Vettel in Wall of Champions

Nico Rosberg was quickest in opening practice for the Canadian Grand Prix while Sebastian Vettel hit the 'Wall of Champions'.

Rosberg fastest while world champion suffers a setback

Nico Rosberg set the quickest time in opening practice for the Canadian Grand Prix while Sebastian Vettel hit the famous 'Wall of Champions'. Rosberg used the straight line speed of his Mercedes to good effect on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to post a mark of 1 minute 15.591 seconds. But the major talking point involved championship leader Vettel, who lost control in the braking zone for the final chicane before heading into the wall and damaging the right-hand side of his Red Bull car. The wall has earned the name after world champions such as Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button also collided with it over the years. Schumacher rounded off a strong showing for Mercedes by setting the third fastest time with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso sandwiched between the two silver cars in second.

McLarens trailing

Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa finished the session in fourth place while McLaren duo Button and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth respectively. Alonso was the first of the big names to set a benchmark as he dipped under the 1:20s before first Schumacher and then Hamilton overhauled him. But Alonso hit back with a 1:18.326 before fellow Ferrari driver Massa dipped into the 1:17s, with the Brazilian on top when Vettel finally took to the track. The reigning world champion had climbed to 10th place when he careered into the wall, escaping unhurt but with significant damage to his RB7. After a six-minute long red flag period, Alonso took over at the top of the timesheets as Hamilton ran off the track, but Rosberg overhauled the Ferraris with a 1:16.002. The German improved his time further to finish over five tenths ahead of Alonso, with Schumacher more than nine tenths back and the rest not within a second. Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.591s 32 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m16.139s + 0.548 27 laps
03. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m16.549s + 0.958 30 laps
04. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m16.658s + 1.067 26 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.676s + 1.085 20 laps
06. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.842s + 1.251 19 laps
07. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.990s + 1.399 28 laps
08. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.294s + 1.703 26 laps
09. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m17.445s + 1.854 28 laps
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.549s + 1.958 20 laps
11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.662s + 2.071 27 laps
12. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m17.820s + 2.229 30 laps
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.458s + 2.867 31 laps
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m18.506s + 2.915 15 laps
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.648s + 3.057 35 laps
16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m18.852s + 3.261 8 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m18.932s + 3.341 20 laps
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m19.274s + 3.683 29 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m19.422s + 3.831 30 laps
20. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m19.577s + 3.986 26 laps
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.838s + 4.247 31 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m19.960s + 4.369 23 laps
23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.520s + 4.929 21 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.839s + 5.248 27 laps