Fernando Alonso has branded the issues that effectively cancelled FP1 at the Canadian Grand Prix as "embarrassing" for Formula 1. A bizarre scenario arose when the CCTV network around the circuit went down and caused a lengthy delay to FP1 getting restarted, after an initial red flag caused by Pierre Gasly. Even though an extra 30 minutes was added on to FP2 to make it a 90 minute session, Alonso was left unimpressed with the whole situation. "It was a shame. I think it was not ideal for the teams, but mostly it was for the fans who came very early to the circuit and we were not able to run in FP1," he told media. "From time to time it seems that we are shooting our feet as a sport. So these things are a little bit embarrassing." Aston Martin had brought updates to Canada, but even with the extended session Alonso was not able to test them on his car. He explained: "We didn't have time because the cameras on the circuit didn't work and we didn't have a Plan B."
CCTV issues explained
Drivers were out in FP1 for less than 10 minutes when Gasly stopped out on track and caused the initial red flag. Even though his car was recovered by marshals, the session remained under red flag conditions for several minutes. Race Control eventually confirmed that the CCTV network around the circuit was experiencing issues, and it was therefore unsafe to restart the session. The problem arose when the CCTV network, which is used by Race Control to see where each car is on track, was not synced properly with what was happening in real time. The session did not restart as the FIA worked with the circuit to resolve the issue, meaning fans missed out on track action. The issue was eventually resolved in the break between FP1 and FP2, with backups also in place to use the F1 TV world feed cameras should the problem arise again.
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