Canada – Free Practice 1: Hamilton fastest amid squirrels and groundhogs!

Formula 1 takes its first step on the American continent by joining Canada and its Grand Prix located on the Circuit de l’île Notre Dame.

The last race in Monaco has generated a lot of ink over the past fifteen days regarding Ferrari’s race strategy, which is accused of favoring Sebastian Vettel’s victory at the expense of his teammate Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn’s reaction in Quebec will therefore be closely watched. Will he be disheartened or, on the contrary, galvanized by this disappointment?

This Grand Prix also marks the return of Fernando Alonso after his attempt at the Indianapolis 500, which ended…with a failure of his Honda engine! Thus, slightly fatalistic but motivated, the Spaniard approaches this first free practice session which is opened on track…by Räikkönen’s Ferrari!

The weather conditions are quite cool with 21 degrees in the air and only 28 on the track. The wind is blowing strong, making the track dusty. It will take several laps to achieve the best times. The clouds are threatening, and rain is expected at some point during the weekend.

First dramatic turn of events with the immobilization of Carlos Sainz’s Toro Rosso at the hairpin. The Spaniard steps out and announces an engine failure on his car. The day already looks complicated for the small Italian-Austrian team.

YELLOW FLAGS: Looks like engine failure for SAI early on in #FP1 as he grinds to a halt at Turn 10 #CanadianGP 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Lp67ajSMkx

— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 juin 2017

Sergio Pérez is the first to set a timed lap. He places his Force India at the top of the timesheet with a 1:17.584 while Kimi Räikkönen spins at turn number 7. The track is decidedly very dusty… however, this doesn’t stop the Finn from taking the best time on his next lap with a 1:16.846 on Ultra Soft tires.

The majority of the other drivers took to the track with Super Soft tires, which is the case for the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, as well as the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, who also spun out after setting his time.

At mid-session, it is the two Mercedes that dominate the timing sheets with Hamilton at 1:15.003 ahead of Bottas at 1:15.039. The track activity calms down a bit, and the drivers take advantage of returning the extra set of tires traditionally offered by Pirelli during the first free practice session each weekend.

As is customary in Montreal, the countryside makes its presence felt on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve through the appearance of a squirrel, who descended from its tree to experience the heat of the track for itself!

This guy appears to know that all the drivers are in the garages 🤔

Decent time to go for a wander 🐿️#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/S0kO3a1yIJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 juin 2017

This intrusion does not disturb Valtteri Bottas, who sets the fastest time with a 1:14.046 after a nice exchange with his teammate. In the end, it’s Lewis Hamilton who is the first to break the 1:14 barrier with a 1:13.961. The Ferraris, for the moment, do not join the fight, just like the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen, 5th, and Daniel Ricciardo, 9th, who only managed a best time with Super Soft tires. Notably, Fernando Alonso has yet to record a time in this session…

Behind the Mercedes/Ferrari duel, it’s once again the two Force India drivers who reap the rewards. Sergio Pérez, in 4th place, is ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon, in 5th place. After the narrow streets of Monaco, the two drivers regain performance on an engine-focused circuit. Moreover, Felipe Massa places his Mercedes-powered Williams in 7th place. His young teammate Lance Stroll, racing his first session at home, continues his challenging learning process with an 11th position, 1 second behind the Brazilian.

Fernando Alonso finally returns to the track to set his first time… nearly 3 seconds off Lewis Hamilton’s best mark. The Spaniard is in 13th place but unfortunately has to abandon his car at the hairpin due to yet another engine problem. However, he doesn’t miss the opportunity to greet the crowd and take photos with the track marshals before patiently waiting, hands behind his back, for the session to end so he can head back to his motorhome.

Disappointed… but still happy to pose for some photos with the marshals@alo_oficial 👏#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/jxnczhWivi

— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 juin 2017

There is a quarter of an hour left in the session, and Sebastian Vettel has come between the two Mercedes. The Renaults are also on the track in these final minutes but are clearly lacking performance. Nico Hülkenberg is 12th, 2.6 seconds behind, and Jolyon Palmer is 17th, more than 3 seconds off the pace.

This time, it’s a marmot that crosses the track right in front of the nose of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, which slows down to let the mischievous animal pass!

⚠️ GROUNDHOG ALERT 👀#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/G91PFYFwsy

— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 juin 2017

A spin by Esteban Ocon enlivened the last few seconds of a session where times hardly improved, except for Daniel Ricciardo who gained a few tenths to secure a relatively disappointing 9th place.

The full ranking of FP1:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP1)@MercedesAMGF1 edge @ScuderiaFerrari @ForceIndiaF1 impress again#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/T6IDFPyjuE

— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 juin 2017