Verstappen leads Sainz and Alonso in first practice at the Canadian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen led the first free practice session of the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal in Canada.

Carlos Sainz finished in second position, 0.246 seconds slower than the Dutchman. Fernando Alonso finished in third position at the end of the session.

The first free practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montréal started with air temperatures at 25 degrees C and track temperatures at 41 degrees C. The skies were slightly overcast with a 20% chance of rain.

Formula 1 returned to this circuit after 2019 after race cancellations for two years due to the Covid19 pandemic.

The Pirelli tyre choice at this race is the white-striped hard compound tyres (C3), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C4), and red-striped soft compound tyres (C5), the softest range of compounds in the Pirelli tyre range.

The FIA was studying the porpoising of the cars on this bumpy circuit as they are concerned about the effects of the bouncing on the drivers on safety grounds.

Sainz was on top in the initial exchanges with a lap time of 1m19.708s. But Verstappen was quickly on the pace as he kept going faster with a lap time of 1m15.799s on the medium tyres to go to the top of the time charts. Sergio Pérez slotted into second position for an Oracle Red Bull Racing 1-2.

With fifteen minutes gone, Pérez went fastest with a lap time of 1m15.660s. Esteban Ocon returned to the pits with his front right brakes on fire.

Verstappen was back on top with a lap time of 1m15.158s. Sainz was in second position, 0.246 seconds slower than the Dutch driver. The order behind them was Fernando Alonso, Pérez, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, home town favourite Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo.

Less than one second covered the top ten drivers at this point. Yuki Tsunoda had a few brushes with the wall coming out of Turn 4.

It has been a strong start to the weekend from the leader of the drivers’ championship Verstappen. Arch-rival Leclerc could manage only fifth position and has engine penalties on the cards as his power unit from Baku cannot be salvaged.

Sainz showed that the Ferrari cars have pace as he slotted into second position. Alonso on the medium compound tyres finish in a strong third position.

Pérez after topping the time charts early in the session finished in fourth position. Russell and Hamilton finished in sixth and eighth positions as the W13 porpoising issues continued to a lesser degree than Baku.

The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team had a good session as Stroll and Vettel finished in seventh and ninth positions respectively.

Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished in tenth and twelfth positions for the McLaren F1 team. Pierre Gasly and Tsunoda were in eleventh and fourteenth positions for the Scuderia AlphaTauri team as the intense midfield tussle continued.

Alexander Albon finished the session in a creditable thirteenth position as he led the drivers fighting for the lower positions.

Rain is expected for the second practice session in the afternoon.

2022 Canadian Grand Prix First Practice Results: