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<strong>FP1:</strong> Hamilton leads Bottas as Mercedes boasts a gap

FP1: Hamilton leads Bottas as Mercedes boasts a gap

Published on 07 Jun 2019 17:30
4
By: Fergal Walsh

Lewis Hamilton has ended the opening practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend on top of the timesheets, as Mercedes holds a large gap to its rivals.

Hamilton's lap time of 1:12.767 was almost one second faster than Charles Leclerc in P3, while the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was in second place, behind his teammate.

However, the day didn't end smoothly for Bottas, as he was hit with a reported loss of fuel pressure in the final minutes of the session.

Dusty circuit makes for a slow start

The day was slow to get underway, as the track surface was noticeably dusty - all drivers appeared to be struggling for grip throughout the 90-minute session.

The dust was still present on the racing line when the chequered flag fell, however there were plenty of cars out on the circuit to sweep the dust and debris up.

Max Verstappen ended the session in fourth place, splitting the Ferrari duo and Vettel was fifth, 1.1 seconds down on pace-setter Hamilton. Vettel's former teammate Kimi Raikkonen was sixth, 0.050s slower than the German.

Giovinazzi hits the wall

Raikkonen's teammate Antonio Giovianzzi's hit the wall on the exit of Turn 9, losing the rear and damaging his rear suspension which put him out of the session.

In high spirits after three consecutive top ten finishes, Carlos Sainz was seventh for McLaren, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo by a tenth and a half.

Sergio Perez was ninth in the Racing Point car while Haas, whose car is running without Rich Energy logos this weekend, rounded out the top ten with Kevin Magnussen.

Nicholas Latifi, who made his first FP1 appearance of the year, set a lot of laps early on for the Grove squad, while other teams opted to wait for the track to clean up. The Montreal born racer ended the session on 20th.

Pierre Gasly didn't break into the top ten, as he concluded opening practice in 13th, one second down on teammate Verstappen.

F1Grand Prix Canada - Free practice 1

Gilles Villeneuve - 07 June 2019

Driver

Team

Time

Difference

#
1

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:12.767

31
2

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

1:12.914

+0.147

25
3

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:13.720

+0.953

24
4

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:13.755

+0.988

26
5

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:13.905

+1.138

28
6

Kimi Räikkönen

Alfa Romeo Racing

1:13.945

+1.178

30
7

Carlos Sainz jr

McLaren

1:13.973

+1.206

34
8

Daniel Ricciardo

Renault

1:14.123

+1.356

31
9

Sergio Perez

Racing Point

1:14.172

+1.405

31
10

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1

1:14.202

+1.435

32
11

Lando Norris

McLaren

1:14.246

+1.479

33
12

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

1:14.474

+1.707

30
13

Pierre Gasly

Red Bull Racing

1:14.570

+1.803

27
14

Antonio Giovinazzi

Alfa Romeo Racing

1:14.582

+1.815

17
15

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1

1:14.645

+1.878

31
16

Alexander Albon

Toro Rosso

1:14.703

+1.936

36
17

Lance Stroll

Racing Point

1:14.812

+2.045

32
18

Daniil Kvyat

Toro Rosso

1:15.343

+2.576

32
19

George Russell

Williams

1:15.989

+3.222

29
20

Nicholas Latifi

Williams

1:16.199

+3.432

33

Photos Canada 2019

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F1 News Valtteri Bottas Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

Replies (4)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
There we are. Yeah, it's just FP1, but I have no doubts about Mercedes' form for this race. I sincerely doubt they will be that much behind Ferrari on the straights.
- + 0
- Jun 7 2019 - 17:55
- mcbhargav
  
  Posts: 1,332
  They are a full second clear of the next best. What a waste of everyones time, F1 really is. I might as well bet on a successful interstellar travel before Ferrari wins another championship.
  + 0
  
  Jun 7 2019 - 18:18
f1fan0101

Posts: 1,804
Damn what a gap...
- + 0
- Jun 7 2019 - 18:36
xoya

Posts: 583
A gap between Verstappen and Gasly is incredible.
- + 0
- Jun 7 2019 - 18:42