Grandstand 11 or 12. This is turn 1 and 2. You can see the main straight, start/finish line, pit exit and the turns which always produce some excitement, especially at the start. It's a long walk from the Metro, but worth it IMHO. I sat at the hairpin on the other end of the circuit one year, but didn't like looking (or shooting) through the fence, and the long runoff area kept us further from the action than I wanted.
When you order the tickets Gold 1 as high up as you can get. You get a great view of the entire grid. The walk to the Metro is a killer, get your hotel rooms early.
having difficulty walking,is there a hotel at track, if not other than std. transportation, are their options to seating transportation taxi helo etc that would go directly seat. are boxes available. full of questions i know. old man here, very difficult to travel
I recommend stand 15 at the hairpin. Great view of the cars both coming and going, and you'll actually see some passing. And they now have a Jumbotron right opposite the stand, so you can see what's going on everywhere else. And it's one of the closest to the Metro station, a much shorter walk than anything near the start-finish line. Second choice is stand 24 at the exit of the hairpin. I used to sit at the start-finish and never did see anyone pass anyone on the track. It's good if you want to see the pit stops and the victory ceremony.
There is a Casino at the track. Better shop your Hotels the prices are insane. You can take a taxi to the track, but you still have a long walk, it drops you off at the bridge going over to the track. The metro station goes right to the track, fast and easy. There also is a Ferry which will take you to the Old Port. Expect a 1/2 hour walk to your seats. But it is a beautiful track and the people are great, it is worth the walk you will really enjoy it.
I sat in section 6 Gold 1-2 this year and was directly across from the Ferrari pit and the start/finish line. Great seats but I don't know how the other sections were (first time in Montreal). The metro is the only way to go in Montreal. Although after the race this year getting on it was a nightmare.
You'll probably want to get seats in the Casino hairpin section of the track, and definitely talk to the hotel to arrange transportation. There's an access road there, but usage is restricted. At the very least, if you end up on Metro that section will save you from making the mile-long walk to the other end.
Has anyone heard anything about advance ticket sales yet, I was told it would be this week from someone at the office sales.
What you do is fax in your seat requests along with CC info, and then call to confirm receipt of info. Upon confirmation of race date, they will bill your card for the tickets. If you have a specific seat request, they usually honor the previous years ticket holder first. They will get you as close to your request as possible.
I did that exact thing 2 days after the race. I was wondering when they plan to actually process the seat request and do all of the accounting.
http://www.crash.net/motorsport/f1/news/165395-0/fia_reveals_provisional_2009_f1_calendar.html If you try to book hotels in Montreal the prices have already been assigned for the race day of June 7th. Some hotels are already sold out.
I've been going to this grand prix for years (on and off) and sat everywhere from general admission to the paddocks... But I have to say that the hairpin is where everything happens: Alesi when he won his only race stopped there to greet the crowd, Mansell when he should have won in 91 stalled there, this year Massa did his famous 2-car overtaking there... Best seats used to be grandstands 15 facing the curve, but they moved the grandstands back so you should choose either 21 (the best because they finish their braking and turn) or 24 (where they accelerate after braking) Cheers. Image Unavailable, Please Login
They messed up Grandstand 12 by putting that High Priced Grandstand in front of it. You use to be able look directly down the pit straight.
For post-race winding down we bring a few adult beverages, this allows us to take our time getting to the marshall's post-race beer party. By the time we head for the metro there's no crowd at all! On the other hand it's a big city with tons of Bed & Breakfasts, we haven't stayed at a hotel for 10 years.
This year, took the car for all 3 days, it was much faster than metro... Don't forget to bring cooler (on wheels) for drinks and food, suntan lotion for the nice weather ;-)
def recommend 11 and 12. funny about sitting up high. i bought high seats, 5 rows from the top and actually preferred sitting lower. all of the seaTS are over the fence, so that's not a problem like the hairpin (have sat there too). so i would suggest 11 or 12 down as low as possible. truth is, since i was taking pics, i never sat in my seats anyway. i was on the grassy hill in front of 11 most of the time. i would think the first couple of rows down low in 11 would be the best. if you are a bit of a gambler, i would wait till a week or two before the event and look around on this site and ebay. you will be able to get tickets and hotel for face value or less. i even had a hard time getting rid of one of my tickets and i bought them for face value one week before going. people book their hotel rooms and they are non refundable. when they can't go they are stuck giving them up cheap.
