Oh boy, Canada

One of the hazards of the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, which sits on the man-made Notre Dame Island in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, is the local population of groundhogs. And yes, sometimes there is roadkill during the race, most recently last year when Sir Lewis Hamilton’s car collected one of the critters, leaving the driver devastated. Reposez en paix, groundhog. It was not your day.

Last year’s race was also when Lando Norris decided he would run up the back of his teammate Oscar Piastri’s car for no good reason. Thrills and spills.

The island began life as the home of the 1967 Expo 67 World’s Fair. The Expo World Fair was a big thing back in the day. Now you can visit any country you like on your phone. Same with the F1.

Gilles Villeneuve was a Canadian F1 driver who raced for Ferrari and died during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982. His son Jacques Villeneuve was also a racer and now is an expert commentator on the Sky race coverage. Family dynasties are prevalent in this sport.

This design features the red and white of the Canadian flag and the red, orange and yellow of maple leaves, the golden-brown of maple syrup and the grey of the tarmac, with some river water for effect.

Each of these designs takes hours to complete and some come together quickly, while others (edit, this one) take quite a long time. We’re off to Monaco next and that design is already imprinted on my brain.