F1 Canadian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
Friday's action from the ninth round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
F1 returns to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where all eyes will be on Red Bull and how the RB20 is able to ride the kerbs after Max Verstappen conceded that finding a fix would 'take time'.
With McLaren and Ferrari noticeably closing the points gap in both the drivers' and constructors' championships, the Montreal race presents a chance to add further pressure to current leaders, Red Bull.
FP1 starts at 18:30 BST (13:30 local time) followed by FP2 at 22:00 BST (17:00 local time).
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Hello one and all! Two weeks on from a memorable Monaco GP - for the right and the wrong reasons - it is go time again for F1 in Canada. First practice is due to start in 25 minutes.
Small issue though: it is raining. A lot. Like, full fat rain and hailstones type of wet. So there might not be much running in this session.
But it has stopped raining, for now, as the dark cloud has passed by after depositing its guts on the circuit. The weather forecast is mixed at best for the entire race weekend so wet running will be of value with an eye on Saturday and Sunday.
Away from the weather watching, here's the latest from the paddock. On Thursday, the 2026 regulations were revealed and the drivers had their say. George Russell led calls for the FIA to look into safety improvements over the "crazy" top speeds predicted for the next generation of F1 cars. Full story here.
While there's been more movements in the F1 driver market, following the news that Sergio Perez will stay at Red Bull for two more years while Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of 2025. Here's the latest.
Back to today's action. Esteban Ocon, who was put on the naughty step by Alpine for crashing into Gasly on the opening lap in Monaco, will hand over the keys to his car to Jack Doohan for this session as part of its FP1 rookie obligations. But the team and Ocon say the two aren't connected.
The weather forecast predicts rain to return five minutes into FP1, which will start on time, but the pit exit will remain closed. So, the session will start, but with no running allowed.
We're not saying FP1 in Canada is cursed, but 12 months ago it effectively lasted five minutes and was then cancelled due to a CCTV issue at the track. That was one of the weirder reasons for a session being canned.
The latest from the FIA: "We will start the session on time, but pit exit will remain closed as we work on clearing any standing water on the track."
It might be very wet and has puddles all over it, but the track has been completely resurfaced since last year. Not that it'll mean much until we actually get track running.
FP1 is officially under way! But no running until the pit exit is opened.
Track officials are trying to drain the standing water, some equipped with brooms and others in trucks with water hoovers (probably not the technical name) to suck up the big puddles. The bad news is that predicted rain looks like it is about to arrive.
Rain and motorsport really isn't making for a good mix lately. A hugely delayed start to the Indy 500, numerous cancellations and revisions at the Isle of Man TT and now this. Boo.
The latest from trackside: "There's a nice little puddle at the Turn 2 apex, the kind that a passing bus would undoubtedly run through to splash nearby pedestrians. Expect the drivers to take the karting line whenever running gets going."
The safety car and the medical car are lapping the track to inspect conditions, as work continues at Turn 6 to clear the standing water. Still no sign of running getting going yet.
As the rain returns, the conditions aren't stopping the marmots from continuing with their days, as two are spotted on the grass on the edge of the track close to Turn 13. Don't get too comfortable, little guys!
The FIA has indicated it aims to open the pitlane in eight minutes as the water-clearing trucks return to the paddock.
More from trackside: "It's starting to rain again. There's a pair of Aston Martins out on track - but not the kind we'd be hoping for. Someone get me an umbrella?"
Good news from the FIA: The pitlane will open in one minute! Hooray!
Off we go! Hamilton is the first taker, out on the intermediate tyres. Who needs wet tyres?
Bottas joins Hamilton on an exploratory lap, but he is on the full wets. To no surprise it is still soaking wet out there, as the cars push up huge tails of spray. But this will help improve things as the session progresses.
Hamilton provides the first lap time of the day, a 1m40.077s, just the 15 seconds off the optimum pace in the wet! Norris, Zhou, Hulkenberg and Magnussen have joined the track action, while Bottas swaps his wets for inters.
It is a slow pitstop for Sauber so it appears their issues haven't been fully resolved. Meanwhile, plenty more drivers are on the track as the sun pops out from the clouds.
Doohan is one of the takers for an exploratory lap in Ocon's Alpine, as Bottas goes quickest with a 1m33.215s.
Ah, red flag. Zhou has met one of the walls and stopped on track. That halts any further progress.
Replays show what happened to Zhou: under power the car slipped out from his control and bolted left at Turn 5, hitting the wall with both front and rear left wheels. His car is recovered by the marshals but that's his session done.
Zhou was caught out by his car aquaplaning and despite catching the car before it hit the wall the slide was too great and so into the barrier he went. His Sauber has been recovered and off we go again.
Norris locks up at the hairpin and runs off, but with plenty of room he's able to avoid a messy situation. The sun is beating down on the track now, so it should dry up quickly.
We've got 10 cars on track but still no sign of either Aston Martin at all in this session. Come on team green!
The times are tumbling, as Hamilton goes fastest from Sainz with a 1m29.207s. Everyone is still on intermediates.
Leclerc puts in a 1m27.560s to go over a second quicker than anyone else. But we are still missing lap times from nine drivers.
Sainz takes over at the top with a 1m27.485s, to edge team-mate Leclerc by 0.075s. Both Aston Martins are out which means we've seen all 20 drivers on track that are taking part in this session.
Ferrari tells Sainz it expects rain in FP2 so it opts to pit both drivers in order to keep hold off its intermediate tyres. In truth, it looks almost time for dry tyres in this session.
Not live scenes in FP1 - because everyone is back in the pits. It looks like they are all waiting for it to dry up enough for slick tyres.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Latest from trackside: "We've braved a big puddle to get to the exit of Turn 2. A dry line is already starting to form as the water evaporates in a rolling steamy haze. The new surface seems very quick to dry out, so that's something to be aware of if the rest of the weekend is variable."
Leclerc, Norris, Verstappen and Sainz break the track silence as they all switch to the soft tyres. It'll feel sketchy on these opening laps, but this will be valuable running with five minutes to go.
By: Autosport Staff
