back, it was an incredible experience. If you get the chance, I highly recommend doing it at least once. We’re already thinking about doing it all again next year.