Round nine of the 2022 season will get underway later today in Canada with two Free Practice sessions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Formula 1 hasn’t raced at the Montreal track in three years due to Covid-19, but some are suggesting there may be major delays to proceedings this weekend after torrential downpours made a river of the pitlane on Thursday.
Alpine took to Twitter to show the extent of conditions yesterday evening, writing:
Guess the boat race is on in Montreal after all. 🌧🌧🌧#CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/poHuVJnAVp
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) June 16, 2022
The weather has caused havoc here in the past, resulting in some epic races at the Canadian Grand Prix, and it seems the forecast may suggest a re-run of 2011 when torrential weather put the race on hold for several hours.
It proved to be a heart-stopping outing with Jenson Button working his way from the back of the field to clinch victory on the final lap from Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull.
Current forecasts show things clearing in time for race day on Sunday, however, previous predictions have been subject to change so here is the provisional schedule, weather permitting:
The first Free Practice session will kick off at 7:00 pm Irish time this evening, followed by the second session at 10:00 pm. Forecasts show thunderstorms and high wind speeds this evening with a 78% chance of downpours.
On Saturday, the final free hour on track will kick off at 6:00 pm followed by Qualifying at 9:00 pm. Showers are forecasted in the afternoon with an overall 58% chance of rain.
Lights out on race day is scheduled for 7:00 pm, and the current forecasts show the chance of rain dropping to 3%.
