Verstappen leads Hamilton in opening Canada F1 practice
Max Verstappen charged to the head of the field through the opening Formula 1 practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix race weekend on Friday in Montreal, edging out Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton by less than one-tenth of a second.
Amid calls to change his approach following a spate of crashes through the opening six races of the season, Red Bull driver Verstappen was able to turn in the fastest lap of FP1 in Canada, recording a best time of 1m13.302s to take top spot.
Max Verstappen charged to the head of the field through the opening Formula 1 practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix race weekend on Friday in Montreal, edging out Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton by less than one-tenth of a second.
Amid calls to change his approach following a spate of crashes through the opening six races of the season, Red Bull driver Verstappen was able to turn in the fastest lap of FP1 in Canada, recording a best time of 1m13.302s to take top spot.
Verstappen was followed by six-time Canadian Grand Prix winner Hamilton in second place for Mercedes, with the Briton finishing just 0.088 seconds shy of the Dutchman in P1. However, he set his fastest lap time on the Ultrasoft tyre, whereas Verstappen's best effort came on the pink-ringed Hypersofts.
Daniel Ricciardo finished two-tenths of a second back from Verstappen in P1 to take third place in the sister Red Bull, while Sebastian Vettel led Ferrari's charge in fourth place after a late run on the Hypersoft tyre, finishing 0.272s off Verstappen at the front. Valtteri Bottas took fifth for Mercedes ahead of compatriot Kimi Raikkonen, who was sixth in the second Ferrari.
McLaren had an impressive session as it got the chance to run-out with Renault's updated power unit for the first time, with Fernando Alonso finishing sixth, less than six-tenths off top spot. Stoffel Vandoorne also reached the top 10, finishing the session P9.
Carlos Sainz Jr. finished FP1 in eighth place for Renault, but it was a mixed session for the team as Nico Hulkenberg's car came to a halt early on with just three laps completed. Hulkenberg reported a loss of drive, and despite efforts from the team to try and resolve the issue on-track, he was unable to resolve a gearbox glitch, forcing the German to abandon his car under the subsequent red flag.
Honda's updated engine package aided Pierre Gasly on his way to P10 for Toro Rosso, but under-pressure teammate Brendon Hartley could not match his teammate for pace, finishing seven-tenths of a second back in 16th.
Esteban Ocon took 11th for Force India ahead of Romain Grosjean of Haas, while Sauber drivers Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc took 13th and 14th, despite a brief spin for the former in the closing stages of the session.
Kevin Magnussen finished 15th for Haas ahead of Hartley, while Williams drivers Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll had sessions to forget as they ended up 17th and 18th. Stroll was left with a puncture after tapping the wall with 30 minutes remaining, but did not return to the track after pitting. Teammate Sirotkin had a spin at Turn 6, touching the barrier but avoiding any major damage.
Stepping in for Sergio Perez, Force India development driver Nicholas Latifi finished 19th in his first free practice appearance of the season, finishing 3.8 seconds off Verstappen's time.
