F1 drivers get a taste of tricky conditions ahead of Canadian Grand Prix

Formula One drivers got a taste of what to expect this weekend on a practice day riddled with wild weather at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Formula One drivers got a taste of what to expect this weekend on a practice day riddled with wild weather at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Lightning, heavy rain and hail rolled through Montreal a little more than an hour before Friday’s opening session at 1:30 p.m. ET, and the precipitation continued through brief periods of sunshine the rest of the afternoon.

“Today was definitely an odd one,” seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes said. “It was literally summer this morning, then it rained hailstone. I can’t even remember the last time I saw hailstone but they were huge.

“Then sunny again, really hot and humid, and then raining again.”

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso posted the fastest lap in the strange conditions, driving around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in one minute 15.810 seconds during the second free practice.

The Spanish driver finished ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell (1:16.273) and Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll (1:16.464), the lone Canadian on the 20-pilot grid.

Earlier, McLaren’s Lando Norris had the fastest lap (1:24.435) in the first practice after a torrential downpour delayed the session.