Alonso forecasts Canadian GP 'gamble' after being left 'in the middle of nowhere'

Fernando Alonso feels the inclement Montreal weather will continue to wreak havoc over the weekend and turn the Canadian Grand Prix into "a gamble".

Both Friday practice sessions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve were heavily disrupted. A freak hailstorm struck 75 minutes before FP1, followed by heavy rain that led to a 21-minute delay to a session that was also interrupted by a red flag when Zhou Guanyu hit a wall in his Stake.

At least there was more running in the second practice session, with drivers initially ducking in and out of the pits as light rain fell early on before a spell for many on the soft compound Pirellis prior to heavier rain blighting the final half hour.

Alonso ultimately finished top of the timesheet in his Aston Martin as he managed to get heat into his tyres at a crucial juncture, and he knows the information gleaned will prove useful given the mixed forecast for the rest of the weekend.

"It was a tricky Friday for everyone, not many laps in FP1, not many laps in FP2," said Alonso. "No proper laps in dry conditions and no proper laps in wet conditions. We were in the middle of nowhere.

"But it could be like this for qualifying and the race, so still very useful information. We need to analyse it with the data and be very sharp. The right decision can gain you five seconds, the wrong decision and you are out of the race."

The track has been newly resurfaced, with one of the main characteristics being how quickly it dried up when the sun did shine.

The two-time F1 champion recognises that making the correct calls for tyres at the right time will be the key to a good result for both qualifying and in Sunday's grand prix.

"It feels okay," was Alonso's assessment of the new surface. "It's not very clean. It's quite dusty but at the same time it feels like there's quite good grip so I think the new Tarmac is a good one.

"We just need to test it in proper wet conditions, whether there is some aquaplaning or something like that.

"But apart from that, it is going to be an interesting weekend for you guys from the outside, but for us, it's going to be a gamble, always, on which tyre to put on at which moment. Let's see if we get it right."