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Formula 1
Canadian GP
F1 Canadian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
Updates for practice at the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
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F1 returns to the famous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this weekend for the first time since 2019, following two years of COVID-19 enforced cancellations.
Max Verstappen emerged victorious at last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix as the Dutchman headed a Red Bull 1-2, as mechanical frailties struck Ferrari and title contender Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen heads to Canada with a 21 point championship lead over team-mate Sergio Perez, while Leclerc is third having slipped 34 points adrift.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the most recent Canadian Grand Prix in 2019.
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Schumacher is the latest driver to get it wrong at one of the chicanes - and, as we type that, Vettel is also off the track at Turn 1.
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And Hamilton's now set his time and his opening effort puts him sixth - 1.3s behind Verstappen.
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Verstappen improves again and his latest effort is a 1m14.532s so extends his margin over Alonso.
Elsewhere, Sainz is complaining about the porpoising with his Ferrari - saying it's worse than in FP1.
Meanwhile, Hamilton - with that changed floor - has now headed out on track.
Ocon doesn't have quite the same pace as his team-mate and is sixth, the best part of a second behind Alonso.
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Alonso is flying! He's now gone second - but worth remembering he's on the softs, while Verstappen is on the mediums.
In the battle of the AlphaTauris, Tsunoda has now just gone fractionally faster than his team-mate Gasly and taken his sixth spot.
Perez, meanwhile, has run slightly wide at the hairpin on his latest lap - but there's also a moment for Verstappen at the opening sequence of corners.
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Gasly is another on the march as he puts the AlphaTauri into sixth.
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Leclerc has also improved, closing to within two tenths of Verstappen. But then the Red Bull also goes quicker, setting a 1m14.792s to lead by half a second.
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Norris - who missed part of the earlier running due to an undisclosed problem - has moved up to sixth, while Alonso is now back into that familiar third spot for Alpine.
We mentioned rain earlier, and it's noticeable that the sky is getting a little darker now eight minutes into this session.
Russell has just left the pits and it seems that of the two Mercedes floors being used, it's Hamilton's one that is being changed
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Alonso, third fastest in FP1, is also on the softs - as is Leclerc, who has just gone up to second
We've got a range of tyres being used for these opening runs, most drivers are on the medium rubber but third-quickest Ocon is on the softs. Worth remembering he missed part of the first session because there was a fire on his brakes as a paper towel got sucked into the front-right duct.
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And Verstappen goes straight to the top of the times with a 1m15.618s on the mediums - that's 0.8s faster than Perez's opening gambit.
Part of the reason why the Mercedes drivers were lounging at the back of the garage is perhaps because the floor is being changed on their cars. The Mercs are the only drivers not currently out on track.
That incident is being investigated - Magnussen describes it as "absolutely crazy"!
Oh, and we've got drama already as Vettel comes close to clattering into Magnussen as he left the pits a minute ago!
As with the last session, we've got a flood of cars heading out - but not the Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Russell are seen discussing matters at the back of the pits
Green flag
And we're under way! FP2 begins
But, enough of the off-track rumblings, let's focus on what's happening on the circuit as the countdown to FP2 is almost over
Breaking news
And Max Verstappen is not at all keen on the idea of the rules being changed mid-season: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/verstappen-wrong-for-fia-to-change-rules-mid-season-over-porpoising/10323783/
Breaking news
Speaking of dark clouds, a storm could be brewing over porpoising as the FIA is set to intervene on the bouncing phenomenon. However, rival team bosses agree that doing so will be difficult to police: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/horner-and-wolff-agree-fia-porpoising-clampdown-hard-to-police/10323862/
But will we get any flashes and bangs on track in this session? It's now just five minutes until proceedings get under way and we can find out
Sun
More significantly on weather watch, while it's sunny now, the risk of rain for this session is at 40% - and there have been some hefty thunderstorms in the vicinity in recent days
Now, it's not often we get to say this, but the air temperature at the F1 venue is not as high as the UK today. While England has been basking in 33 degrees, it's just the 27 over in Montreal...
Considering it was the first time the drivers have visited the Canadian circuit for three years, FP1 was largely incident-free with only Yuki Tsunoda brushing the unforgiving walls for AlphaTauri - and, even then, he got away largely unscathed
If you missed FP1 earlier, there was a lot of familiarity to it. Verstappen was fastest for Red Bull, the Montreal surface was incredibly dusty and some of the local wildlife put in an appearance on the circuit...
Following some more, shall we say, bizarre scheduling from F1, it's another 10 minutes until FP2 begins. So, top marks for dedication if you're joining us from the UK and Europe on your Friday night!
Hello, and welcome back to Autosport's live text coverage of Friday practice for the Canadian GP!
Action at Montreal will resume with FP2 at 10pm BST (5pm local).
Gasly was the fastest AlphaTauri in P11 ahead of Norris, Albon and Tsunoda.
Interestingly Alonso's third fastest time arrived on the medium tyre.
The top 10 is completed by Russell, Stroll, Hamilton, Vettel and Ricciardo.
Verstappen was 0.246s faster than nearest rival Sainz. Alonso impressed for Alpine in P3 with Perez in P4. Leclerc was only fifth fastest some 0.5s shy of Verstappen.
Max Verstappen tops FP1 for Red Bull. The world champion ends the session with a 1m15.158s benchmark.
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Chequered flag is out.
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