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Chaos at Canadian Grand Prix as police wrongly tell fans practice canceled after hailstorm

Posted on by angelo
Chaos at Canadian Grand Prix as police wrongly tell fans practice canceled after hailstorm

By Ben Nagle In Montreal, Canada

18:35 June 7, 2024, updated 19:58 June 7, 2024

  • The first training session in Canada began at 1:30 p.m. EST in Montreal
  • The build-up was marred by chaos, with police reportedly telling fans to stay away

The Canadian Grand Prix weekend got off to a chaotic start on Friday, after fans were informed that testing had been canceled – only for it to go ahead as planned.

The start of proceedings was marred by heavy rain, thunder and hailstorms in Montreal, forcing fans to shelter in place and the stands being evacuated.

Despite no official postponement from the FIA, fans took to social media to claim that local police had asked them to leave the venue and that all on-track activities had been canceled for the day .

Additionally, others reported tannoy announcements at train stations across the city that FP1 and FP2 were disabled – although this was not the case.

Shortly before the official start time for FP1, at 1:30 p.m. EST, Mail Sport spoke with the FIA ​​in Montreal to confirm that all sessions would continue as normal, and an official announcement subsequently followed.

Heavy rain spoiled the start of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend in Montreal on Friday
No cars were on the track and fans were forced to take shelter for the start of first practice.
The day started under radiant sunshine as the drivers arrived at the paddock in Canada

This came too late for some, however, as “thousands” of people have already returned to the city at the request of authorities.

While the session started on time and the clock began to tick, the pit lane remained closed, meaning no cars initially came out on track – much to the frustration of the hard-core fans who remained in position around the track.

When the cars finally made it out – led by Lewis Hamilton – the session was quickly red flagged when Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu hit the wall.

Then the day began under glorious sunshine in Montreal, before the skies opened to wreak havoc on the circuit and its surroundings on Notre-Dame Island.

F1 journalist Chris Medland shared a photo of broadcasters covering their gear from the rain
Stewards worked hard with leaf blowers to try to clear the trail of standing water.
The bravest fans remained in the stands, but there were no cars to watch them.

Organizers closed the bridges bringing fans to the circuit and evacuated the stands for safety reasons, but delayed any decision on postponements with forecasts calling for clear skies at the scheduled start time.

This proved to be the case, with stewards working hard to dry the track for FP1, while fans were allowed to return to their seats before the session began.

In the paddock, broadcasters felt the full brunt of the weather, with commentary boxes leaking and buckets handed out to catch the flow of water.

ViaPlay, RDS, Sky Sports and F1 TV were among those affected, with their equipment covered to avoid more serious damage.