F1 Montreal: What a whirlwind weekend looks like during the Montreal Grand Prix

The Montreal F1 weekend may have come and gone, but its high-octane intensity and non-stop action still lingers on the back end into the summer.

Daily Hive had the chance to visit the only Canadian stop on the Grand Prix calendar – hosted by Montreal since 1978 – last June, the city’s first return-to-normal event since being canceled for several consecutive years due to the pandemic. .

It’s hard to categorize Formula 1 fans as sports fans because they are so much more than that. Perhaps the best comparison is Deadheads – the nickname given to the faithful band of those who followed the Grateful Dead from town to town on their tours.

While a tourist might yearn to see the latest tourist trap a city has to offer, a Deadhead was eager to hear that night’s setlist. Visit any Grand Prix and you are sure to meet fans who have visited several over the years or even this year.

The Montreal Grand Prix is ​​like that. An entire city devoted to F1 (or at least pretending to the name of non-stop street parties across the island).

The city-wide celebration of Montreal takes place over three days: free practice on Friday, qualifying races on Saturday and the main event on Sunday.

While the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a sight to behold (it sits on an artificial island known as Parc Jean-Drapeau, with a beautiful backdrop of the Biosphere and the Montreal skyline) – it is customary for an F1 visitor to fill time with other parts of Montreal, which uses the Grand Prix to propel itself as a world-class summer city.

Here’s a quick recap of the highlights, events and restaurants of a whirlwind whirlwind weekend at the Grand Prix de Montreal – the city’s unofficial hallmark of a seemingly endless summer festival season.

Friday

You probably flew out on Thursday and just checked into your Airbnb or hotel. Either way, hopefully you’re close to Old Town Montreal or one of the F1 street party venues. No matter where you are staying, take comfort in Montreal’s fantastic metro system, as a station will always be relatively close. I hope you’re reading this a few months before race day, because you’ll need plenty of time to book dinner reservations at Joe Beef.

Joe Beef is more of an institution than a restaurant – one of those places that can stand neck and neck with any other top restaurant in the world. A word of advice: let the server know your dietary restrictions and let them take the wheel to order for your table. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable about all the dishes and our server created the perfect dinner.

From one Montreal institution to another, you’ll want to dress to impress and head to Bar George, located within Le Mount Stephen hotel. Bar Georges is as grand and classy as it gets, and specializes in Scottish and British cuisine, but mostly good times. It fills up very quickly, so you’ll need reservations here too – maybe a table; that way you’re not in the middle of the crowd outside waiting to get in. Grand Prix weekend is, as you’d expect, very busy, and Bar George is packed. Bar George is separated into a few different rooms, and each was filled neck and neck with revelers. Nicely decorated for the Grand Prix weekend in a Alice in Wonderland theme throughout, even if it wasn’t, the space looks incredibly regal.

Saturday

You’ll probably be spending a bit more time on the racetrack on Saturday to take part in practice and GP qualifying, which means you’ll have enough of an appetite as you wander around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. We recommend you visit the official F1 Street Party facilities, grab a bite to eat, admire the crowd and enjoy a cold drink or two before heading to dinner. Saturday night started off fantastic The Farsids for a few appetizers and small bites. From here you are a few minutes walk from the inspired Great Gatsby Bord’Elle; where you will enjoy dinner, drinks and the nightclub atmosphere as the night goes on.

Bord’Elle has three different spaces – there’s the ground floor, with tables around a 360-degree bar, plus two smaller rooms – the whiskey lounge and the champagne lounge – each with its own dedicated bar. The service experience is consistent no matter which room you are in, and that evening we found ourselves in the whiskey lounge. Sitting in leather sofas, walls lined with bookshelves and seats overlooking the main room below.

The setting is very Gatsby-esque – even the balloon bouquets look opulent. Throughout the main room you will be treated to burlesque dancers, visible from all corners of the room. The halls were filled with friendly faces and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, there might have been an F1 driver having dinner before race day – so you know you’ve come to the right place. Clearly Bord’Elle attracts quite a diverse crowd – the bottle service was enjoyed by many faces, young and old. One of the highlights of Bord’Elle was the music – a fanfare-infused dance mix filled the venue and was unique enough to stand out on the weekend.

After Bord’Elle, we knew we’d regret not going to one of the hottest parties of the weekend – the Maxim Magazine Grand Prix party featuring performances by Wyclef Jean and T-Pain in the old railway station, Windsor Station. The venue was filled with performance artists and interactive street art displays, including a graffiti-wrapped Williams race car and, of course, revelers. The highlight of the night by far was T-Pain, who performed a series of fast, high-energy hits that had the crowd bouncing. Fingers crossed that the party returns for the next Montreal Grand Prix.

Sunday

You’ve made it to race day, congratulations!

The majority of your afternoon and perhaps early evening will be spent at the racetrack. We recommend starting your day in the old town and perhaps enjoying a full English breakfast and a pint at Wolf and Workman, a real English pub, with tons of seating.

After the race, once you’ve rested from all the lineups and walked, you’ll probably want to spend another night of Montreal’s friendly nightlife. You can’t go wrong with Yoko Luna – Canada’s Largest Supper Club.