Ferrari finding positives from unusual Friday in Montreal

CCTV or lack thereof, in fact, caused FP1 to be scrapped by the Race Director shortly after it started and an extra half hour added to FP2 which had it's share of interruptions and held under threatening skies over a very busy track as drivers tried to make up for lost time before the rain pelted down.

At the end of a trying day for the whole paddock, Ferrari headlined their day one report from Circuit Gilles Villeneuve: "An unusual but positive Friday."

Indeed, against expectations, Carlos Sainz ended the first day third quickest, only better by the apparently resurgent Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. The Ferrari a tenth and a bit of a second down on the top time.

In the Ferrari team report, Sainz reported: "With hardly any track time in FP1, it meant that FP2 was particularly busy but we managed to try all three dry-weather compounds, as well as various set-ups on the car to improve performance.

"We made good progress over the course of the day. The result is quite positive, even if we still need to find a bit of pace and performance going into Saturday," concluded Sainz.

In the other Ferrari Charles Leclerc, who was fifth fastest at the day's end, said: "It’s only Friday and there is still a long way to go, but overall, it has been a positive day. The feeling I had in the car was very good. We are a bit further down the order as we couldn’t do a second run on the Softs because of the red flag. Our race pace felt good as well and we will keep working in the current direction."

For now, Ferrari and their drivers can wave goodbye to the title, and will be seeking to claw their way back towards the top of the F1 pecking order race by race, opportunity by opportunity which the Canadian Grand Prix can provide.

For inspiration, the F1 boys can look at their Hypercar colleagues - Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi and all involved with the return to Le Mans project - as inspiration and recall what Red Glory Days can be like.

Ahead of qualifying, Ferrari concluded their Friday report "expecting unpredictable weather adding that more rain is expected in Montreal on Saturday but no rain is forecast at the moment for the Grand Prix on Sunday."