Red Bull's Formula One leader Sebastian Vettel crashed into the 'Wall of Champions' on Friday while Germany's Nico Rosberg set the Canadian Grand Prix practice pace for Mercedes. World champion Vettel, winner of five of the season's first six races, provided the main drama with 34 minutes remaining when he drifted into the wall coming out of the chicane into the home straight.
While the 23-year-old German was unhurt, the right side of his Red Bull suffered heavy damage. The session was immediately red-flagged. "I hit the kerb and slid off the track and hit the wall," he radioed back to the team. "I'm fine" Vettel, whose car had earlier suffered brake problems, joined a list of illustrious names to have hit the notorious wall over the years.
After watching his car put on a hoist and towed away, Vettel was a spectator for the rest of a session led by his compatriot. Rosberg showed that Mercedes could be a force to reckon with this weekend by lapping the sun-bathed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a best time of one minute 15.591 seconds, ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in 1:16.139. Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, who has won a record seven times in Montreal, enjoyed his return to Canada with the third best time, while Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa was fourth.