Canadian GP promoter: New pit building 'almost a miracle'

Canadian Grand Prix promoter François Dumontier says Montreal's new pit complex was completed in the nick of time after the building's 10-month construction was delayed by Quebec's harsh winter.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was overdue for an upgrade of its aging infrastructure, and last year a CAN $60m budget sourced from the city of Montreal and Quebec's local government allowed for the necessary work to be undertaken.

However, Dumontier admitted that getting the new pit building completed on time for this weekend's seventh round of the F1 world championship was a massive challenge.

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"It was certainly a challenge. To construct something like this in 10 months, especially with our winter conditions… It’s almost a miracle," said the Canadian.

"And this past winter was a tough one, even for us! But we succeeded. It was a nice challenge and we’re really proud of the final product.

"All the parties were really keen to do it. They understood the importance of building a new facility, not only for the practical reasons of providing teams with great facilities and for hosting guests, but also for the image of Montreal in the championship and around the world.

"I can’t wait for the TVs around the world to show the new building. It’s going to be a great store window for Montreal."

The huge revamp did not include any changes to the track's layout, although the pitlane has been altered, with a slight reduction in width.

"It was really important that we didn’t change the track layout, so we worked within the same perimeter," he added.

"The building is only 30 feet longer but in terms of the width it is much larger.

"With the approval of the FIA we had to make the pit lane 10 feet narrower and we gained 35 feet behind the garage towards the rowing basin."

Dumontier said the Canadian Grand Prix will remain a highlight on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's annual schedule, but the new pit building will also lend itself to other events.

"Formula 1 will be the main user of the building, but during the rest of the year, they will rent spaces in the complex for a variety of other events.

"The media centre can operate as a multi-functional space, and as far as I understand there are already a number of events planned for the building."

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