The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, nestled on Montreal’s Notre Dame Island, is renowned for its scenic views and unforgiving corners. One such corner is the infamous Turn 14. Back in the day, a cheerful billboard reading ‘Bienvenue au Quebec’ (Welcome to Quebec) greeted every driver at the exit of Turn 14. It turned out that the wall where the billboard was placed, wrapped around the outside of the final bend, was nothing ordinary. It was a three-foot-thick concrete barrier with a seemingly magnetic pull, attracting world champions with uncanny regularity.
The wall earned its nickname “Wall of Champions” when it took out three world champions in one race: Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Jacques Villeneuve. It was the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix. Damon Hill struck the wall on lap 14, causing damage to his Jordan’s suspension. On lap 29, Michael Schumacher oversteered and crashed. Then, on lap 34, Jacques Villeneuve smacked into the barriers after a clumsy manoeuvre over the curbs.
Canada being a high-speed track with a low grip surface demands a mix of bravery and precision from the drivers to navigate through the tough parts of the circuit while also delivering faster lap times. The final chicane is one of the trickiest parts of the racetrack due to the wall’s proximity to the racing line. It is usually the right-hander of the right-left chicane at Turn 13 that determines whether a driver will end up hitting the wall or not.
In 2005, the silky-smooth Jenson Button crashed out of third place when he understeered his BAR going into the chicane. He went on to redeem himself in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix with a famous win in a rain-affected race. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel ran into the Wall of Champions on Friday during free practice the same weekend. In total, five world champions have crashed into that iconic wall thus far.
Numerous well-known drivers have also fallen victim to this infamous barrier. Rubens Barrichello in 2001, Juan Pablo Montoya in 2006, Bruno Senna in 2012, Carlos Sainz in 2016, Kevin Magnussen in 2019, to name a few.
As the cars go racing in Montreal this weekend, world champions like Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen must watch out for the danger of this wall, seeing its notorious past.
“It’s a corner that demands respect. You can’t afford to lose focus for even a split second.”
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso on the challenge posed by the final chicane.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve stays steadfast, silently observing the courage and speed of the drivers under the watchful sky. As the speed intensifies and tension mounts, the Wall of Champions stands proud, representing the unwavering pursuit of racing. Legends are created and tales are etched into history under its unwavering hold. The world will be watching as fresh stories are told this weekend, but the Wall will remain ever-vigilant and ever-powerful, keeping its secrets.