One and Done: Setting the Baseline for the Canadian Grand Prix
As the afternoon fell on Montreal, the wait for F1 was over. The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve came alive once again with the sound of 22 Formula 1 cars. The drivers had 60 minutes to re-learn the 4.361km street circuit and prepare for the crucial Sprint Qualifying later on in the afternoon.
Canada is playing host to a Sprint-formatted weekend for the first time this year. Many teams have brought upgrades with them, with Mercedes bringing the biggest package with 8 new components. All eyes are on the championship leader Kimi Antonelli this weekend to see if he can grow on his 20-point championship lead against Mercedes teammate George Russell.
As the clock struck 12:30pm, the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg was the first to exit the pit lane with the C3 Hard tyre strapped to his chassis to kick off the weekend’s action. The dusty track meant Piastri set his first flying lap with a 1:19.489. Franco Colapinto reported that his throttle wasn’t working as it should while he flew down the straight to prepare for what would have been his first flying lap.
Lando Norris locked up 5 minutes into the session, forcing him to go wide into a corner, but he quickly recovered to carry on with his lap while his Aussie teammate went even quicker with a 1:16.879. 9 minutes into the session, the yellow flags were flown but quickly followed by a Virtual Safety Car as Lawson took a trip into the run off at Turn 1, with him exclaiming that he lost power steering.
12 minutes in, the VSC was swapped for a Red Flag, neutralising the session as the marshals worked to clear Lawson’s stranded VCARB from the track, meaning the drivers lost crucial track time, and Verstappen was at the top of the leaderboard with a 1:15:895. With the help of the red flag, the marshals quickly cleared Lawson’s car away. Colapinto looked like he was done for the session as he was seen heading out the back of the Alpine garage without a helmet on his head, and the red flag was quickly retracted.
Word came from Race Control that Free Practice would be extended to make up for the 4 minutes lost under the stoppage, allowing the full hour of practice to still go ahead. Another word came from Alpine that Colapinto’s issue came from an electrical power unit issue.
Verstappen still led the session 20 minutes in with his lap times consistently in the 1m15s. He looked happy with his car this weekend, with only one complaint just after exiting the pit lane. His reign was short-lived as Russell went faster, followed by Piastri just seconds later with a 1:15.76, and then Antonelli, a minute later, by creating a 0.337-second gap in front of the McLaren, and then Piastri once again went faster by almost half a second.
We had no time to rest from the red flag due to Albon taking a spin into the wall between Turns 6 and 7, 25 minutes into the session. It is looking like a feisty weekend. The rear wing looked destroyed on the car, looking like he imapacted the wall rear first. The cause of the flag was reported as Albon hitting a Marmot on the track, causing him to lose control of his car. Luckily, he walked away from the wreckage and sat in the Medical Car as a precaution by the FIA. With 29 minutes still left on the clock, no news of a resumption was received, but the drivers were ready and itching to get back out. Russell finally led the session back underway on the Hard tyres with 20 minutes on the clock, with the news coming that FP1 has been extended by another 15 minutes, bringing the session length to just under 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Bottas bolted back into the pits with an issue on his car, as Russell went top, setting laps in the 1m14s with 25 minutes left of the extended session. Antonelli quickly topped that by 5 100ths of a second as Gasly ran wide into Turn 3 to avoid a collision.
Aston Martin has seemed to have solved their vibration issue, meaning both drivers are more optimistic about this weekend than the previous weekends, but Alonso was only running 9th with 18 minutes to go, Hamilton also locking up and running wide to create a huge flat spot on his front right tyre. News from Alpine also told us that Franco would not be rejoining the session due to a power unit change.
Russell increased his leading margin with 15 minutes to go, planting his Mercedes firmly at the top with a 1:13.850, but Antonelli just started a flying lap of his own. Could he retake the lead in the only practice session of the weekend? And he did, half a second faster than his teammate. This weekend was looking like it was a Mercedes dominance showcase once again.
Drivers were locking up all over the place as the clock reached the 10-minute marker, with Piastri bailing out of the Turns 14/15 chicane, and Russell avoiding the 1/2 chicane at the same time. The track was improving, but bringing in the challenge as the afternoon progressed. News came from Race Control that Lawson and VCARB would be referred to the stewards for a technical infringement caused by the CDS (Clutch Disengagement System) not working as required by the technical regulations during the first red flag period of the weekend.
5 minutes remained of the session as the red flag was yet again brought out, this time caused by Esteban Ocon spinning and hitting the wall coming out of Turn 9 and leaving his front wing in the middle of the circuit. No extension of the session that time as the drivers made their way back out for a 3rd time with only 1 minute remaining, meaning the drivers could not get a lap in, but instead went out for their practice starts on the grid.
It was another Mercedes 1 and 2 as the clock counted down to 0, Antonelli taking the top with a 1:13.402. Sprint Qualifying looms ever closer, so will Antonelli convert FP1 leader to Sprint Pole?
