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.