2007 Canadian Grand Prix

Previous race

Alonso won Monaco for the second consecutive year, leading Hamilton in a McLaren one-two. The pair lapped the entire field apart from themselves and Massa.

Between-race developments

A test at Circuit Paul Ricard used the circuit in both Monaco and Canadian configurations. Despite McLaren dominating on the Monaco layout, Ferrari were faster on the Canadian setup — a point Räikkönen and Massa made publicly ahead of the race. Alonso expressed confidence McLaren had “momentum from Monaco,” while Martin Whitmarsh described their expectations as “realistic.” Räikkönen was fastest on days one and two (1:28.833 and 1:28.624); Fisichella completed 111 laps on day two, second only to James Rossiter’s 131.

Practice

Alonso leads both Friday sessions, outpacing Hamilton and the Ferrari of Massa each time. BMW’s Heidfeld reports the car “very difficult to drive” but still finishes fifth in FP1. Kubica suffers a fuel leak in FP1 and cannot post a timed lap. Both Red Bulls finish inside the top ten in the morning. Toyota deals with suspension problems throughout Friday; a precautionary stop costs Trulli and Ralf Schumacher most of the afternoon. Kovalainen hits the wall at turn seven in FP2. Webber slows unexpectedly approaching turn eight at the end of the session and Speed drives into the back of him.

Saturday morning is cut short by seventeen minutes after Kovalainen’s Renault suffers a suspected engine failure, spilling oil on the circuit — a red flag runs from 10:33 to 10:50 local time. Hamilton leads the remaining session, with Räikkönen second, Alonso third, and Massa fourth. Sato goes fifth in the Super Aguri, outpacing the Honda works team for the second time in the weekend. Toyota remain at the back, still unable to resolve their suspension issues.