REPORT: Disrupted first day in Montreal

The 2024 Canadian Grand Prix weekend is underway and we have been treated to all four seasons within a single day at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

From hail and wind to thunder, glorious sunshine and finally some consistent rain - we saw it all, ultimately leading to two limited Practice sessions.

FP1 had a delayed start as marshals worked to clear standing water from the track. Eventually, we were on track with 40 minutes left on the clock.

Zhou Guanyu brought out the red flag after tagging the barrier at T5.

Quick work from the trackside team meant it was only a short stoppage and our pair completed nine laps between them.

Logan set a time good enough for P16 whilst Alex didn’t complete a timed lap, placing him in P20.

FP2 started with a damp track but dry enough for soft tyres, which allowed us some precious running on the slicks.

Alex’s best time during this stint was 1:16.977, good enough for P9, whilst Logan was just behind in P12 with a 1:17.496.

The rain intensified as the session went on, and the entire field switched back onto the intermediates - our pair ended FP2 with 42 laps under their belts.

"Overall, we had a good practice session in FP2 and it was fun to get out there and take a bit of risk," Alex shared at the end of the day.

"It looks like we will have similar conditions across the weekend, so I'm glad we could do some laps on the slicks and the Inters.

"The car felt strong on both compounds, and the slicks felt really good even with the DRS closed, so there's definitely more lap time there.

"In all my running today, I was between fourth and ninth so I'm generally feeling positive for tomorrow.

Logan continued by adding: "Obviously, it was a massively disrupted day.

"Looking at it as a whole, we didn’t get to drive in proper dry or wet conditions.

"There was maybe a little missed opportunity by not doing any laps when it was a bit more wet in FP1.

"Nonetheless it was okay in general with a few things to sort out. I think we’re going to be in a similar weather pattern tomorrow, so it’ll be about being on the right tyre at the right time and getting the strategy correct."

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director, wrapped up our Friday reaction by commenting: "As predicted in the beginning of the week the weather determined the run plans today.

"There wasn’t much running in FP1 for us, but we made the most of FP2 doing a good number of laps on the Soft tyre before changing to the Intermediate.

"We collected valuable information on both tyres for the rest of the weekend and the drivers are reasonably happy with the set-up of the car in these constantly changing conditions.

"More rain is expected for tomorrow and Sunday which will keep things interesting.

"We will have to be on top of our game as there will be opportunities to score valuable points on Sunday."