In Photos: Valtteri Bottas meets up with Canadiens' Alex Newhook & Rafael Harvey-Pinard ahead of Canadian Grand Prix 

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Jun 06, 2024 17:11 GMT

On Thursday, Finnish motorsports racing driver Valtteri Bottas took some time off from his Formula One preparations to meet two hockey players before the Canadian Grand Prix. They are Montreal Canadiens' Alex Newhook and Rafael Harvey Pinard.

Canadian Grand Prix has been a part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It holds a significant place in motorsport history. The race was initially held at Mosport Park.

In 1978, it moved to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Despite cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Grand Prix hasn't lost popularity. Its 2021 cancellation even extended the contract till 2031.

Bottas posted pictures of himself with Newhook and Harvey Pinard on X.

One snapshot showed Bottas wearing a Canadian jersey, alongside his racing number 77. The trio even hit the ice together, with Bottas joining the hockey players for a skate.

Another image showed Newhook and Harvey Pinard proudly displaying Pelicans jerseys alongside Bottas.

Exploring new docuseries 'The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens'

Fans can enjoy the upcoming original docuseries named 'The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens' by Crave in the offseason. The series will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the renowned hockey team's rebuilding process in the last NHL season.

The series, produced by Fair-Play in collaboration with Crave and Bell Media, will consist of eight one-hour episodes. It is available in English and French and is set to stream on Crave later this year. Directed by André St-Pierre, the series features narration by Marc-André Grondin in French and George Stroumboulopoulos in English.

Suzane Landry, vice president of French-language content development and programming at Bell Media, said:

“This documentary series is a portrait of pure emotion, featuring unprecedented access to key players, stars, and icons from one of Canada’s most storied sports franchises.”

“The series builds on the strength of Crave’s popular original docuseries, and aligns perfectly with our goal of delivering compelling, unique, and exclusive original content.”

The series captures moments from the Canadiens' annual golf tournament, training camp and the regular season. It also captures significant events like the father-son trip to Boston and the NHL trade deadline.

Despite finishing 28th overall and missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, Canadiens' management remains hopeful for future improvements.

"We were coming off a last-place finish." Hughes said. "We’ve improved from year to year and we expect there to be improvement. How big that is we’ll see," General Manager Kent Hughes said.

Hughes talked about commitment to progress and the long-term goal of enhancing team performance.