2011 CANADA GP: FRIDAY FREE PRACTICE RESULTS

FIRST FREE PRACTICE

Vettel had close encounter with wall of champions

Nico Rosberg set the fastest time during first practice for the Canadian Grand Prix. The 90-minute session took place in low grip conditions with several drivers missing chicanes and struggling for rear-end grip under acceleration and braking.

But the big news of the first day of action was Sebastian Vettel's crash, the Red Bull driver starting his weekend on the back foot after a costly driving mistake.

Pos  Driver                Team                    Time               Laps
 1.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m15.591s            32
 2.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m16.139s  + 0.548   27
 3.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                1m16.549s  + 0.958   30
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m16.658s  + 1.067   26
 5.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m16.676s  + 1.085   20
 6.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes        1m16.842s  + 1.251   19
 7.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1m16.990s  + 1.399   28
 8.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m17.294s  + 1.703   26
 9.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault                 1m17.445s  + 1.854   28
10.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes    1m17.549s  + 1.958   20
11.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari          1m17.662s  + 2.071   27
12.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m17.820s  + 2.229   30
13.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m18.458s  + 2.867   31
14.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault                 1m18.506s  + 2.915   15
15.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m18.648s  + 3.057   35
16.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m18.852s  + 3.261    8
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth       1m18.932s  + 3.341   20
18.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault           1m19.274s  + 3.683   29
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault           1m19.422s  + 3.831   30
20.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari          1m19.577s  + 3.986   26
21.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth         1m19.838s  + 4.247   31
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth            1m19.960s  + 4.369   23
23.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth         1m20.520s  + 4.929   21
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth            1m20.839s  + 5.248   27

SECOND FREE PRACTICE

 Ferrari likes soft Pirelli tyres

Fernando Alonso set the fastest time of second practice for the Canadian Grand Prix in a session littered with incidents. The Spanish driver moved to the top of the times halfway through the session and stayed there until the end, outpacing Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel by nearly four tenths of a second. Felipe Massa was third fastest in the other Ferrari. Ferrari enjoyed a very positive start to the weekend.

There were two red flags in the session that hampered running though, with Kamui Kobayashi and Jerome d'Ambrosio hitting the wall at turn four. Kamui Kobayashi crashed into the wall at the first chicane when he ran too high over the kerbs. His Sauber impacted straight into the wall and the Japanese could not return to the track. Jerome D'Ambrosio lost control of his car at the same spot and also crashed heavily against the wall, causing another red flag. The Belgian rookie emerged from the car without assistance, but his car was heavily damaged. Hamilton suffered a puncture right after that, probably caused by debris from D'Ambrosio's crash.

Pos  Driver                Team                    Time              Laps
 1.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m15.107s           34
 2.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m15.476s + 0.369   29
 3.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m15.601s + 0.494   33
 4.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes        1m15.977s + 0.870   26
 5.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m15.989s + 0.882   25
 6.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m16.089s + 0.982   34
 7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m16.102s + 0.995   28
 8.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault                 1m16.324s + 1.217   32
 9.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault                 1m16.422s + 1.315   32
10.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1m16.687s + 1.580   28
11.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1m16.905s + 1.798   16
12.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth       1m16.941s + 1.834   39
13.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m17.051s + 1.944   32
14.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m17.684s + 2.577   34
15.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari          1m17.757s + 2.650   20
16.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault           1m18.470s + 3.363   33
17.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault           1m18.482s + 3.375   38
18.  Pedro de la Rosa      Sauber-Ferrari          1m18.536s + 3.429   14
19.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m18.601s + 3.494   38
20.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                1m19.209s + 4.102   28
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth         1m19.810s + 4.703   25
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth            1m20.284s + 5.177   31
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth            1m20.311s + 5.204   38
24.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth         1m20.922s + 5.815   26