After 2024 'fiasco', Montreal aims to prove it's still the right city to host Formula 1

CBC

2 days ago

As the president of Scuderia Ferrari Club Montreal, Fabrizio Sciola might as well have motor oil coursing through his veins.
He lives for Grand Prix week and enjoys showing off Montreal and everything the city has to offer to other Ferrari lovers who come to town for the event. But 2024 was different.
"What happened last year was definitely a fiasco," Sciola says.
Heavy rains flooded the paddocks and working spaces for the Formula One teams at the track. Drivers were reportedly late for important meetings due to delays caused by poorly managed construction sites. Miscommunication between race organizers, the city, police and Montreal's transit authority led to issues accessing the track for ticket holders. Fans jumped barriers, invading the race track. Restaurant terrasses were shut down in the middle of dinner service by the fire department over bylaw violations.
"It was just a complete disaster and such an embarrassment, quite frankly," Sciola says.
Quebec Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx agreed, saying that she was " ashamed" of what she saw.
"It was a disaster," says Alain Creton, the president of the Peel Street merchants' association.
WATCH | 2025 F1 race could make or break the Canadian Grand Prix's fate:
Creton says his restaurant, Chez Alexandre, typically brings in between $100,000 to $200,000 in additional revenue on Formula One weekend, but much of that was lost last year after Montreal's fire service forced him to take down his terrasse tents because it was 18 inches too close to the main buildings.
"We were a victim of a perfect storm last year," says Sandrine Garneau, the COO of Octane Racing Group, the official race organizer and promoter. "A lot of what happened last year was due to miscommunication."
Pressure is on this year
The failures of the 2024 Grand Prix have called into question Montreal's commitment to hosting Formula One and the competence of the event's organizers.
"2025 is going to be a big test, everything will have to be absolutely impeccable, really, really sharp, no mishaps at all. But I'm not sure that that's enough to save the Canadian Grand Prix," says auto racing columnist Piero Facchin.
Coming into this edition, rumours are swirling that the future of Montreal's race could be in jeopardy.
Facchin says that with 24 races on the circuit, Formula One does not have room on its schedule to add more. But at the same time, places like Vietnam, Morocco, Argentina and Thailand are all angling to land a Grand Prix of their own.
In the past, the Canadian Grand Prix was the only stop for Formula One in North America. But today there are races in Las Vegas, Austin, Miami and Mexico City, lessening Montreal's geographical advantage.
Only weeks after the 2024 checkered flag dropped, Formula One officials were part of urgent meetings that included the local organizers, the City of Montreal and other stakeholders to establish the sequence of events that led to the event going so sideways.
François Dumontier, the longtime head of Octane, the race's organizer, resigned in August.
"It made us look quite bad and we've learned from that lesson," says Alia Hassan-Cournol, city councillor responsible for Montreal's economic development. "For this year we've changed a lot of things. We've worked all through the year with the partners and we're ready."
New app, Canadian feel this year
Formula One officials have taken a much more active role in the organization of the 2025 Grand Prix in Montreal.
"This is the first year that we've been accompanied by Formula One in the way that we have," says Garneau, the COO of Octane.
"This is kind of like you've been studying for an exam and now you need to deliver on that. So I wouldn't say that we're feeling the pressure. I'd say that we're incredibly motivated and incredibly stimulated."
She added that Octane has also consulted with other race organizers to learn more about how they run their Grand Prix.
This year, the experience at the track should be much improved with the implementation of a new app which will help guide and inform fans of entertainment options on site. There are also new colour-coded site maps, enhanced food options, and Garneau says the event will also feel much more Canadian, without being tacky.
"We are confident that this edition of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix will show the world what Canada is able to do," she says.
F1 'is here to stay'
Tourism Montreal says last year's race brought in 300,000 spectators and $162 million in economic windfall to local businesses.
City councillor Hassan-Cournol says in the last year, Montreal has overhauled how its departments communicate and that she is optimistic the problems of 2024 will not happen again.
"F1, I want to reassure everybody, is here to stay," Hassan-Cournol says.
Montreal's fire department says it's also made internal changes so there won't be a repeat of the Peel Street debacle.
Spokesperson Guy Lapointe says inspectors are now trained to help businesses find solutions to fire code violations, rather than just pointing them out. There is a 24/7 hotline to help settle disputes between businesses and inspectors and additional layers of administrative approval are required before a raid can be carried out.
Creton, the restaurateur, says communication has dramatically improved leading up to this year's Grand Prix, adding that terrasses on Peel Street are now permitted to be five feet larger, allowing for more tables and more customers.
"It's gonna be one of these beautiful Grand Prix and we want that to stay in Montreal indefinitely," he says.
Garneau says that despite the rumours, Canadian racing fans shouldn't worry about the immediate future of the Grand Prix. She points to the contract with Formula One that entitles Montreal to host the event until at least 2031 and calls it "set in stone."
But racing journalist Facchin isn't so sure.
"It's not set in stone. Technically it is. But anything can happen."
Facchin says 2025 is make or break for Montreal and beyond that, the best argument the city has is its historical connection to the sport that goes back to Gilles Villeneuve's dramatic victory in 1978.