F1 Canadian Grand Prix practice abandoned for unprecedented reason after just three laps
THE Canadian GP got off to a false start after race bosses were forced to scrap first practice due to a CCTV failure.
Pierre Gasly ground to a halt in his Alpine but the session did not restart as Race Control spotted that the local CCTV cameras had failed.
It came after only three laps and as the clock ticked down, the FIA eventually canned the session.
A statement from the FIA said: “The delay will be longer as the CCTV is not synced correctly and until the issue has been fixed we cannot run on track.
“This system is a local installation and they are continuing to work to resolve the problem.
“The clock will continue to run down on FP1 and the session won’t be extended as there must be 2.5hrs between FP1 and FP2. We are looking at options to extend FP2.”
In order to compensate for the lost track time, the FIA increased FP2 to 90 minutes rather than the usual hour.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen comes into the eighth race of the season off the back of three successive victories.
He has opened up a 53-point lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
And he is the overwhelming favourite to win in Montreal this weekend in what would be his sixth triumph of 2023.
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Verstappen is eyeing a third consecutive F1 drivers’ title.
Since debuting in the sport eight years ago, he has picked up 40 wins from 170 race starts.
But he had to wait until last year to clinch his first Canadian GP victory – which he won by less than a second from Carlos Sainz.