Renault Sport Formula One Team ended the first day of practice for the Grand Prix du Canada just shy of the top ten with Nico Hulkenberg posting the twelfth fastest time of the day, a 1min 14.604secs. Both Nico and Jolyon Palmer had trouble-free days running through standard FP1 and FP2 programmes at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montréal.

In FP1, Nico and Jolyon both used Pirelli's Soft (yellow) and Supersoft (red) tyres. In FP2 Jolyon and Nico ran with the Supersoft and the Ultrasoft (purple) tyres.

Nico Hulkenberg: "That was a standard Friday for us and we did everything we needed to do. As ever, I think we can make some more improvements to the car ahead of qualifying tomorrow and I'm confident there's a bit more pace to come from me too. It was great to get out on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in this car, as it's one of my very favourite circuits."

Jolyon Palmer: "We had to chase balance a bit at the start of the day, but that's normal on a green, temporary circuit. We made good progress through the sessions and we learnt a decent amount about both set-up and the tyres. There's certainly a better feeling from the Ultrasoft tyres, which you'd expect. There's more to come and I'm really looking forward to qualifying."

Nick Chester, Technical Director: "We completed full programs with both cars covering set-up and aerodynamic comparisons. As expected, the track was dirty at the start of the day, which meant a struggle for grip and balance. We made progress on set-up for the afternoon and these, in conjunction with the track improvement, leave us reasonably happy with our day's work. There's a bit more to come in terms of pace from both car and drivers, so the top ten is certainly our target for tomorrow."

Check out our Friday gallery from Montreal, here.