Image credit CPChurch87
The Family Grandstand at the Montreal Grand Prix provides spectators views of turns 6 and 7 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The grandstand is located in the Family Zone where there’s numerous activities to keep kids occupied when not watching the racing.
In previous years children under the age of 15 had been able to sit in this grandstand for free. Unfortunately that’s no longer the case for the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix.
This article provides a complete guide to the Family Grandstand including a seating plan, examples of the view, tips on getting the best seat and ticket price information.
Contents
Family Grandstand Location - Montreal Grand Prix
The Family Grandstand, also known as Grandstand 33, is located on the inside (right-hand side) of the Montreal Grand Prix track next to Turns 6 and 7.
The grandstand is facing back up the circuit towards Turns 5 and 6. The cars will come directly towards this grandstand as they brake for Turn 6.
The grandstand is also in the Family Zone at the Candian Grand Prix. In previous years this has had lots of activities to keep children and youngsters occupied included bounce houses, video games and Zorb balls amongst other things.
It’s also adjacent to Grandstand 32 which is positioned at 90 degrees to this stand alongside the braking zone for Turn 6.
Family Grandstand tickets for Canadian Grand Prix
Previously children under the age of 15 were able to sit in the Family Grandstand with their parents for free.
Unfortunately, starting from the 2024 Montreal Grand Prix, that’s no longer the case. Children under 11 will have to pay a slightly reduced rate and children over 11 will have to pay the full grandstand seat price.
Additionally people over 65 now have to pay full price too, whereas they used to be offered a discounted rate.
Below is the pricelist for the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix.
As the price list shows, a 3-day weekend seat in the Family Grandstand costs $400 CAD (up from $365 in 2023). Children under 11 will now have to pay $300 CAD.
That makes a huge difference to a family attending the race. In 2023 a family of four (2 parents and 2 ten year old kids) would have paid $730 CAD to attend and sit in this grandstand. In 2024 it will cost $1400, almost double the price.
See our analysis on the Canadian Grand Prix ticket price increases for a more detailed looked at how much they’ve increased by in recent years.
Tickets can be purchased through the official Canadian Grand Prix website and usually go on sale in the July or August the year before the race.
Tickets for this grandstand also give you full Montreal Grand Prix General Admission access around the rest of the circuit.
Family Grandstand details
Cover
The Family Grandstand at the Montreal Grand Prix is completely uncovered. It’s open to the elements so make sure you bring suitable weather protection, both from the sun and the rain!
Seats
The seats are bleacher style bench seats with no backrests. These are pretty uncomfortable so bring a small cushion or something soft to sit on.
TV Screens
There are two large TV screens on the other side of the circuit that are visible to spectators sat in the Family Grandstand. They’re at a slight angle to each other meaning you can see one wherever you’re sat.
Family Grandstand Seating Chart Montreal Grand Prix
Below is the seating chart for the Family Grandstand at the Montreal Grand Prix.
As the seating chart shows the grandstand is made up of 7 sections. In previous years sections 4, 5, 6 and 7 have been half the height of sections 1, 2 and 3. For the 2024 it’s expected that all sections will be full height.
The rows are named with letters. The front row is AA, the second row is BB and that continues until the 26th row which is ZZ. After that the 27th row is A, the 28th is B and that continues until the 52nd row which is row Z, the back row.
The seat numbers start from 1 at the beginning of each section and increase as you go to the right of the stand.
Family Grandstand views
The map below shows the areas of the track visible from this grandstand highlighted in pink.
As the map shows, you’re mainly able to see Turns 6 and 7. You lose the cars out of sight after Turn 7 as they pass the right hand side of the stand. Unless you sit in the extreme right-hand seat of section 7, then you can turn and watch the cars as they pass the stand.
If you sit in one of the sections on the left hand side of the stand (as you look at the circuit) you can see more of the cars as they approach Turn 6, and even as they exit Turn 5.
If you sit on the extreme left hand side of section 1 however, it’s almost a little too far to the left as the trees on the inside of the circuit block your view of Turn 5 slightly.
As an example, the video below was filmed from section 1, row E, seat 24.
Whereas the video below was filmed from section 2, row S, seat 25. This has the perfect angle to see as much of Turn 5 as possible.
Once you get to section 3 and higher you start to lose sight of Turn 5. The video below was filmed from section 3 row E.
And this next video below was filmed from section 5.
The safety fence is pretty tall in front of this grandstand so you’ll have to be looking through some of it whichever row you pick, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
Even in the top row the fence is still present. The video below was filmed from section 2 row Z (the back row).
Best Seats in the Family Grandstand?
The best seats in the Family Grandstand at the Montreal Grand Prix are those in section 2. As the videos above show, from that section you get the best angle of the exit of Turn 5.
Personally I’d go for seats in the middle to upper part of section 2. I’d aim for anything above row A.
Is the Family Grandstand a good place to sit at the Montreal Grand Prix?
Turns 6 and 7 aren’t the most exciting or action-packed parts of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Not a lot of overtaking happens here but occasionally there’s some drama in the first couple of laps.
That’s exactly what happened at the start of the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix, when Lance Stroll and Brendan Hartley crashed on the way in to Turn 6. Here’s a video of the crash from section 2 of the Family Grandstand.
Now that kids no longer get to sit in this grandstand for free, you may as well look at some other options.
If you want to sit in a spot where you’re likely to see more overtaking, try one of the grandstands around the Hairpin at Turn 10. Grandstand 34 is pretty much the same price as this stand and offers great views.
Nearest entrance
The nearest entrance to the Family Grandstand is the Concorde entrance. Once you pass through the gates, you will have to walk for around 15 minutes on the infield of the circuit to get to the grandstand.
See our guide to the Canada GP entrance gates for more information.
For details on how to get to the circuit for the Formula One weekend, check out our full Canada F1 travel guide.
Other Canadian GP Grandstands
Check out our guides to all of the other Canadian Grand Prix grandstands as a comparison:
This has been tremendously helpful in buying our tickets today. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment, glad it was useful! Did you manage to get the seats you were after?
Yes we did! Thanks Townhouse!
Yes, my friends and I hopped on a Teams call to discuss. We were looking at 31 initially, then pivoted to 32 based on a friend’s desire to see some non hairpin action (ruling out 34). After reading you 32 write up and showing my friends your report, we decided that the Family Section was the way to go based on your recommendation.
We had to try a couple times but by some miracle were able to get 8 seats in Section 2, higher up, just like you recommended for the good views on Turn 5. We did have the option for a row AA in Section 5 for a bit which would have been pretty cool to be that close. But once the Section 2 seats were available we pulled the trigger.
Great job! 8 seats together, you guys did amazingly well. When I tried to get some tickets yesterday all I managed was single seats, despite joining the queue at 10am!
Hope you have a great time in 2024.