Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) set the marker on the opening day of running for the Canadian Grand Prix by using Bridgestone's super soft compound Potenza tyre to set the  day's fastest lap time at the 4.36km Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal for the seventh round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Hamilton topped the times in a dry afternoon session with a time of 1min 15.752secs, eight tenths faster than the fastest Friday time set here in 2007. Hamilton set his time using the super soft compound Bridgestone Potenza, and was almost three tenths quicker than the next fastest driver, Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber F1 Team), who set a time of 1min 16.023secs.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Felipe Massa was the fastest in the morning practice session, setting a time of 1min 17.553secs. The second fastest driver in this session was Kubica. The track started wet, and Bridgestone's wet and extreme wet tyres were used by some drivers. Massa's time was set late in the 90 minute duration, using the soft compound Potenza.


Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development, said:
"This morning the track conditions changed very rapidly as the circuit dried and we did not collect much data. In the afternoon we saw much more running and so we have plenty of data to analyse. Most drivers set their fastest time in the afternoon session using the super soft compound. However, we will have to be careful in our analysis to understand which tyre will be the quicker tyre for race
conditions. The circuit improved quickly today, and this could be the same situation tomorrow, so there is still plenty to be learnt with these tyres at this track."

Stats of the Day 
Total amount of laps completed by all drivers: 1064 laps
Average number of laps per driver: 53 laps
Most laps by a driver: 77 - Trulli
Fastest lap: 1min 15.752secs - Hamilton (FP1)
Compounds used: Soft / Super soft / Wet / Extreme wet

Qualifying in 2007
Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) attained his
first ever Formula One pole position in Montreal last 
year. He used the super soft compound Bridgestone Potenza
tyre to set a time of 1min 15.707secs, almost half a 
second faster than team-mate Fernando Alonso who was the
second fastest driver. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber F1 Team)
and Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro) qualified
on the second row.

Temperatures   Ambient      Track       Weather
AM - Practice  18C          18C-19C     Cloudy
PM - Practice  20C-23C-22C  23C-28C-25C Cloudy