F1 practice LIVE: Canadian Grand Prix updates and times as Max Verstappen goes fastest in FP1
Follow the first practice at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as the build-up to the Canadian Grand Prix continues
Follow live F1 coverage as the Canadian Grand Prix weekend kicks off with free practice sessions one and two in Montreal.
The big news of the week is the FIA’s decision to “reduce or eliminate” porpoising on the advice of its medical team - just days after Lewis Hamilton suffered with severe back pain in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Hamilton required assistance to get out of his Mercedes after his car bounced up and down at high speed throughout last Sunday’s race.
Mercedes ran their machines close to the ground in Baku to produce lower downforce. But the move exaggerated the bouncing, and under the FIA’s new technical directive, Mercedes might be required to raise the ride height of their cars which could further slow them down.
At the front of the grid, Max Verstappen will be hoping to extend his lead over chief title rival Charles Leclerc after he took full advantage of the Ferrari driver retiring last weekend with the race victory.
Follow all the latest updates as we build towards this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix:
RESTART UPDATE
“Not all cars passed the safety car two line when the red flag was thrown, hence the order must go back to the start.”
RESTART UPDATE:
1 minute and 30 seconds until the restart.
A reminder: the grid will be the same as the first race start - not the order at the red flag.
George Russell, speaking to Sky Sports:
“Glad to hear Zhou is doing OK, a horrific incident. There was no grip on the hardest compound, I got swamped by many cars, I got touched and touched Zhou and that was it.”
“I got out of the car to see if Zhou was OK... apparently as soon as you get assitance [his car was put on the back of a truck], you can’t restart. It’s very frustrating as the car just had a puncture and we had the pace to get back to sixth.
“We’re trying [to appeal]. It’s one of those unique circumstances...”
A view of the Zhou crash from a fan in the stand at Abbey corner:
ZHOU UPDATE
“So, update from medical centre, Zhou is conscious, he is talking, there is no fractures and considering the circumstances, he’s pretty good, pretty well”
Full replays now being aired
Tell you what, the catchment fence to protect the fans behind the tyre barriers probably saves lives here, not to mention the halo on Zhou’s car.
The way the upside-down Alfa gets flinged into the fence is an absolute horror. Really is great to hear Zhou and everyone in the surrounding area is, by the sounds of it, all OK.
RESTART UPDATE
It is confirmed that the race will restart with the same grid order that started the race, minus the drivers out - Russell, Albon, Zhou.
No word on a time yet.
RESTART NEWS
Because we haven’t had a full lap, it’ll be Sainz on pole again - Hamilton back down to fifth.
So, the top-10: Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez, Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Latifi, Gasly, Bottas.
That being said, there is a lot of confusion here. Perhaps it is because they didn’t get through the first sector...
More as we get it.
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