The 2005 Canadian Grand Prix set a Formula One television viewership record with 51 million viewers, with Räikkönen winning for McLaren.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren)
- TV viewership
- 51 million viewers
- Race length
- 70 laps
- Season round
- 8th round of 2005 F1 season
- Canadian GP running
- 43rd
- 2nd place
- Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 2005 Formula One season was fiercely contested, with Renault's Fernando Alonso leading the Drivers' Championship and McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen mounting a challenge. Both Renaults entered the eighth round in Montreal as the constructors' points leaders, while Räikkönen had won three of the previous four races heading into Canada.
On 12 June 2005, Kimi Räikkönen won the 70-lap race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello completing the podium for Ferrari. Both Renault cars retired from the race, leaving their drivers unable to score points in what became the most-watched Formula One race in history.
Despite the Renault retirements, Fernando Alonso retained his lead in the Drivers' Championship and Renault maintained their lead in the Constructors' Championship, though the gap between Alonso and Räikkönen narrowed by ten points. The race's record 51 million television viewers demonstrated the sport's growing global audience.