Verstappen posts 1:13.302 on hypersofts; Hamilton 0.088s slower on ultras; Alonso seventh for McLaren; Hulkenberg breaks down; Stroll clips Wall of Champions
Monday 10 December 2018 16:41, UK
Max Verstappen pipped Lewis Hamilton to the fastest time in Practice One for the Canadian GP, as Fernando Alonso enjoyed a fine start to his 300th grand prix weekend.
Verstappen, under increased pressure to have a clean weekend following his Monaco crash, posted a 1:13.302 on hypersoft tyres to top a session for the first time in 2018 as Red Bull benefitted from their upgraded Renault power unit.
Hamilton was just 0.088s slower in the lead Mercedes, and posted his time on the slower ultrasoft tyres. The reigning world champion is seeking a record-equalling seventh win in Montreal this weekend.
Monaco GP winner Daniel Ricciardo was third in the second Red Bull, two tenths off Verstappen's benchmark, with Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen just behind.
Only four tenths of a second covered the top six, suggesting the weekend looks set to be another close battle between the three leading teams.
Vettel is the only Ferrari-powered driver to run the Scuderia's upgraded engine this weekend.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed to Sky F1 that Ricciard's first MGU-K component had been re-fitted to his RB14, with the team hoping to avoid a grid penalty after his problem in Monte Carlo.
And on a key weekend for engine decisions with Renault, Ferrari and Honda bringing fresh upgrades, Red Bull will have been further encouraged by the sight of the Honda-powered Toro Rosso topping the speed trap charts as they prepare to make their 2019 engine decision.
Alonso and McLaren showed promising signs at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Spaniard had traded fastest laps with the two Mercedes drivers early on and claimed the early 'best of rest' tag with a 1:13.900 on ultrasofts.
The two-time world champion was just half a second off the leading time, and half a second ahead of team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, who was ninth just behind Carlos Sainz's works Renault.
But Sainz's team-mate Nico Hulkenberg endured a frustrating start to the weekend as his RS18 ground to a halt before he could set a time with an apparent gearbox issue.
Home favourite Lance Stroll also had a troubled opening session, the Canadian suffering a puncture when he clipped the Wall of Champions and posting the second-slowest time, with only compatriot Nicholas Latifi - driving Sergio Perez's Force India - behind.
Stroll's team-mate Sergey Sirotkin also hit the barriers heavily at Turn Six and was 17th on another difficult morning for Williams.
Sauber had an encouraging session with Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc 13th and 14th respectively, between the two Haas cars.
