Max Verstappen pumps up the Canadian Grand Prix

Enraged at the commissioners ’decision, Vettel did not park his car next to Hamilton’s near the paddocks. Instead, he expressed his resentment by moving the sign with the number 1 to where his vehicle should be located and by placing the sign with the number 2 in front of Hamilton’s.

I won the last race here, or so I think, Vettel’s joke on Friday morning. No, actually, I opened that page.

Hamilton then turned to conquering his sixth world championship, which he further modified the following year. Brit also remembers the special bond that binds her to Montreal.

Always special here in Montreal. It was fun to see the people again, to feel the energy of the city. I remember my first career here, my first win and my first pole position here in 2007, so it’s always special to come back here. This track is great, and I hope my car handles better this time.summarized Hamilton, in reference to the current porpoising problems of Mercedes.

Three years later, the two drivers returned to the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit in different situations.

Vettel, who now joins the Aston Martin alongside the Quebecer Lance Stroll, runs in the middle of the pack.

The car is moving. We understand this better, and have a better idea of ​​the settings needed to take advantage of its full potential. But it was still very crowded in the middle of the pelotonsaid the German, quadruple world champion.

The battle for the title is looming today between Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion and current overall leader, his team-mate Sergio Perez, and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.

The Dutchman is in full swing approaching the Canadian Grand Prix, scoring four victories in the last five races. However, he remained cautious about his expectations for the weekend.

We’ve had some great races, but the season is still long. However, unexpected things can happen, as we have seen in recent races (including Ferrari retirements, in Baku). We’ll have to work hard on our qualification performance – we still haven’t found the right settings to lead regularly. And it’s always easier when you start from the front of the peloton during the raceVerstappen explains.

Red Bull drivers therefore aim to take advantage of the turmoil currently plaguing Scuderia, after Leclerc has been notably the victim of two retirements in the last three races.

What Verstappen did on Friday.

Verstappen, the fastest

The Dutchman ignored the gust of wind that passed through the circuit, under the cloudy sky, and set the best time of the first free training session at 1 min 15 s 158/1000.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. got 0.246s in 2nd place, while Alpine driver Fernando Alonso brought a surprise in 3rd position, at 0.373s.

Perez and Leclerc completed the top 5, respectively.

For his part, Stroll tried new parts on the back wing and set the 7th fastest time, 0.719s behind Verstappen. Hamilton recorded the eighth fastest time, ahead of Vettel.

Nicholas Latifi of Toronto finished 19th with his Williams.

The session was marked by overheating of the right brake in front of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine car, which was forced to enter the emergency pits after just three laps. The French team indicated that a piece of debris, possibly a piece of cloth, was stuck in the gear.

Japanese Yuki Tsunoda slammed into a safety wall at the exit of a bend late in the session, without causing any real damage to his AlphaTauri. However, Tsunoda had to start at the back of the pack on Sunday, as his team undertook a machine replacement for the weekend.

The second free training session will take place later on Friday, followed by a third on Saturday morning and qualifying in the afternoon.

Leclerc and Sainz need to take advantage of this to improve their level of performance, and they know this very well. Monegasque took the lead after the last four qualifying sessions, but each time victory escaped him the next day.

A trend that needs to change, otherwise Red Bull could produce an insurmountable lead and go it alone towards championship coverage.