F1 Canadian GP: Norris leads wet-to-dry opening practice

The first bout of on-track action for the Montreal event was disrupted by a hailstorm hitting the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve an hour before FP1.

The rain abated before the start of the session at 13:30 local time, but the pitlane remained closed while track workers attempted to clear off standing water, preventing any running in the early stages.

With 39 minutes left on the clock, the pitlane finally opened, avoiding a repeat of the 2023 scenario where fans witnessed just five minutes of FP1 action due to CCTV issues.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was first out on intermediates for a few sighter laps while Sauber's Valtteri Bottas had the less popular full wets bolted on, but he soon followed Hamilton's lead as it became clear the track was ready for the green-sidewalled inters.

As more drivers ventured out on the slowly drying circuit, Bottas' team-mate Zhou Guanyu caused a brief red flag by losing control over his Sauber and clattering the outside Turn 5 wall with his rear-left corner.

The constantly improving conditions meant lap times steadily came down too, with Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz, Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc all trading turns at the top of the leaderboard.

Following a quiet spell, there was a late flurry of activity in the final six minutes when a clear dry racing line encouraged most drivers to go out on soft slicks.

After slipping off the track in Turn 2, Leclerc briefly took over the lead from team-mate Sainz, before McLaren man Norris went top with a 1m24.435s.

Sainz reclaimed second from Leclerc, with Hamilton taking fourth ahead of world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Oscar Piastri was sixth in the second McLaren, followed by Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Bottas, who suffered a late spin.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez and the second Mercedes of George Russell rounded out the top ten.

Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan got little enjoyment out of taking over Esteban Ocon's car for FP1, with the Australian restricted to three laps without setting a time.

Zhou and Williams' Alex Albon also finished the session without a lap time on the board.

More rain is expected for Friday afternoon's second practice session which follows at 5pm local time.

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	8	1'24.435		185.937
2	C. Sainz Ferrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	11	+0.328 1'24.763	0.328	185.217
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	11	+0.871 1'25.306	0.543	184.038
4	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	11	+1.535 1'25.970	0.664	182.617
5	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	10	+2.067 1'26.502	0.532	181.494
6	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	7	+2.319 1'26.754	0.252	180.966
7	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	8	+3.149 1'27.584	0.830	179.251
8	V. Bottas Sauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	11	+3.235 1'27.670	0.086	179.076
9	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	10	+3.623 1'28.058	0.388	178.287
10	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	9	+4.106 1'28.541	0.483	177.314
11	D. Ricciardo RB	3		RB	Red Bull	9	+4.147 1'28.582	0.041	177.232
12	Y. Tsunoda RB	22		RB	Red Bull	9	+4.288 1'28.723	0.141	176.950
13	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	8	+4.617 1'29.052	0.329	176.296
14	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	5	+8.391 1'32.826	3.774	169.129
15	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	4	+8.976 1'33.411	0.585	168.070
16	L. Sargeant Williams	2		Williams	Mercedes	5	+12.151 1'36.586	3.175	162.545
17	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	4	+16.095 1'40.530	3.944	156.168
18	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	4
19	J. Doohan Alpine	61		Alpine	Renault	3
20	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	4
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