Montreal Grand Prix preview

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The next round of the 2011 Formula 1 season sees the carnival make its way to Montreal in Quebec, Canada.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel will be looking for his sixth win in seven races, a record that has prompted Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to say that the German has "nearly" won the title.

One of those victories was at the last Grand Prix in Monaco, and although they may both have temporary waterside locations, there aren’t many similarities between the event in the French Riviera principality and the forthcoming Canadian round.

Whilst the cars wound their way around Monte Carlo’s tight and twisty seaside streets, in Montreal they will be unleashed around a riverside track dominated by long straights and low-speed chicanes.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was renamed in honour of the Formula One driver following his death in 1982. His son Jacques went onto win the F1 drivers title himself, and he is still a key figure in Canadian motor racing.

One of his business enterprises includes The Jacques Villeneuve Driving Academy, based at Circuit ICAR, an ultramodern complex for motorsports located 20 minutes north of Montreal. The complex offers several ASN/FIA approved car circuits and a 1 km karting track designed by the former world F1 champion himself.

Designed to be more than just a race track, Circuit ICAR promises a unique and exciting environment for automobile enthusiasts from around the world, including advanced and controlled environment driving and racing programs.

So reach for your helmet, pull on your racing suit and put the pedal to the floor – it’s time to get those engines started!