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Formula 1
Canadian GP
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.
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Leclerc isn't wearing his Gilles Villeneuve tribute helmet today and is back to his normal design. The reports coming out are that the Villeneuve family wasn't happy with it being used along with the Ferrari stickers and sponsors without gaining permission first.
But it was just a practice start for Leclerc as he tiptoes back to the pits to join the rest of the pack in the garages. So that'll likely be it for FP3.
Leclerc doesn't want the FP3 party to end though, as he nips out again on his own.
Rain
With the heavy rain falling everyone has opted to pit with seven minutes to go. Probably a wise call with not much to gain ahead of qualifying.
Bottas has a loose right mirror on his Alfa Romeo and duly pits to avoid it flying off entirely.
Stopwatch
Verstappen improves again with a 1m23.106s, just as the heavy rain returns as predicted. That could curtail the running for the final 10 minutes of this session.
Stopwatch
Leclerc responds to Verstappen with a 1m23.397s to go 0.243s off the Dutch driver.
Verstappen isn't relenting as his next lap is a 1m23.154s to go 1.6s clear at the top. Elsewhere, Russell runs off track at Turn 9 and Zhou does the same at Turn 3.
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"Grip is very poor," Hamilton says on team radio and the reply is that it is all down to tyre temperatures. Does that mean Mercedes is struggling to get heat into its tyres in the wet?
Stopwatch
Verstappen is starting to stretch his legs in the Red Bull. A 1m24.192s is followed up by a 1m23.779s to give him almost a full second over the rest of the field.
It hasn't been a great session for Mercedes so far, but Russell pops into the top five for the first time today. So far the W14 hasn't looked to have the pace in the wet compared to its Friday showing.
Albon does exactly what Hamilton did at Turn 1 moments later, while rain is forecast to return in about 10 minutes.
Hamilton fails to get his Mercedes stopped into Turn 1 and takes to the runoff, precariously going over the wet grass to rejoin at the middle of Turn 2 due to the new wall in the way.
Green flag
And off we go again, 23 minutes left of final practice to go.
Sainz's car is cleared up and FP3 will restart in one minute.
Sainz hits the barrier with his front wing first, causing the biggest damage, before his car rotates and takes a second hit with the rear, but the damage doesn't look so heavy so he might get away without needing a new gearbox.
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Crash
TV replays show Sainz losing it under braking into Turn 1 and the rear swings away from him, with the car hitting the wall with each end before coming to a halt. That'll be a major repair job to be ready for qualifying.
Sainz had just set his personal best lap of the session to move up to second place, but he's gone from joy to despair as into Turn 1 he's found the wall and damaged the front and rear end of his car. Thankfully he is OK and getting out of the car unaided.
Red flag
Sainz has crashed at Turn 1! That's caused a red flag!
Ocon takes to the grass coming off Turn 3 and narrowly avoids a nasty meeting with the barriers. Everyone at Alpine takes a big sigh of relief.
Albon will be having a stern word with Sainz after this session as he is impeded by the Ferrari driver again. That has caught the attention of the stewards as the incident will be investigated after FP3.
Stopwatch
Verstappen's had a low key session so far but not any longer as he pops in 1m24.977s to go top.
Stopwatch
Hulkenberg briefly goes top but Leclerc responds with a 1m25.724s. Conditions are still improving with the F1 cars sweeping the track but the forecast states rain is not far away.
Sainz balks Albon at the final chicane which wrecks his lap with a Ferrari road block in the way.
Stopwatch
Leclerc is the latest to jump to the top with a 1m26.733s.
The inter crossover has been breached with everyone apart from Gasly on the green-striped tyres. Guessing they aren't Man City fans.
Yellow flag
Tsunoda is facing the wrong way again, this time he slips into a half-spin at Turn 2, but is able to get going again without much trouble.
The inter runners are hitting trouble in the heavy braking zones with too much standing water to shift without sliding on.
Stopwatch
Inter-shod Alonso was on for a super lap but slides into the final chicane and has to take to the runoff. Verstappen has a clean lap and posts a 1m29.190s on the wet tyres.
Stopwatch
Tsunoda shows no signs of worrying about his spin as next time around he posts a 1m30.685s to go top. Every driver is on track now with a 60/40 split between wets and inters.
Yellow flag
Tsunoda is a lucky lad, as he spins coming out of Turn 4 but somehow does a perfect loop and misses either barrier.
Alonso, ever the bold, pits for intermediate tyres and team-mate Stroll follows suit.
Alonso pops to the top with a 1m32.217s but he isn't happy at being held up at the hairpin: "Who is the blind guy in the AlphaTauri?" He's told it is Tsunoda.
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"Bit of pulling to the left hand side under braking," Russell reports over team radio, as his Mercedes squirms around under him.
Stopwatch
Half the field is on track now as the Haas duo provide the first lap times of the session, Magnussen's 1m34.797s becoming the early leading effort.
Sargeant, Alonso and Russell are the next bunch to head out. The track is very wet and everyone is, as expected, out on the full wet tyres.
Haas is the first to take a dip into the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - it is also the first track time for Hulkenberg since his engine went pop in FP2. He's undergone an power unit change and isn't set to take a penalty as it is from his allocation.
Green flag
FP3 is green! No early takers, though.
There's a rainbow of ponchos and jackets on show in the grandstands, good to see everyone is well prepared for the conditions. I guess it comes as part of being a Montrealer. All the drivers are in the garages so we're almost ready to get going.
By: Autosport Staff
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