Canadian Grand Prix – First Practice session

Max Verstappen was fastest in FP1 as Canadian Grand Prix action resumed for the first time since 2019.

Sainz was quicker than his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who has been the Friday and Saturday king this season but could only manage fifth as he took to the Montreal track for the first time in the F1-75.

The new FIA technical directive aimed at alleviating porpoising in cars had no immediate effect on the top of the pecking order as, just like for the vast majority of this season, Red Bull and Ferrari were well clear of the rest – with the exception of Fernando Alonso, an excellent third for Alpine.

Verstappen, Sainz and Alonso lead the way after first practice 👏#CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/6RuqbsmBjZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 17, 2022

But there was a big improvement from Aston Martin duo Sebastian Vettel and his team-mate Lance Stroll, who is back competing on home soil for the first time in three years. The Silverstone-based team, who made a poor start to the season, had both drivers in the top 10 for most of this opening hour’s running.

Despite a large black cloud hovering over the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at the start of the session, conditions remained dry after heavy rain had fallen on Montreal earlier in the day.

The first significant problem encountered was for Esteban Ocon, who reported a brake failure in his Alpine and the team suspected a piece of paper towel had become stuck in the workings, but the Frenchman was able to resume his session despite the presence of smoke when he arrived in the pit box.

Yuki Tsunoda, who will be serving a 10-place grid penalty for taking his fourth power unit of the season, scraped the wall as carbon fibre flew off his AlphaTauri, while his team-mate Pierre Gasly later upset Valtteri Bottas by getting in his way at the chicane.

You can read the full report of the session here.

Results: First Practice (FP1) – 2022 Canadian GP

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:15.158
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.246s
3 Fernando Alonso Alpine 0.373s
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull 0.461s
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0.508s
6 George Russell Mercedes 0.664s
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 0.719s
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 0.719s
9 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 0.883s
10 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 0.925s
11 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1.007s
12 Lando Norris McLaren 1.053s
13 Alex Albon Williams 1.150s
14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1.164s
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1.263s
16 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1.268s
17 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo Racing 1.994s
18 Mick Schumacher Haas…