Mastering the rain in Montreal was a must for drivers during Friday’s Free Practice Sessions 1 and 2.
MONTREAL, Canada—On a day where drivers had to come out early to avoid having a rain delay their quickest times, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso set the quickest time in Friday practice for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit. His time of 1:15:810 was ahead of Mercedes George Russell, with Alonso’s teammate and home driver Lance Stroll in third.
With the possibility of rain most of the weekend at this old school but quick circuit, the second and afternoon practices were reversed from the first one in the morning, with the rain coming later. As rain approached the track, several drivers began to try soft tires instead of intermediates, which, in this case, was the reason the top six drivers received good times.
Pierre Gasly began it with his Alpine but soon fell down the order as others began to improve. Alonso, then Stroll, had faster times until Alonso had the best time 20 minutes into the session. That time held for the rest of the session as the rain finally came in with half an hour remaining.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was one driver who did not have any chances to improve his time. He jumped out of his car in the garage after complaining of a smell of smoke in his cockpit. For the rest of the session, his Red Bull mechanics removed the side pods and had the car on its jacks, keeping their privacy in deciding the cause of the issue. That continued for the rest of the session.
Charles Leclerc took the fourth fastest time, which included a spin at Casino hairpin. RB had a double finish in the top ten, with Daniel Ricciardo in fifth and Yuki Tsunoda in eighth. Lewis Hamilton joined Russell in another double for Mercedes, placing seventh, with Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen taking sixth. Williams Alex Albon and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez completed the top ten.
On Saturday, ESPN News will broadcast Free Practice 3 at 12:30 pm Eastern, followed by Qualifying at 4 pm. With rain expected for the rest of the weekend, it could be very hard to predict who might have a chance to win the race.
