Grandstand 31 Montreal Grand Prix: Seating Chart, Views, Tickets

Alex Gassman
View from Grandstand 31 at the Montreal Grand Prix

Image credit Mitch Raducanoiu

Grandstand 31 at the Montreal Grand Prix provides spectators with a view of Turns 8 and 9 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. This is a fast but tricky right-left sequence that often sees drivers making mistakes.

The article provides a complete guide to this grandstand include examples of the view, a seating charts, tips on picking the best seats and ticket info.

Contents

Grandstand Location

Grandstand 31 is located on the outside (left-hand side) of the Montreal Grand Prix circuit between turns 8 and 9.

The gstand is facing back up the track as the car hit the brakes for Turn 8. There’s a large run-off area on the outside of Turn 8 and the grandstand is at the other side of that.

The track turns to the right and then sweeps past the left hand side of this stand.

Tickets for Canadian Grand Prix

Tickets for Grandstand 31 at the Montreal Grand Prix sell out almost as soon as they’re released for sale on the official Canadian Formula 1 website.

So I’d recommend buying tickets through Stubhub. 

I used Stubhub for F1 tickets multiple times in the last 12 months, which included my trip to the inaugural Las Vegas GP, and have had great experiences every time.

Their FanProtect guarantee is very robust and kept me fully protected, plus they have a massive inventory of Canadian GP tickets available for sale at the moment, at very competitive prices.

Grandstand details

Cover

Grandstand 31 at the Montreal Grand Prix is completely uncovered. There’s no protection from the weather so make sure you bring suitable wet weather clothing, sun screen or both!

Grandstand 31 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Seats

The seats are bleacher style benches. These are not very comfortable, especially if you’re sat on them for a long time, so bring a small cushion or something soft!

TV Screens

There’s one large TV Screen visible from this stand. It’s on the other side of the circuit on the inside of the track just after the apex of Turn 8.

Because of the large run-off area the screen can feel like it’s a little far away, especially from the rows further back in this stand. Bring a pair of binoculars to help you see it and read the text a little more easily.

Grandstand 31 Seating Chart Montreal Grand Prix

Below is the seating chart for Grandstand 31 at the Montreal Grandprix.

As the chart shows the stand is made up of three sections numbered 1 to 3. Each section has 52 rows, but these are named using letters.

The front row lowest down in the stand is row AA. The second row back is row BB and that continues all the way up to the 26th row which is row ZZ. After that the 27th row is row A and the single letters go all the way to the 52nd row which is row Z at the very back.

The seat numbers increase from left to right (as you look at the stand from the circuit). They start from 1 at the beginning of each section. Each section is 25 seats wide.

Example views

The map below shows the areas of the track visible from this grandstand highlighted in pink.

Grandstand 31 view at the Montreal Grand prix in Canada

From wherever you’re sat in the stand you’ll be able to first see the cars in the braking zone for Turn 8. You’ll have a great view of them through turns 8 and 9 and then will lose them out of sight as they pass on the left hand side of the grandstand.

Sitting on the left or right hand side of the stand will change how much of the entry to Turn 8 you can see. If you sit on the left hand side (as you look at the circuit) in section 3 you’ll be able to see less of the braking zone.

The video below was filmed from section 3 row OO (row 15).

Whereas if you sit on the extreme right hand side you can see the cars earlier as they brake for Turn 8.

The video below was filmed from section 1 row V (row 47).

If you sit on the extreme left hand side of the stand – the last seat in section 3 – you will be able to turn to your left and see the cars for longer as they pass by the stand. Likewise if you sat in the very back row you could turn around and watch the cars disappear behind the stand.

The video below was filmed from the last seat in section 3, somewhere around row T (row 45)

The last two videos above show the views from near the back of the stand, high up. If you sit lower down right near the front then your view will be quite different and you might be looking through the safety fence.

The video below was filmed from section 3 row CC (row 3).

Pan around the 360 degree image below to get a feel of the view from section 3 row C seat 16.

Best Seats in Grandstand 31?

There’s two contenders for best seat areas in this grandstand.

The first is on the far right hand side in section 1, with as low seat numbers as you can get. If you go for the lower-middle rows you’ll get the best view of the cars in the braking zone for Turn 8. Go too high up and the bridge will block your view more.

Secondly, you could try and get high numbered seats in the very back row (Row Z) of section 3. There’s a gap in the trees behind the stand which allows this specific section to be able to turn around and watch the cars disappear down the following straight.

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve track

Is this a good place to sit at the Montreal GP?

Turns 8 and 9 are a tricky pair of corners. In the 2023 Montreal Grand Prix George Russell got them wrong and ended up hitting the wall on the exit of the corner, which spectators sat here would have been able to see. 

In 2017 Fernando Alonso’s McLaren expired at this part of the track. He parked the car and then went up in to this grandstand, much to the admiration of all the fans sat there.

The straight leading up to Turn 8 is one of the Canadian Grand Prix DRS Zones but it’s only a short straight and it’s still not easy for cars to overtake here. So overtaking isn’t unheard of at this part of the track, but it’s not that common either.

If you want to go somewhere where you’re likely to see some more overtaking  action try one of the grandstands around the Hairpin at Turn 10. For the same price you could sit in either Grandstand 15 or Grandstand 34.

If you want one of the most exclusive experiences possible then check out the Paddock Club tickets. This VIP package costs over $10,000 CAD and offers views right above the pit lane, but often includes luxury hotel and transfers from the airport.

Nearest entrance

This grandstand is most easily accessed from both the Cosmos and Concorde entrances at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. These are in slightly different places around the site.

From the Cosmos bridge entrance you can turn right and walk about 400 metres until you reach the stand.

The Concorde bridge entrance will take you to the inside of the circuit. You can then use the pedestrian bridge that crosses the track just after Turn 9 to go back to the outside of the circuit where the grandstand is only a few metres away to the left.

See our guide to the Canada GP entrance gates for more info.

For details on getting to the circuit for the Formula 1 weekend, check out our full Canada F1 travel guide.

Other Canadian GP Grandstands

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Alex Gassman

I‘m Alex. I write F1 and motorsport travel guides based on my experience as racing driver and full-time motorsport nerd. I’ve traveled the world watching F1 and other racing series.

I started oversteer48 with the aim of helping other motorsport fans who are planning on watching some racing themselves.

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