F1 Canadian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday’s action from the eight round of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
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Max Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings by 53 points from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, following his latest win in Spain coupled with the Mexican’s fourth place finish behind both Mercedes drivers.
Lewis Hamilton topped Friday practice in a Mercedes 1-2, on a mixed up day which saw first practice effectively cancelled due to a track CCTV systems issues which necessitated second practice to be extended to 90 minutes to make up for lost track time.
Final practice starts at 5:30pm BST with qualifying starting at 9pm BST.
With less than four minutes remaining, drivers are stopping for a fresh set of intermediates. With the track completely dry in certain areas, there must be some that are beginning to be tempted by the slick options.
Hamilton makes amends for his earlier off with a time good enough for fourth. However, with the track improving rapidly, he is already down to sixth and falling.
A moment for Hamilton as he takes a trip across the grass and sees his time - which was not at all competitive - deleted. Perez and Leclerc have also both made use off the runoff.
While we wait for the session to resume, replays have shown that both Piastri and De Vries ran off the track at turn one before the red flags were displayed.
Zhou will start at the back of the grid on Sunday, but this is dreadful luck for the rest of the field. If rain falls now, it will be difficult to best the three drivers already on the board!
Demonstrating the lack of grip, Alonso loses the rear of his Aston Martin out of the hairpin but recovers the moment and begins his opening lap of the session.
We are now just three minutes from the start of qualifying and the sky is getting darker. With the walls menacingly close, it is unlikely that Sainz will end the session as the only driver to have given them a friendly handshake with a tyre!
But it's not all doom and gloom, especially if you are a fan of Ferrari. The first positive for the Scuderia is that Sainz will take part in qualifying after repairs on his car have been completed.
A major talking point this weekend has so far been the rain. And if you were hoping for a dry session, it's bad news. Rain is expected within the next 10 minutes, with the official chance during the session at 90%!
Good evening, and welcome to Autosport's coverage of qualifying for the Canadian GP. I'm Sam Hall, and I shall be your guide through the running from a damp, cold Montreal.
With that, we'll take a breather ahead of qualifying. Join us just before 9pm BST for all the build-up for what should be a thrilling Canadian GP quali.
