F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen tops first day back in Montreal
17th June 2022Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the first practice session as Formula 1 returns to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix, the first time since 2019.
How first practice unfolded…
As the pit exit light went green, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly was the first driver to venture out onto the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. This was likely down to the rain cloud that seemingly headed towards the track.
After five minutes, Verstappen topped the timing board with with Hamilton behind. However, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas soon climbed to the top of the table before the Dutch world champion returned to P1 with a 1:16.507, 1.395 seconds quicker than Bottas.
With 46 minutes left on the clock, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was forced to return to the pit lane after he suffered a brake failure. The Frenchman’s brake duct had collected a paper towel on his lap around the track, as a result the Alpine driver couldn’t cool down his brakes which caused the system to overheat.
When the session had crossed its halfway mark, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped the leaderboard with a 1:15.441 as he completed a soft tyre run, 0.178 seconds faster than Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
As the drivers started to test the boundaries of the circuit, Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda made contact with the barrier on the exit of turn nine. Although the Japanese driver’s right tyres sparked, on contact with the barrier, Tsuonda managed to continue on with his lap.
Fastest times:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull (1:15.158 – Soft Tyre)
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (+0.246 – Soft Tyre)
- Fernando Alonso, Alpine (+0.373 – Medium tyre)
That’s it for the article: F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen tops first day back in Montreal!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
