17/06/2022
NEWS STORY
Round 9 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship commenced on Friday with practice at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as teams prepared for Sunday's 70-lap Canadian Grand Prix.
Friday's track time consisted of two 60-minute sessions - FP1 and FP2 - around the 4.361-kilometer (2.710-mile), 14-turn track - Formula 1 returning to the circuit for the first time since 2019 with the events in 2020 and 2021 postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a hot and humid start to the weekend with FP1 seeing air temperature peaking at 25.8 degrees Celsius (78.44 degrees Fahrenheit) while the track temperature hit a high of 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Schumacher and Magnussen followed identical run-plans starting on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires followed by the Red softs. Their third and final outings, on high-fuel, utilized the used medium rubber from earlier in the session. Schumacher set the fastest time in the VF-22 lapping in 1:17.223 (P18) while Magnussen's best was a 1:17.555 (P20) - both times recorded on softs.
Thunderstorms threatened later in the day but FP2 remained dry despite the noticeably cloudier conditions. Both drivers headed out debuting the White hard compound - each logging a 13-lap stint to start. Quali sims followed on the soft tires with Magnussen posting a quickest lap of 1:15.499 (P14) with Schumacher directly behind on a 1:15.516 (P15). The session wrapped with distance running, Magnussen returning to the hard tire with Schumacher taking the checkered flag on his used softs.
Haas F1 Team ran a total of 125 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 - 65 by Magnussen and 60 by Schumacher.
Kevin Magnussen: "It's good to be back in Canada. We had a pretty normal Friday, no big issues. As usual there's lots to look at tonight, lots to study. I'm looking forward to tomorrow - I think with the weather it could be interesting."
Mick Schumacher: "It was good fun - the fans were amazing out there, being here the whole day. We had a tough FP1 but a good FP2 in the sense that we got through everything. The car is quite stiff again, so we'll see how that affects my back at the end of the race but overall the car felt pretty good. The track felt quite slippery, I don't know if that's normal, so we'll see next year if that's the case but it's good to be here, good to get the experience and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "FP1 wasn't ideal, it was a little bit difficult, but it was still a good session because we learned a lot. We struggled on the soft tire in FP1 but made progress in FP2 getting closer to where we want to be, still not there, but progress was made in the two sessions with very little trouble. We had a small problem with Mick's rear wing but we got it sorted so we didn't lose any running time. Now, let's see what comes tomorrow - does it rain, does it not, we don't know - but we made good progress and therefore we welcome tomorrow."