F1 race start time, weather, odds and how to watch
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Lewis Hamilton led George Russell to a Mercedes one-two in Friday practice at the Canadian Grand Prix to raise hopes their new-look W14 can be competitive again this weekend, although it was not easy to read much into lap times on a strange day which saw FP1 abandoned due to a faulty CCTV system.
Second practice ended under an absolute deluge. And with further heavy rain expected on Saturday, teams may have been preparing their set-ups for that. The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were only sixth and eighth quickest, which was certainly not an accurate representation of their true pace.
Still, after an encouraging performance in Barcelona two weeks ago, where Hamilton and Russell finished second and third respectively, Mercedes will be hopeful. They timed their low-fuel runs perfectly in FP2, just before rain was due to fall in a second session which was extended by 30 minutes to compensate for the time lost in FP1.
“I can only compare [the car] to last year and it is massively better than last year,” Hamilton said. “The rear end is not necessarily but overall the car is just a step forward and I am definitely feeling the improvements we felt in Monaco and Spain, I’m feeling them here.
The FIA, Formula One’s governing body, blamed a “local installation” issue for the CCTV problem, which they said presented a safety issue as it covers areas such as run-off or behind barriers that are not always covered by F1TV.
Verstappen leads Red Bull team-mate Perez by an enormous 53 points going into the weekend.
When is it?
The 2023 Canadian Grand Prix runs from Friday June 16 until Sunday June 18.
What time do the sessions start?
Friday, June 16
All times British Summer Time
Practice 1: 6.30pm
Practice 2: 10pm
Saturday, June 17
Practice 3: 5.30pm
Qualifying: 9pm
Sunday, June 18
Race: 7pm
What is the weather forecast?
After an initially good forecast earlier this week, there is now an increasing chance of rain during the weekend.
Friday’s practice sessions could be affected by rain, with around a 40 per cent chance of rain between 9am and 12 noon local time. Highs of around 23c are predicted.
Qualifying is far more likely to be affected by rain with heavy rain forecast from early morning until early afternoon on Saturday, with around a 50 per cent chance of light rain during qualifying itself.
Sunday still looks fine, with only a small chance of rain (around 10 per cent) during the day, with some cloud cover and highs of 21c.
What TV channel is it on?
Sky Sports F1 have near-exclusive live coverage rights in the UK this year and indeed for the next few with their usual excellent team.
Sky’s qualifying coverage starts at 9pm BST on Saturday with their full race coverage from 5.30pm on Sunday.
Due to the unfortunate timings for European viewers, the chances of catching extended highlights on Channel 4 might mean you stay up after your bed time. The network’s qualifying coverage is at 8.30am BST on Sunday morning, whilst their race program begins at 11.30pm on the same day.
What do we know about the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
- Circuit length: 4.361km
- First grand prix: 1978
- Laps: 70
- Race distance: 305.27km
- Race lap record: 1:13.078 (Valtteri Bottas, 2019)
- 2022 winner: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Number of corners: 14
- Overtaking chances: Not as good as it perhaps once was, but there are a few spots, mostly stemming from the final hairpin at turn 10, into the final chicane (which isn’t really a good spot any more) and then (with DRS) into the slow, windy turns one and two.