Alonso on top after Free Practice 1 in Canada

Mercedes look strong again going second and third fastest

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso is at the top of the time sheets after the first free practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Alonso’s fastest lap of 1:17.238 was enough to put him ahead of the surging Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton by just 0.016 seconds. Hamilton’s teammate Nico Rosberg currently sits in third place, just 0.146 behind Alonso as the competition for pole position starts to heat up seven races into the season.

Free Practice 1 got underway with a stream of cars taking to the grid, immediately giving the Canadian fans something to watch, and for many, their first experience of hearing the new V6 turbo engines. With rain forecast to come later in the day, most teams seemed anxious to get some dry running in before having to contemplate wet setups should they need to.

Before an hour of the session had passed, all 22 drivers had posted a fast lap, with Lewis Hamilton leading the pack, and Caterham’s Marcus Ericcson sitting in last place, over 7 seconds off the pace set by the Mercedes.

Focusing on set ups and short stints, with a handful of practice starts thrown in at the pit lane exit, the excitement on track was short lived as all drivers returned to their respective team garages having posted just over half an hour of running. The track was quiet as the teams analyzed their data before cars returned to the track after an approximate 10 minute break.

Hamilton and Rosberg remained wholly unchallenged at the front of the grid throughout the session, whilst teams got a feeling as to how the track would handle the new cars for the first time. The V6 turbo powered cars looked more like drifting cars over much of the session, with the turbo kicking just as many accelerated out of their corners.

Countless drivers came close to kissing not only the Wall of Champions on several occasion, but also on numerous other walls throughout the circuit. Jules Bianchi became the first victim of a wall incident this weekend though when his Marussia clipped the wall coming out of turn 4. The crash would force Bianchi to retire for the morning whilst the car is recovered to the pit garage.

Late in the session and with the rain still holding off, Fernando Alonso moved into first place, topping the time set by Hamilton by just 0.016 seconds. Although Hamilton took to the track for a final stint before the chequered flag fell on the session, he would be unable to answer Alonso’s time, settling for second this morning.

Further down the time sheets and Sebastian Vettel seems to have found a sweet spot on his RB10 so far, posting the fourth fastest lap time and more importantly, a faster time than teammate Daniel Ricciardo who has somewhat outshined Vettel this season so far.

Lotus’ struggles seem to continue in Canada after the first session as both Grosjean and Maldonado were complaining of tyre pressures and handling issues on track. Maldonado also had a problem with his front right suspension, limiting his track time. At the end of FP1 Grosjean placed a lowly 14th whilst Maldonado sat 16th. The team will be looking for a stronger run this afternoon during FP2.

American Alexander Rossi, testing for Caterham for the first time this season, finished in 22nd and last place, over 4 and a half seconds back on the lap time of Alonso.