What we learned from Friday practice at the F1 Canadian GP

Following an unusual day of practice action at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a Mercedes 1-2 emerged on the timesheet while Red Bull languished down the order. While both teams had explanations for these situations, and effectively losing an entire practice session muddied the waters further, it appears a more open contest than at recent races could be on the cards

Formula 1's bizarre brace of Friday practice sessions for the Canadian Grand Prix ended with Lewis Hamilton holding the fastest time, as rain and technical issues left their respective marks.

The seven-time world champion moved to the top of the timesheets at the expense of his team-mate George Russell, in an important FP2 session as brief running in FP1 was caused by issues with the circuit's CCTV system.

Although the Ferraris had boasted strong pace in the opening part of the second practice session, the Mercedes duo shuffled them down the order prior to the customary longer runs, which teams were eager to carry out as the threat of rain loomed over the second half of the session.

In the meantime, Red Bull's hunt for its 100th grand prix victory began with a rocky start as Max Verstappen could only manage the sixth-best time overall, while team-mate Sergio Perez was eighth on the timesheets - behind nominal FP1 topper Valtteri Bottas.

Here's everything we've learned from a madcap Friday in Montreal.

Source: Autosport