10/06/2016
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's opening practice session, the air temperature is 13 degrees C, whilst the track temperature is 26 degrees C. Unlike yesterday, when it was decidedly chilly, today it is still cool but bright and sunny.
From the tight confines of Monaco we arrive that the Circuit Gilles villeneuve, a series of high-speed straights punctuates by chicanes and hairpins, a circuits where grunt and brakes are vital.
As Nico Rosberg admits that Red Bull is closing in on Mercedes very quickly, the German team has responded with a wide ranging number of updates in its attempt to keep the Austrian team at bay.
Renault and Red Bull will have upgraded engines for both drivers this weekend, whilst Ferrari and Honda have also upgraded their units.
Tyre options are ultrasoft, supersoft and soft, as in Monaco, whilst there are two DRS zones, the first on the straight leading to the final chicane that marks the infamous 'Wall of Champions', and the second on the pit straight just after said wall.
As in Monaco, none of the teams are running reserve or third drivers.
Palmer heads down the pitlane to get things underway, but as he stops to perform a practice start he is overtaken by Grosjean. Gutierrez, Wehrlein, Raikkonen, Haryanto and Magnussen follow. The drivers are running a mixture of softs and supers.
Among the last out is the Mercedes duo, and, as has become the norm, whilst their rivals head back to the pits the silver cars continue. Rosberg posts the first time of the weekend, stopping the clock at 1:30.434.
That said, having posted a time Rosberg heads back to the pits as does teammate Hamilton.
After a brief lull, the Manors break the silence, both drivers on the supers.
The cameras pick up on Alonso talking with Vandoorne, most probably his 2017 teammate.
A 25.231 sees Haryanto go quickest as Wehrlein heads back to the pits having failed to post a time.
As Haryanto improves to 23.056, Ricciardo heads out on softs, followed by Verstappen and Massa.
The Australian posts 18.430 as Haryanto improves again, the Manor driver managing a 21.505.
Ricciardo improves to 17.687 but this is immediately beaten by Massa who posts a 17.065.
A 17.675 sees Verstappen go second, with Bottas leapfrogging the youngster moments later.
No sooner has Verstappen(soft) improved to 16.997 than Raikkonen (super) bangs in a 16.138 and Magnussen misses the final chicane.
Vettel's first lap sees the German go sixth (18.047) as Grosjean is the first driver to try the ultra.
Massa is off and in the barrier at the exact spot he collided with Perez in 2014. The session is red flagged.
Clearly OK, the Brazilian reports that he had a problem, possibly DRS related. "I cancelled the DRS and lost the rear completely," he reports.
Replay doesn't shed any light on the issue. He loses the rear of the car, in what was a heavy crash, but the DRS was closed.
With supreme irony, it should be noted that the barrier Massa crashed into was adorned with Heineken branding.
The session restarts at 10:37 (local time) and Rosberg heads the queue at the end of the pitlane.
Hamilton heads out on the ultras and then returns to the pits. Indeed, the move coincides perfectly with the forty-minute point at which time drivers have to hand back a set of tyres.
Currently it's: Raikkonen, Verstappen, Vettel, Massa, Bottas, Ricciardo, Wehrlein, Haryanto, Nasr and Palmer.
Only 14 drivers have posted times thus far, Hamilton one of those who has yet to do so.
Grosjean finally breaks the deadlock, followed down the pitlane by Wehrlein, Magnussen and Gutierrez. Both Haas drivers are on the ultrasoft rubber.
Grosjean goes seventh on the ultras (17.965), whilst teammate Gutierrez goes twelfth (21.576).
Sainz (supers) goes second (16.543), whilst teammate Kvyat can only manage eleventh (18.177).
Grosjean improves to 17.261 and Gutierrez 17.763.
Bottas posts 16.612 to go third before improving to 16.301 and closing to within 0.163s of pace-setter, and countryman, Raikkonen.
Check out our Friday gallery, here.
Having missed the final chicane, Hamilton can only manage 15th (19.468) as an impassive Niki Lauda looks on.
No such problems for Rosberg, who goes quickest in all three sectors on the ultras, crossing the line at 15.746.
Bottas is unhappy with a very slow Verstappen, causing the Finn to miss the final chicane to avoid him. "Come on, did you see that," he asks his team. Indeed, they did.
Hamilton takes the top spot with a 14.980, the Briton, unlike his teammate, on the supers.
On the softs, Verstappen goes second, 0.573s down on Hamilton.
Alonso is the latest in a long line of drivers to miss the final chicane. Indeed, Hamilton misses it for the second time this morning.
On the supers, Alonso posts 16.663 to go eighth, as Rosberg (ultras) closes to within 0.182s of his Mercedes teammate.
"That's pretty dangerous from Fernando there," complains Hamilton as he has to miss the final chicane in order to miss the slow Spaniard.
None the worse for his close encounter, Hamilton improves to 14.755.
Ignoring the Mercedes duo, the next seven drivers are covered by a second.
As Verstappen does well not to lose it at the hairpin, Button appears to have problems. The Briton, currently twelfth, is standing in the pitlane arm folded and still wearing his helmet as his crew work on his car. There is talk of a fire.
Vettel (supers) closes to within 0.488s of Hamilton to go third.
Ericsson makes a hash of T10 in his effort to improve on 18th (18.129).
The final phase of the session, as ever, sees drivers focussing on longer runs on heavy fuel, consequently there are no significant improvements... certainly at the sharp end.
Button is back in his car, and with ten minutes remaining looks likely to have another run. Indeed, he does go out - in a great cloud of oil smoke - and is subsequently told to "box". Eric Boullier looks unimpressed.
"It's like we're stuck on a temperature limiter," he tells his crew, who advise that Honda understands the problem.
A big, big lock up for Bottas at the final chicane for Bottas.
The session ends with Hamilton quickest, ahead of Rosberg, Vettel, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Perez and Alonso.
Ricciardo is eleventh, ahead of Button, Grosjean, Massa, Kvyat, Gutierrez, Nasr, Haryanto, Ericsson, Magnussen, Wehrlein and Palmer.
Check out our Friday gallery, here.