2024 F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Friday Practice as it happened

Bottas improves to put his Sauber up to P3 before the track falls silent, with all 20 drivers now back in the pits. 

10 minutes left in FP1. 

Sainz has now shot to the top of the timesheets as he trades fastest laps with Ferrari teammate Leclerc. 

Tsunoda has gone third quickest in his RB, ahead of Magnussen's Haas.

The sun is out and the track is drying out. Will we see slicks before the end of the session?

The times are tumbling now as track conditions quickly improve. 

Hamilton has the current benchmark with a 1m29.207s, two tenths faster than Ferrari's Leclerc and Mercedes teammate Russell. 

More drivers are coming out to explore the slippery conditions. 

Lewis Hamilton currently has the only lap time on the board - a 1m36.654s.

We have an F1 car on track as Lewis Hamilton is the first to brave the conditions. He's got intermediates on his Mercedes. 

The standing water has been sufficiently cleared (great work marshals!) and we now have a green light at the end of the pitlane with 39 minutes left on the clock. 

We now have the Safety Car and Medical Car doing some laps to try out the conditions. This is usually a sign that we should get going shortly...

The FIA have just confirmed that the session will indeed start on time. However, the pit lane exit will be closed to allow for work to be carried out to clear standing water left on the track. 

So the clock will run down but nobody will be allowed onto the circuit - at least to begin with.

Down at Alpine, Jack Doohan is taking part in his first FP1 outing of the season.

The 21-year-old Australian will drive Esteban Ocon's car in this upcoming session. 

Ocon has been in the headlines recently after crashing into teammate Pierre Gasly, before it was confirmed he will leave Alpine at the end of the season. 

Red Bull endured a difficult weekend in Monaco as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed a feel-good first win at his home race, with Max Verstappen only able to finish sixth.

The result cut Verstappen's lead in the championship down to just 31 points over Leclerc but the Dutchman very much remains the title favourite as things stand. 

There is an expectation things should be better for Red Bull this weekend, but with Ferrari and McLaren snapping at their heels, Verstappen may not have it all his own way at a circuit he does not think will suit his RB20 that well. 

Today should provide us with an initial feeling as to how the weekend may unfold, if we get any meaningful running, that is! 

The reason I specifically mentioned 'scheduled' is because the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has been hit by a huge storm in the past hour or so. 

The heavens opened in Montreal as a deluge - including hail the size of golf balls - arrived as forecasted. It has calmed down a little bit now but the track is completely wet and visibility is poor.  

It remains to be seen whether the session will get underway on time - but we will keep you updated here. 

Good evening to our UK followers and welcome to our live coverage of the 2024 F1 Canadian Grand Prix. 

We have two practice sessions scheduled on Friday in Montreal, the first is due to take place in half an hour at 6.30pm UK. 

We will bring you all the updates throughout the evening.