World champion 0.415s faster than team-mate; Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg next up ahead of Sebastian Vettel
Friday 5 June 2015 23:56, UK
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in opening practice for the Canadian GP on Friday from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
The world champion lapped the 4.361km Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in a time of 1:16.212 to end the session 0.415s faster than Rosberg, with Lotus's Romain Grosjean third fastest.
Grosjean was 1.5s off the pace and with Nico Hulkenberg's Force India next up, it was the highest either driver had figured in a practice session so far this season.
And with both teams also powered by Mercedes, the early indication at least is that their hybrid engines - which have been upgraded this weekend - could be the way to go on a track noted for the emphasis it places on power.
If so, it would spell disappointment for Ferrari, who are introducing even more significant upgrades - using development 'tokens' - for their engine this weekend.
Ferrari's leading runner, Sebastian Vettel, was fifth fastest, 1.6s slower than Hamilton while Kimi Raikkonen was 12th fastest about 0.5s slower than his team-mate.
Felipe Massa was sixth fastest for Williams ahead of Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull, with Pastor Maldonado (Lotus), Fernando Alonso (McLaren-Honda) and Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) completing the top ten.
Valterri Bottas' Williams ended the session ahead of Raikkonen, with Sergio Perez's Force India 13th ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who won the race last year.
Jenson Button was next up - he suffered gearbox problems early on in the session - with Felipe Nasr (Sauber), Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso), Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), Roberti Merhi (Manor) and Will Stevens (Manor) completing the runners.
There was little incident during the session and teams might be thankful for the running they had if rain forecast later in the afternoon starts falling.
There were a number of spins - including one for Hamilton at the Turn 10 hairpin - as the drivers got to grips with the rarely-used track.
That much was also evident early on when marshals were pressed into action in the pitlane to remove carpet staples which hadn't been removed from the tarmac after a previous event.
Meanwhile, Rosberg was also on the end of a €1000 fine for speeding in the pitlane.
Second practice starts at 7pm BST.
Times:
1. L Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.212
2. N Rosberg Mercedes 1:16.627
3. R Grosjean Lotus 1:17.721
4. N Hulkenberg Force India 1:17.871
5. S Vettel Ferrari 1:17.905
6. F Massa Williams 1:17.985
7. D Kvyat Red Bull 1:18.021
8. P Maldonado Lotus 1:18.026
9. F Alonso McLaren 1:18.128
10. M Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:18.257
11. V Bottas Williams 1:18.325
12. K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:18.439
13. S Perez Force India 1:18.503
14. D Ricciardo Red Bull 1:18.775
15. J Button McLaren 1:18.786
16. F Nasr Sauber 1:18.948
17. C Sainz Toro Rosso 1:19.065
18: M Ericsson Sauber 1:19.165
19. R Merhi (Manor) 1:20.616
20. W Stevens (Manor) 1:20.624
