2024 F1 Canadian GP FP1 and FP2: What did we learn?

The 2024 F1 Canadian GP has begun with a bit of a dud. Friday is supposed to be a practice day where teams fine-tune and perfect their respective machinery before the more important parts of the weekend.

This Friday, however, we didn't have much running. Why? Rain decided to play spoilsport. The first session was almost entirely run in the wet weather, while the FP2 had moments where it ran in the dry.

With the rest of the weekend expected to follow a similar pattern, a team or a driver can have a very strong, or equally disappointing F1 Canadian GP depending on where they find themselves on the track and at what time. There were, however, some interesting takeaways from the first day of running.

2024 F1 Canadian GP FP1 and FP2: Key Takeaways

#1 Lewis Hamilton looks impressive

On a weekend like this, it's all about the car's feel. By the looks of it, Lewis Hamilton has things nailed down perfectly. We're not saying that he looked dominantly quicker than everybody else, but he certainly looked very impressive in comparison to his teammates.

A plethora of wins and podiums should tell you that the F1 Canadian GP is one of the happier hunting grounds for Lewis. He might be the one to keep an eye on this weekend.

#2 If rain persists, timing is everything

The track can be inundated with showers at any minute, and when that happens, you have to be in the right place at the right time.

As has become the norm in F1, the wet weather tire has not shown much success. The results in the Canadian GP could have an element of thinking on the feet and luck. All in all, we might be in for something unpredictable.

#3 Red Bull is on the back foot

Max Verstappen didn't do as many laps in FP2 for anyone to make a definitive conclusion, but the fact that the car probably had the least mileage on the track compared to others is a bit worrying.

Unlike other teams that have had decent track time, Red Bull's car is not the dominant machinery it used to be. The team has to put the pieces together before the serious business begins.

#4 The new tarmac is a step up

One of the big issues with the old tarmac was the amount of bumps the track had and how hard it made things for the car. One of the major concerns, whenever a tarmac is resurfaced, is the unpredictability factor. We've seen this play quite a role at other venues, where it takes a few races before the tarmac reaches a more satisfactory level of functioning.

Not this time, however, for the F1 Canadian GP. The tarmac seems to have efficiently gotten rid of the bumps, and not brought a completely different level of unpredictability with it. All in all, it's a step up.

#5 You can't make any mistakes on this track

As Zhou Guanyu found out very quickly, you cannot afford to make mistakes in the Canadian GP. This becomes even more important this weekend because not only are the conditions going to be tricky, but they're also going to punish mistakes because of the track's nature. The one who makes fewer mistakes is going to triumph at the F1 Canadian GP, and it'll be interesting to see who that'll be.