F1 Canadian GP FP2 extended in wake of CCTV issue

Running in FP1 had originally been stopped after Alpine's Pierre Gasly came to a halt on the long run between Turns 7 and 8 due to a driveshaft issue.

Once his car was pushed behind the barriers as FP1's first five minutes closed out, the session did not get going again as originally anticipated.

Mercedes had been so certain green flag conditions would soon return it sent Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to the end of the pitlane.

However, when they were held there for several minutes, the mechanics had to rush down and wheel the cars back to their garages.

At this point, nearly 20 minutes into FP1, the FIA notified that the session could not restart because CCTV cameras around the Montreal track were not working as expected. This meant the pitlane had to remain closed.

Shortly afterwards, the FIA explained that the CCTV problems had led to sync problems with the cameras which meant that running could not resume because of safety reasons.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, the FIA announced that the session would not restart, which meant that Valtteri Bottas officially ended practice on top after completing just three laps.

Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

To make up for the lost time, the stewards approved a request for second practice to be lengthened by 30 minutes. FP2 will now begin 30 minutes earlier than its original 5pm slot.

A statement from the stewards said: "We hereby modify the Official Programme of the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix by extending the duration of Free Practice Session 2 by 30 minutes. Free Practice Session 2 will now start at 1630hrs.

"The tyres required to be returned after Free Practice 1 in accordance with Article 30.5 of the Formula One Sporting Regulations, should now be returned no later than two hours after Free Practice 2."