The first practice session for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix lasted less than 10 minutes.
Only 12 drivers made it to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal before a red flag was posted early for a transmission problem on Pierre Gasly’s Alpine. Gasly’s car was stuck in neutral and came to a stop on the track.
The session was unable to resume due to a problem with the CCTV feed that teams and race officials have access to around the track. The issues with the stream lasted for more than a few minutes and it soon became clear that F1 could not resume the session until the unspecified CCTV issues were resolved.
With F1 rules requiring there to be at least 150 minutes between practice sessions, suspending the first practice indefinitely until issues were resolved was not an option. F1 therefore announced shortly before the scheduled end of the first hour-long practice that the second test would start half an hour earlier at 4:30 p.m. ET and would last 90 minutes instead of 60.
Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix (2 p.m. ET, ABC) is the second of five races in North America in 2023. Aston Martin is set to launch major upgrades to its race weekend car after falling behind on Mercedes and finish third in the constructor’s standings after the Spanish Grand Prix. Mercedes rolled out car updates to Monaco in May after being unhappy with the direction of its car platform.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is the heavy favorite for Sunday’s race after winning five of the opening seven races of the season. The other two wins went to teammate Sergio Perez.