I sat in the Lance Stroll Grandstand at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix. This is my review of this stand, and my guide for all other fans who are thinking about sitting here for the Montreal F1 race.
This stand is also known as Grandstand 24 and gives incredible close-up views of one of the best overtaking spots at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
It’s also one of the most expensive grandstands at the Montreal Formula 1 race. But is it worth it? Yes.
In this guide I provide all the details you need to know about this standing include example videos of the view, a seating chart, ticket info and my tips on getting the best seats.
Contents
Lance Stroll Grandstand Location
The Lance Stroll Grandstand used to be known as Grandstand 24. A few years ago it was renamed in honour of the Canadian F1 driver currently racing for the Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes team (which his father Lawrence Stroll owns).
The grandstand is located on the outside (left-hand side) of the Montreal Grand Prix track directly at the exit of the Turn 10 Hairpin.
The grandstand runs parallel with the track after it exits the hairpin. The part of the stand on the extreme right hand side actually extends past the end of the track in to the run-off area.
The stand is also directly in front of the river, so if you’re in the back row you can turn around and look at the water right behind you.
Lance Stroll Grandstand tickets - Canadian Grand Prix
Tickets for the Lance Stroll Grandstand at the Montreal Grand Prix sell out pretty much as soon as they’re released on the official Canadian GP website.
So in that case I recommend doing what I did and buying your tickets through Stubhub as they will have tickets for sale right up until the last minute, even if they’re sold out elsewhere.
I used Stubhub for my tickets to the Lance Stroll grandstand last year. I bought them around 10 days before the race and for a Friday-only ticket I paid just $60CAD – bargain! And there’s lots of bargains to be had in the run up to the race, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
They also have a FanProtect guarantee which will protect your money – good for extra peace of mind.
Lance Stroll Grandstand details
Cover
The Lance Stroll Grandstand is completely uncovered. It has no roof over the top so if you’re spectating from here you’ll be fully exposed to the elements. Make sure you bring wet weather clothing and / or sun screen!
Seats
The seats are bleacher style bench seats with no backrest. These can get pretty uncomfortable so bring a small cushion to sit on.
TV Screens
The Jumbotron 4-sided screen is in front of this grandstand on the inside of the Hairpin. The screen is directly ahead of section 8 of the stand.
If you’re sat off to either side of this section, you can also view the screen on one of the other sides of the Jumbotron.
Lance Stroll Grandstand Seat Map
Below is the seat map for the Lance Stroll Grandstand at the Canadian Grand Prix. Click the image to view it larger.
As the seating chart shows the Lance Stroll Grandstand is made up of 13 different sections. The section numbers are higher the further to the right in the stand you go (as you stand on the circuit and look up at the stand). Sections 1 and 13 are only half the width of all the other sections.
Seat numbers start at 1 at the beginning of each section and increase as you go to the right.
The rows are named with letters. The front row lowest down is named AA. The second row back is named BB and that continues all the way up to row UU.
After that, the next row back is named Row A and that continues all the way up to the very back row at the top of the stand which is Row Z.
Lance Stroll Grandstand views
The map below shows the areas of the track visible from this grandstand highlighted in pink.
This stand has probably the best view of any grandstand at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve of the Turn 10 Hairpin. There is literally no-run off area on the corner exit, it’s just a concrete wall the other side of which is this grandstand. So the stand is right on top of the track.
The view to the left of the stand is blocked by some adjacent trees, so wherever you sit you’ll lose the cars out of sight just as they go around the little kink to the left which is Turn 11.
Your view and perspective of the track does change a little depending on where exactly you sit in the stand, from left to right.
If you sit in sections 1 or 2 you’ll have the large run-off area directly in front of you and will have to look to your left slightly to see the track.
If you sit in sections 3 or 4 you’ll be directly next to hairpin and will be looking straight down on the action at the apex of the corner. Plus these are probably the sections with the best angle to see the F1 cars earlier as they come around the curve approaching the Hairpin on the other side of the track.
The other thing to consider is how high you want to sit in this grandstand. If you sit in the front row you’ll be incredibly close to the action, but the view of the track directly in front of you will be slightly obscured by the safety fence.
Whereas if you go further back and higher up in the stand you’ll be able to look completely over the top of the safety fence and will have a wider, more panoramic view of this section of the circuit, but going higher up does mean your view of the curve on the other side of the track is more easily blocked by Grandstand 34.
In my video below I’ve filmed the view from a different seats in every section so you can see how the perspective changes.
The clips in this video were filmed from the following positions at the listed timestamps:
- 00:11 – 00:34 Section 1 Row Z Seat 1
- 00:34 – 00:47 Section 1 Row KK Seat 4
- 00:47 – 00:55 Section 2 Row D Seat 17
- 00:55 – 01:04 Section 3 Row H Seat 20
- 01:04 – 01:17 Section 4 Row R Seat 14
- 01:17 – 01:29 Section 5 Row K Seat 14
- 01:29 – 01:39 Section 6 Row X Seat 6
- 01:39 – 01:51 Section 6 Row C Seat 15
- 01:51 – 01:59 Section 7 Row JJ Seat 14
- 01:59 – 02:10 Section 8 Row AA Seat 3
- 02:10 – 02:22 Section 8 Row N Seat 18
- 02:22 – 02:32 Section 9 Row ZZ Seat 14
- 02:32 – 02:43 Section 10 Row M Seat 6
- 02:43 – 02:53 Section 11 Row R Seat 5
- 02:53 – 03:12 Section 12 Row Z Seat 5
- 03:12 – 03:19 Section 13 Row U Seat 1
- 03:19 – 03:31 Section 13 Row QQ Seat 1
- 03:31 – 03:45 Section 13 Row AA Seat 1
Best Seats in the Lance Stroll Grandstand
There aren’t really any bad seats here. But in my opinion the best seats in the Lance Stroll Grandstand are those in sections 3, 4 and 5, directly in line with the apex of the Turn 10.
These put you on top of the action at the Hairpin and also give you a good vantage point for seeing the cars coming around the curve across the circuit.
How high you should sit in the stand depends on personal preference. If you want to feel like you’re right in amongst the action and don’t mind looking through the safety fence then go for rows as near the front of the stand as you can get.
If you prefer a wider view of the action and want to be able to clearly see over the barrier in the middle of the circuit then go for the higher rows. That’s what I’d be doing. Rows A and up is what I’d aim for.
Is the Lance Stroll Grandstand a good place to sit at the Montreal Grand Prix?
The Lance Stroll Granstand is a great place to sit to watch the Canadian Grand Prix. It’s a huge grandstand with a great atmosphere, plus you’ve got the perfect view of one of the most exciting points on the circuit. There’s always a lot of overtaking action to be seen at the Hairpin.
If you sit far to the left in the stand (as you look at the track) you also get a great sense of the speed of the F1 cars and how powerful their brakes are as they decelerate massively in an incredibly short distance.
Plus directly behind this stand there’s load of food and drinks vendors and some shade, so it’s perfectly located to take a break from the sun and grab some food.
This isn’t a cheap grandstand but it’s the same price as Grandstand 21 which is directly opposite. It’s more expensive than Grandstand 15 which is at the end of the big run-off area at the Hairpin but that one feels much further away from the circuit.
Nearest entrance
The nearest entrance to the Lance Stroll Grandstand at the Montreal Grand Prix is the Cosmos entrance gate.
Once you walk in the entrance take a left turn. Keep walking and you’ll reach this stand in just a few minutes.
See my guide to the Canada GP entrance gates for more information.
For full details on how to get to the circuit for the Grand Prix weekend, check out my Canada F1 travel guide.
Other Canadian GP Grandstands
Check out my guides to all of the other Canadian Grand Prix grandstands as a comparison:
Thank you for this awesome and detailed write up. I secured my tickets yesterday based on all the information you posted here, and kept referencing it frequently while I was in the ticket queue and on the page. Nice work.
Great stuff, glad to be of help!
It looks like Section 1 is the worst section to be in? I have Section 1-Row N in the Lance Stroll GS. I’m worried that I won’t be able to see much of the action?
Section 1 will be good, you’ll be at the hairpin end of the stand and will have good views from Row N. Enjoy!
Thank you!
Hi, thanks for this extremely thorough website! On the stubhub listings, they don’t specify which section of this grandstand the tickets will be in. is there anyway to tell by the seat number? I assume not but thought I’d ask, thank you in advance!
Hi Yuko, some listings do and some listings don’t specify it. And it depends on the grandstand – Grandstand 11, for example, is split up by section on their website.
any opinion on section 11 row JJ ? good view there?
Hi Remi, yeah that should be a pretty good seat!
What are your thoughts on Lance Stroll stand section 13, row E? Is it better than the same section but row CC?
Hi Ioana, I’d always go for the highest seats possible, so row E would be my choice.
I managed to snag a couple tickets at GS24 section 11 row G – hoping the section and row will be good. I’m guessing it’s not feasible to think we can make the podium ceremony from GS24 once the race is close to wrapping up/finishes?
Well done! Yeah you guys are quite a long way from the podium, you’d have to leave your seats probably 30 minutes for the race ends.
Thanks for your detailed write-up! I already have tickets for Grandstand 33, Section 5, Row LL, but I just got an email from Grand Prix Canada saying I can buy seats in Grandstand 24, Section 11, Row DD. The T24 tickets would cost about 50% more.
Based on your experience, do you think it’s worth upgrading to T24, or should I stick with my T33 seats?
Thanks again for all the great info you share. It’s made it much easier to understand the track and the viewing options.
Hi Oleg. You might see a little bit more action in T24 being at the hairpin, the slowest part of the track. But would I pay 50% more? Probably not, I’d be happy with the T33 tickets.