Well it was a shame that the rain fell as heavily as it did to deny us any action over the final 50 minutes or so of that session, but that's sadly the way it goes sometimes.
We still had all of one session and a third of another, time enough for us to glean that the Mercedes, while top in both sessions, could be kept more than honest by Ferrari this weekend.
We also had plenty of time for Lewis Hamilton go through his full repertoire at the wheel of the Mercedes, most notably that crash in the rain that brought out the red flags.
We'll be back with you tomorrow for final practice, starting at 15:00 BST.
BBC Music Day continues across the BBC
I think it's fair to say this page will not be held up as prime example of the corporation's efforts on BBC Music Day, but we hope we did our bit in our own amateurish way.
There is plenty more in a similar vein across the BBC's output today. You can take a look at all of it here.
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FP2 times
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Formula 1 on Twitter: Promise for Ferrari before the rain break. Vettel and Raikkonen showed good pace to split the Mercedes drivers.
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Chequered flag
As if it wasn't already, the session is now officially over.
Lewis Hamilton fastest but that only tells half the story of his day.
Post update
Formula 1 on Twitter: A meeting of Mexicans in the Ferrari garage as Javier Hernandez chats to Esteban Gutierrez.
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James Allen
BBC Radio 5 live commentator
"In cricket the commentators get sent cakes in rain delays like this. No such luck for us!"
"You know who that is? That's Senna, right?"
BBC Music Day
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Ayrton Senna and Tina Turner provide our next F1-music crossover.
The three-time world champion took the the stage with the tottering songstress in Australia in 1993 as she belted out 'Simply the Best'.
Quite apt.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Emma: Another One Bites the Dust - a tribute to the Renault engines.
Mohsin: It wasn't me - Shaggy - for Mercedes at the Monaco GP!
Tony Foster: Depressingly... Money, Money, Money by ABBA.
All this rain in Montreal is giving the BBC Sport chimps flashbacks to the amazing 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, when a major downpour led to a two-hour delay and a total race time of well over four hours.
It was also the day when the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button came together, before the latter came through from the back of the field to score a stunning win.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has been speaking to BBC Sport's Tom Clarkson about Lewis Hamilton's busy day, which has included a spin, a bouncy trip over the kerbs and finally a crash in the rain at the hairpin.
"We wanted to so some clutch calibration and this is how it ended," Wolff said of the decision to send out both Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
"I think he just aquaplaned. The front wing is gone but hopefully no more.
"He was pretty quick, he's fastest on the timesheets. I wouldn't read that much into it. It's just one of those Fridays where it's difficult to get a lap together."
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
At least the rain interruption gives us chance to share a few more of your F1 music suggestions on BBC Music Day.
Geoffrey Morrow: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.
Jonathan Savage: Janis Joplin - "Oh Lord, Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz"
Dickson: Chris Rea - The Road To Hell
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Lotus on Twitter: It's VERY wet out there unfortunately so that's us done for the day.
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It's getting incredibly wet now...
Hate to say it but this session looks to be over.
A monsoon is coming down over the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve now.
Big shame.
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Get involved - your reaction to Hamilton's off #bbcf1
Poolieboy1: Intermediates? What a joke. Mercedes should have known better.
EikeSky: (Going out on track) is an obvious thing to do, bearing in mind how unpredictable Canada is. Knowing how to run in the rain is useful.
James Shepherd: Clear from the TV pictures it was full wet conditions. Bizarre call.
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Post update
Mercedes on Twitter: Fortunately only a light impact for Lewis - he's out of the car and all ok.
More on Hamilton
That was actually a very strange and alarming incident for Hamilton.
He was on the brakes for a long, long time before he reached the corner, but with the car floating on the surface of the water the Briton was just a passenger.
He was only on the intermediate tyres. Whether or not that had any bearing on the incident we will likely discover later.
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Hamilton demonstrates just how wet it is
Good old Lewis Hamilton.
Fearing the crowd would be starved of entertainment during this wet weather, he goes for a splash around in the increasingly heavy rain and duly sails (almost literally) straight on under braking for the chicane.
His car slowly hits the tyre barrier, before the Briton gets out and gives the crowd a wave.
"Aquaplaned," is Hamilton's one-word message on the radio.
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Red flag
Thank you for the music
Few F1-music crossovers give me more delight than the story of the wonderfully named Slim Borgudd, who when he wasn't driving cars very fast was a session drummer for Abba.
His music and racing careers largely dovetailed, the Swede working his way through lower formulas while also drumming for the Hootenanny Singers, who just happened to have Bjorn Ulvaeus as a member.
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When Ulvaeus went on to become one fourth of Abba, Borgudd went along for the ride, drumming for what would be come one of the most famous bands of all time.
Borgudd's racing career peaked when he made his F1 debut at the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix for ATS, complete with Abba logos on his sidepods. He would make 10 F1 starts across the rest of 1981 and the first three races of 1982, scoring one point at the '81 British GP.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Merciparadis: Don't forget Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews - ballad for Grosjean and Verstappen?
Roscoe DC: Lewis is... Complicated - Avril Lavigne.
Adam: MC Hammer - Can't Touch This sums up Mercedes performance at present.
Fear not... we should see some cars
The rain does not mean a permanent end to the action. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner tells the BBC that they will venture out to get some wet-weather data.
"We'll go and have a look but we want a bit more surface water than this," he said.
"The forecast for Sunday is dry but you never know."
"Ferrari are one of two engine manufacturers to use up some of their allocated engine development tokens for this race, the other being Honda.
" Ferrari have used up three of the 10 remaining tokens they had on a combustion upgrade which they say amounts to 'not more than' 15bhp. Sebastian Vettel said: 'Hopefully it will bring performance. Obviously I can't tell you how much. One, because I can't, and two because I haven't been on the track, so I guess that's the answer.'
"The impression is that it will take a lot more than that to make them a major threat to Mercedes. 'The target is to be closer,' Vettel said, 'but it also depends on what other people are doing. The challenge to catch them is huge, but we are trying to make everything possible to try to close the gap, and hopefully we can be a little bit closer this weekend.'"
Post update
Mercedes team radio: "Expecting light rain to start and then just getting heavier."
Right on cue...
Man these weather forecasters are good.
Just as the clock ticks round to 35 minutes past the hour, the heavens open and the brollies go up.
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Lotus looking strong
Pastor Maldonado is up in P5 and looking strong, just seven tenths off Lewis Hamilton. His performance backs up Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean's third place in FP1.
The Lotus and its Mercedes engine is coming into its own here. Can the team maintain their performance over the rest of the weekend?
No shock to report that Lewis Hamilton has just gone quickest on the super-soft tyre.
He's done a 1:15.988, three tenths clear of both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferraris.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Mark Carter: Francois Cevert was also a highly accomplished pianist.
That he was. Missed that one. Also wrongly said De Angelis was Spanish when he's clearly Italian.
I'm off for a lie down.
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More last-corner drama for Hamilton
Just because you're a world champion doesn't mean you HAVE to bin it into the Wall of Champions, Mr Hamilton.
The Mercedes man went launching over the final-turn kerbs a few laps ago, drawing gasps from Allan McNish in the BBC commentary booth, but kept it on track.
He's pushing hard.
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Puncture for Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg has cruised slowly back to the pits with a puncture on his Frce India.
He tells his team on the radio that he did not make contact with anything.
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Hamilton off at last corner
A scare for Lewis Hamilton under braking for the last corner.
The Mercedes man appeared to be distracted as he closed on the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and ran into the generous expanse of run-off opposite the Wall of Champions.
On he goes.
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Rain due in 25 minutes
James Allen
BBC Radio 5 live commentator
"The latest update from race control is that rain is expected at 14:35 local time [19:35 BST]."
Raikkonen makes it a Ferrari one-two
Kimi Raikkonen has gone up to second place behind team-mate Vettel, by a couple of tenths.
Both Ferraris are on the quicker super-softs, while the Mercedes as this point remain on the softs.
No hanging around
With rain in the forecast in no surprise to see all the drivers - bar Daniel Ricciardo at this point - out on track.
Some are on softs, others on super-softs.
The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel is on the quicker red-walled tyres and goes fastest with a 1:16.534.
Green light
Second practice is under way.
Get involved - sum up the season in a song #bbcf1
Tom Taylor: Aerosmith - Same Old Song & Dance.
Philip Lane: I'm bored by Iggy Pop.
James Gibson: The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now.
"Before coming to Canada, Fernando Alonso held a brief Q&A on his Twitter feed. One of the revelations was that he believes the best overtaking move he has ever pulled - and he has a big selection to choose from - was around the outside of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen at Barcelona's Turn Three on lap one in 2013.
"I asked him on Thursday why he had picked that rather than, for example, going around the outside of Michael Schumacher at 130R at 207mph in Japan in 2005 or Sebastian Vettel at Copse in 2014 or the outside of Romain Grosjean at Turn Two in Valencia in 2012, all of which are right up there.
"He replied: 'Because of the level of difficulty. At 130R with Michael, the overtaking was not easy, but it looks more spectacular on TV than in the car, when you take the slipstream and you go out and you see you are past and turn. It was similar with Vettel in Silverstone last year in Turn Nine.
"OK, those overtakings give you some adrenalin but the difficulty is not as high as Turn Three in Barcelona. You need to run on the outside, guessing there are no marbles, a good level of grip and overtaking two cars, so it felt more difficult.'"
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Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
We were asking you earlier what songs best sum up F1 to you and we've had lots of great suggestions. A few more are below.
Keep them coming.
We also want your sugestions for song titles to sum up the 2015 season so far.
#bbcf1 please.
Timm Burgess: Can only be The Race by Yello.
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Andrew Tyrrell: Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse. Awesome soundtrack to one of the old F1 games.
Tom Van Bael: MC Hammer, You Can't Touch This #hammertime
Canadian Grand Prix facts
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As it's BBC Music Day I thought I'd flag up our customary stats and facts with the above image. More chin-strokers here.
Refuelling not good for F1, say teams
F1 bosses are to be advised that their proposal to reintroduce refuelling will have a negative effect on the sport, writes Andrew Benson.
The teams were asked by a rule-making strategy group to study how the return of refuelling would impact on racing.
Race director Charlie Whiting and teams concluded at a meeting on Thursday that it would dramatically reduce the number of on-track overtaking moves.
Whiting will report back to the strategy group, which is expected to drop the plan.
"The early morning clouds cleared through first practice and lunchtime was dry and sunny at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. But rain is headed this way, and that could mean a frantic start to second practice.
"The forecast for the weekend is dry and teams will not want to miss out on doing their important qualifying simulation runs on the super-soft tyres. Will these be brought forward a little to ensure teams can get them in?"
Welcome back
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I promised you a picture of James Hunt with a trumpet, and I'm a man of my word.
The grainy YouTube-grab above rather limply symbolises our attempt to join in with BBC Music Day, which over the next few hours will continue with similarly crumby pics from the archives but hopefully a few diverting tales along the way.
Oh yes, and we'll also have coverage of second practice from the Canadian Grand Prix.
We'll be back with you at 18:30 BST ahead of second practice at 19:00.
In the meantime, keep your musical suggestions coming in to #bbcf1.
I'm off to find a picture of James Hunt playing a trumpet.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Simon Sneddon: Crash, by The Primitives - which is nearly 30 years old!
Tom Taylor: You Spin Me Round - Dead or Alive.
Andrew Webb: Just Drive by Alistair Griffin - I always think of F1 when I hear it.
FP1 times
Brought to you by the good folk in the Lotus garage.
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A little McLaren team radio from earlier...
Jenson Button: "I don't why, but I'm in a corner every time you talk to me. There's enough straights here, Tom."
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Mercedes out on their own
So, no surprises in that session so far as the top of the order goes, with Lewis Hamilton quickest by four tenths from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Third, impressively, goes to the Lotus of Romain Grosjean while equally eye-catching was fourth for Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India.
Special mention too for the McLaren of Fernando Alonso, which ran trouble-free to ninth place.
Chequered flag
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
John Vincent: Race for the Prize by the Flaming Lips.
Rebecca Cowley: Smash into you by Beyonce reminds me of Maldonado!
Stephen Cleaver: The original "Cars" by Gary Numan & "Bat Out Of Hell" by Meatloaf.
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Five minutes to go
Ok, this session is winding down now.
Worth noting that all these times in the session have been set on the soft tyre, so there's no discrepancy on rubber. Fuel levels are of course another matter.
Still no change at the top, it's Hamilton from Rosberg from Grosjean.
Nico Hulkenberg is fourth in the Force India. Good effort from him.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Ruth: Maybe Scream If You Want To Go Faster by Geri Halliwell is apt for Red Bull/Horner?
Tom Van Bael: Speed king - Deep purple.
SnowLeopard71: Speedway by The Prodigy.
Ten minutes to go - how they stand
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Sainz stranded
Carlos Sainz has had a tickly session in the Toro Rosso. He had a spin a little earlier and now his car has let him down at the end of the pit lane.
His mechanics sprint down to assist but a shake of the Spaniard's head indicates it's game over for now.
He's wheeled back to his garage.
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Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Allie: Every engineers favourite song? Shut up and drive by Rihanna!
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Rihanna and a car, yesterdayImage caption: Rihanna and a car, yesterday
Barrie McCurdie: Obvious one is Fast Car, Tracy Chapman.
Lewis Duncan: Turbo Lover by Judas Priest suits modern F1. Also I always associate F1 with Can I Play With Madness? by Iron Maiden.
Hamilton opens up gap again
A 1:16.212 sees Lewis Hamilton put a gap of four-tenths between himself and Nico Rosberg.
That time just 0.094 off the best time set in second practice last season, his team says.
Post update
Mercedes on Twitter: A quick orientation check from @LewisHamilton at T10 there... important stuff, of course ;)
Mistakes creeping in...
With this track still to rubber in we've had a few drivers facing the wrong way in the last few moments.
Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso got it wrong initially, spinning off at turn one, while seconds later we saw the Williams of Valtteri Bottas getting it wrong.
Oh, and Lewis Hamilton has just pirouetted at the hairpin. No big drama. He gathers it all up and continues - but not before being passed by a slightly bemused Rosberg.
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Rosberg closing on Hamilton
Nico Rosberg is keeping Lewis Hamilton honest. He's just improved his time and is now just 0.019secs behind his Mercedes team-mate.
Half an hour of this session remains.
Something for the dads - get involved #bbcf1
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If you're a thirty-something saddo like me, music and the BBC probably means eyeballing Legs and Co on repeats of Top of the Pops on BBC Four on Thursday night.
OK, more accurately, eyeballing Gill from Legs and Co on repeats of Top of the Pops on BBC Four on Thursday night.
But apparently the BBC does music in loads of other ways. There's radio stations and everything. So in honour of this, today has been designated BBC Music Day, which means we are clumsily going to shoehorn F1 and music together.
So let's get involved using #bbcf1: what are your greatest F1 songs?
No prizes for Fleetwood Mac's The Chain, which is of course the legendary BBC F1 opening tune, although it is an absolute belter.
But which pieces of music do you associate with this great sport? Or even, which songs can you think of that are written specifically about F1 - there are more, probably, more than you think.
Failing that, just give us some great 'drivers as songs' like you were doing in Monaco.
"Williams had a dire weekend in Monaco, qualifying both cars well outside the top 10 and finishing 14th with Valtteri Bottas. The track exposed the car's lack of low-speed grip, which is both aerodynamic and mechanical.
"But the team are expecting a much better weekend in Canada, thanks to taking a fresh engine in both cars and what Bottas calls 'a small aero upgrade'.
"The Finn said: 'We should not be so far from Ferrari. We should be looking to beat Red Bull here and in Spain we were not that far off Ferrari, and if we can make a small step forward we should be pretty close. I can't say we will beat Red Bull but we will do the best we can to do it."
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Grosjean up to third
The Mercedes boys have not improved their times at the summit, but up to third place has gone the Lotus of Romain Grosjean. He's set a time 1.1secs off Lewis Hamilton's best.
The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel is down to fourth, ahead of Felipe Massa's Williams and the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.
"McLaren's engine supplier Honda have used two development tokens for this race, but Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are not expecting a power boost from the engine that still lags a long way behind the best.
"Alonso said the improvements were about 'reliability'; Button used 'efficiency'. 'We just have to get stuck in, get on with our place and see where we are,' Button added. 'There are long straights here. I think we have made some positive improvements, but whether it is enough we'll have to see.'"
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Purely a need to know basis
Red Bull team radio: "Hamilton is P1, 1:16.6..."
Daniil Kvyat: "I don't need to know this. I don't need to know this."
Touchy.
Moment for Nico
The Mercedes boys are at least pushing the limits for their one-second gap to the rest, with Nico Rosberg running out of road on the entry to turn six and cutting the corner.
Moments later we saw a stunning slow-mo replay of Lewis Hamilton's rear wheel vibrating wildly under braking and turn-in.
Look out for more of those shots this weekend.
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Mercs in a league of their own
A 1:16.608 has Lewis Hamilton at the top of the pile with 30 minutes of this session nearly gone.
He's a quarter of a second quicker than Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
There is then a ONE SECOND gap to the rest, led by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Hmm.
Post update
Jennie Gow
BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter
Button back in the pits after saying the car was "still the same" last time out.
Metal shards and F1 tyres? Not a good combo
Not quite sure of the circumstances of this little drama, but it seems some tape running across the pit lane has been partly removed, leaving beneath a number of large metal shards, as the picture below indicates.
Interesting one. Session still running. Will give you more info if we get it.
"Jenson Button was, in general, his usual jovial self on Thursday, but one subject definitely touched a nerve.
"McLaren chairman Ron Dennis went to Denmark with reserve driver Kevin Magnussen last week and in the course of an address to Danish businessmen effectively said that if he could source a big chunk of money from the country, Magnussen could be in the car next year. The comments were reported in the UK.
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"Button's place at McLaren in 2016 is far from certain - the team have an option to keep him but could just as easily plump for Magnussen or their other protege, GP2 championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne. Button is well aware of this.
"Asked about Dennis's comments, Button said: 'I hadn't heard that. Whatever happens, happens. We all have throwaway lines. It was the case the end of last year as well, but I'm here. So there you go.'"
Post update
Mercedes on Twitter: We do have the softest compounds in the @pirellisport range for this race: Soft and Supersoft as per Monaco
"In Monaco, Lewis Hamilton was stupendous in the opening laps of practice, going straight on to attack mode and lapping seconds faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg anyone else. He's doing it again here.
"Rosberg just did a one minute 23.011 on his first flying lap. Hamilton, dangerous walls notwithstanding, did a 1:20.287 - 2.724secs quicker."
Get involved - Verstappen's Monaco hangover #bbcf1
There was plenty to discuss in the wake of the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the main topics being Max Verstappen's actions before and after he hit the back of Romain Grosjean into turn one.
Here's a few of your comments on the subject. Views on this or any topic to #bbcf1 please.
Cryo Lockdown: At fault? Yeah he had his part in the crash. Should he apologize? No, you are not in F1 to make friends, stand your own!
Tom McRae: Verstappen is way too young for F1. He needs to learn more in lower formulas.
LJW: It looked like Grosjean braked very early and Verstappen had committed to a lunge. Racing incident for me.
Mercs on the board early
We've got just two times on the board 10 minutes into this session, and it's the Mercedes boys who are the early birds.
Lewis Hamilton sets a 1:20.287 and Nico Rosberg does a 1:23.011.
"Lewis Hamilton is never very far from a headline, but nearly two weeks on from seeing a Monaco Grand Prix he had dominated slip through his fingers he was determined not to create any more.
"He arrived in Canada with one message in mind: Monaco is over; I've moved on; I intend to win here.
"That task starts at 10:00 local time, on a day when rain threatens to disrupt every driver's preparations for what is always one of the most difficult, demanding and downright dramatic races of the year."
Montreal forecast
"All in all, a decent weekend at Montreal weather-wise. The only chance of rain across the entire event is on Friday."
The words of BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson just 24 hours ago, and it seems he was right.
There's a few drops of rain in the air ahead of today's sessions, but beyond that we look set for a fine weekend.
Sahara Force India on Twitter: A very light drizzle is falling over the circuit as we prepare for the first session of this Canadian GP weekend. Brollies at the ready!
"Twelve days ago, the Formula 1 drivers were battling with the tight twists and turns of Monaco in cars loaded with as much downforce as possible.
"An ocean and a culture away, the difference in the machines in which they will take to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is as big as the chasm between uptight and preening Monaco, and buzzing and multi-cultural Montreal.
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"'It's a completely different car to Monaco," Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg says, 'the complete opposite, so it takes time to get used to it. There is less downforce, I have to brake earlier, I have less grip. So it takes some getting used to.'
"That was an interesting contrast from McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who said, matter-of-fact: 'The walls are very close, but we come from Monaco so there is not more risk than there.'
"And right there you have the difference between an adaptable 'natural' talent, and someone who has to work that bit harder to get up to the highest level, but through application and dedication can get there."
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of the first two practice sessions for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Suddenly, the 2015 season is looking a little more unpredictable, with Lewis Hamilton's lead at the head of the drivers' standings whittled down to 10 points after back-to-back wins for Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
It will all get very interesting if the German makes it a hat-trick this weekend.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's see what happens in practice first...
Turn that frown upside down
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It's fair to say that Thursday F1 drivers' news conferences are seldom teeth-baring, smiley affairs, but yesterday's seemed particularly glum.
Max Verstappen was defending himself from his peers after his Monaco prang, Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez had last year's spectacular Montreal coming-together dredged up, and Lewis Hamilton still looked miffed about his team's miscalculations last time out - despite his claims to have moved on.
Even so, the mood was more downbeat than it needed to be.
C'mon chaps. You're F1 drivers!
Even better, you're F1 drivers and the next race is the utterly brilliant Canadian Grand Prix!
Live Reporting
Jamie Strickland
All times stated are UK
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Latest PostThanks for being with us
Well it was a shame that the rain fell as heavily as it did to deny us any action over the final 50 minutes or so of that session, but that's sadly the way it goes sometimes.
We still had all of one session and a third of another, time enough for us to glean that the Mercedes, while top in both sessions, could be kept more than honest by Ferrari this weekend.
We also had plenty of time for Lewis Hamilton go through his full repertoire at the wheel of the Mercedes, most notably that crash in the rain that brought out the red flags.
Andrew Benson's FP2 report is now live.
We'll be back with you tomorrow for final practice, starting at 15:00 BST.
BBC Music Day continues across the BBC
I think it's fair to say this page will not be held up as prime example of the corporation's efforts on BBC Music Day, but we hope we did our bit in our own amateurish way.
There is plenty more in a similar vein across the BBC's output today. You can take a look at all of it here.
FP2 times
Post update
Formula 1 on Twitter: Promise for Ferrari before the rain break. Vettel and Raikkonen showed good pace to split the Mercedes drivers.
Chequered flag
As if it wasn't already, the session is now officially over.
Lewis Hamilton fastest but that only tells half the story of his day.
Post update
Formula 1 on Twitter: A meeting of Mexicans in the Ferrari garage as Javier Hernandez chats to Esteban Gutierrez.
Post update
James Allen
BBC Radio 5 live commentator
"In cricket the commentators get sent cakes in rain delays like this. No such luck for us!"
"You know who that is? That's Senna, right?"
BBC Music Day
Ayrton Senna and Tina Turner provide our next F1-music crossover.
The three-time world champion took the the stage with the tottering songstress in Australia in 1993 as she belted out 'Simply the Best'.
Quite apt.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Emma: Another One Bites the Dust - a tribute to the Renault engines.
Mohsin: It wasn't me - Shaggy - for Mercedes at the Monaco GP!
Tony Foster: Depressingly... Money, Money, Money by ABBA.
Post update
Red Bull on Twitter: Boat race anyone?
Shades of 2011
All this rain in Montreal is giving the BBC Sport chimps flashbacks to the amazing 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, when a major downpour led to a two-hour delay and a total race time of well over four hours.
It was also the day when the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button came together, before the latter came through from the back of the field to score a stunning win.
Relive it in all its glory here.
'It's just one of those Fridays'
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has been speaking to BBC Sport's Tom Clarkson about Lewis Hamilton's busy day, which has included a spin, a bouncy trip over the kerbs and finally a crash in the rain at the hairpin.
"We wanted to so some clutch calibration and this is how it ended," Wolff said of the decision to send out both Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
"I think he just aquaplaned. The front wing is gone but hopefully no more.
"He was pretty quick, he's fastest on the timesheets. I wouldn't read that much into it. It's just one of those Fridays where it's difficult to get a lap together."
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
At least the rain interruption gives us chance to share a few more of your F1 music suggestions on BBC Music Day.
Geoffrey Morrow: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.
Jonathan Savage: Janis Joplin - "Oh Lord, Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz"
Dickson: Chris Rea - The Road To Hell
Post update
Lotus on Twitter: It's VERY wet out there unfortunately so that's us done for the day.
It's getting incredibly wet now...
Hate to say it but this session looks to be over.
A monsoon is coming down over the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve now.
Big shame.
Get involved - your reaction to Hamilton's off #bbcf1
Poolieboy1: Intermediates? What a joke. Mercedes should have known better.
EikeSky: (Going out on track) is an obvious thing to do, bearing in mind how unpredictable Canada is. Knowing how to run in the rain is useful.
James Shepherd: Clear from the TV pictures it was full wet conditions. Bizarre call.
Post update
Mercedes on Twitter: Fortunately only a light impact for Lewis - he's out of the car and all ok.
More on Hamilton
That was actually a very strange and alarming incident for Hamilton.
He was on the brakes for a long, long time before he reached the corner, but with the car floating on the surface of the water the Briton was just a passenger.
He was only on the intermediate tyres. Whether or not that had any bearing on the incident we will likely discover later.
Hamilton demonstrates just how wet it is
Good old Lewis Hamilton.
Fearing the crowd would be starved of entertainment during this wet weather, he goes for a splash around in the increasingly heavy rain and duly sails (almost literally) straight on under braking for the chicane.
His car slowly hits the tyre barrier, before the Briton gets out and gives the crowd a wave.
"Aquaplaned," is Hamilton's one-word message on the radio.
Red flag
Thank you for the music
Few F1-music crossovers give me more delight than the story of the wonderfully named Slim Borgudd, who when he wasn't driving cars very fast was a session drummer for Abba.
His music and racing careers largely dovetailed, the Swede working his way through lower formulas while also drumming for the Hootenanny Singers, who just happened to have Bjorn Ulvaeus as a member.
When Ulvaeus went on to become one fourth of Abba, Borgudd went along for the ride, drumming for what would be come one of the most famous bands of all time.
Borgudd's racing career peaked when he made his F1 debut at the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix for ATS, complete with Abba logos on his sidepods. He would make 10 F1 starts across the rest of 1981 and the first three races of 1982, scoring one point at the '81 British GP.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Merciparadis: Don't forget Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews - ballad for Grosjean and Verstappen?
Roscoe DC: Lewis is... Complicated - Avril Lavigne.
Adam: MC Hammer - Can't Touch This sums up Mercedes performance at present.
Fear not... we should see some cars
The rain does not mean a permanent end to the action. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner tells the BBC that they will venture out to get some wet-weather data.
"We'll go and have a look but we want a bit more surface water than this," he said.
"The forecast for Sunday is dry but you never know."
Ferrari running upgraded engine
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"Ferrari are one of two engine manufacturers to use up some of their allocated engine development tokens for this race, the other being Honda.
" Ferrari have used up three of the 10 remaining tokens they had on a combustion upgrade which they say amounts to 'not more than' 15bhp. Sebastian Vettel said: 'Hopefully it will bring performance. Obviously I can't tell you how much. One, because I can't, and two because I haven't been on the track, so I guess that's the answer.'
"The impression is that it will take a lot more than that to make them a major threat to Mercedes. 'The target is to be closer,' Vettel said, 'but it also depends on what other people are doing. The challenge to catch them is huge, but we are trying to make everything possible to try to close the gap, and hopefully we can be a little bit closer this weekend.'"
Post update
Mercedes team radio: "Expecting light rain to start and then just getting heavier."
Right on cue...
Man these weather forecasters are good.
Just as the clock ticks round to 35 minutes past the hour, the heavens open and the brollies go up.
Lotus looking strong
Pastor Maldonado is up in P5 and looking strong, just seven tenths off Lewis Hamilton. His performance backs up Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean's third place in FP1.
The Lotus and its Mercedes engine is coming into its own here. Can the team maintain their performance over the rest of the weekend?
Rain due in five minutes
Time check
1. Hamilton - 1:15.988, 2. Vettel - 1:16.304, 3. Raikkonen - 1:16.310, 4. Rosberg - 1:16.440, 5. Maldonado - 1:16.620, 6. Bottas - 1:16.849
Mercs put on super-softs - and go quickest
No shock to report that Lewis Hamilton has just gone quickest on the super-soft tyre.
He's done a 1:15.988, three tenths clear of both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferraris.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Mark Carter: Francois Cevert was also a highly accomplished pianist.
That he was. Missed that one. Also wrongly said De Angelis was Spanish when he's clearly Italian.
I'm off for a lie down.
More last-corner drama for Hamilton
Just because you're a world champion doesn't mean you HAVE to bin it into the Wall of Champions, Mr Hamilton.
The Mercedes man went launching over the final-turn kerbs a few laps ago, drawing gasps from Allan McNish in the BBC commentary booth, but kept it on track.
He's pushing hard.
Puncture for Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg has cruised slowly back to the pits with a puncture on his Frce India.
He tells his team on the radio that he did not make contact with anything.
Hamilton off at last corner
A scare for Lewis Hamilton under braking for the last corner.
The Mercedes man appeared to be distracted as he closed on the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and ran into the generous expanse of run-off opposite the Wall of Champions.
On he goes.
Rain due in 25 minutes
James Allen
BBC Radio 5 live commentator
"The latest update from race control is that rain is expected at 14:35 local time [19:35 BST]."
Raikkonen makes it a Ferrari one-two
Kimi Raikkonen has gone up to second place behind team-mate Vettel, by a couple of tenths.
Both Ferraris are on the quicker super-softs, while the Mercedes as this point remain on the softs.
No hanging around
With rain in the forecast in no surprise to see all the drivers - bar Daniel Ricciardo at this point - out on track.
Some are on softs, others on super-softs.
The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel is on the quicker red-walled tyres and goes fastest with a 1:16.534.
Green light
Second practice is under way.
Get involved - sum up the season in a song #bbcf1
Tom Taylor: Aerosmith - Same Old Song & Dance.
Philip Lane: I'm bored by Iggy Pop.
James Gibson: The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now.
A man of many talents
Elio de Angelis was not only a fine F1 driver, he was also a concert-standard pianist, as this 1985 footage from German television shows.
The Italian won two races from 108 starts between 1979 and 1986. Sadly he was killed while testing for Lotus at Paul Ricard in May 1986.
De Angelis is not alone in this piano-playing regard, as Williams test driver Adrian Sutil can also tickle ivories at Carnegie Hall standard.
Alonso's best overtake
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"Before coming to Canada, Fernando Alonso held a brief Q&A on his Twitter feed. One of the revelations was that he believes the best overtaking move he has ever pulled - and he has a big selection to choose from - was around the outside of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen at Barcelona's Turn Three on lap one in 2013.
"I asked him on Thursday why he had picked that rather than, for example, going around the outside of Michael Schumacher at 130R at 207mph in Japan in 2005 or Sebastian Vettel at Copse in 2014 or the outside of Romain Grosjean at Turn Two in Valencia in 2012, all of which are right up there.
"He replied: 'Because of the level of difficulty. At 130R with Michael, the overtaking was not easy, but it looks more spectacular on TV than in the car, when you take the slipstream and you go out and you see you are past and turn. It was similar with Vettel in Silverstone last year in Turn Nine.
"OK, those overtakings give you some adrenalin but the difficulty is not as high as Turn Three in Barcelona. You need to run on the outside, guessing there are no marbles, a good level of grip and overtaking two cars, so it felt more difficult.'"
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
We were asking you earlier what songs best sum up F1 to you and we've had lots of great suggestions. A few more are below.
Keep them coming.
We also want your sugestions for song titles to sum up the 2015 season so far.
#bbcf1 please.
Timm Burgess: Can only be The Race by Yello.
Andrew Tyrrell: Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse. Awesome soundtrack to one of the old F1 games.
Tom Van Bael: MC Hammer, You Can't Touch This #hammertime
Canadian Grand Prix facts
As it's BBC Music Day I thought I'd flag up our customary stats and facts with the above image. More chin-strokers here.
Refuelling not good for F1, say teams
F1 bosses are to be advised that their proposal to reintroduce refuelling will have a negative effect on the sport, writes Andrew Benson.
The teams were asked by a rule-making strategy group to study how the return of refuelling would impact on racing.
Race director Charlie Whiting and teams concluded at a meeting on Thursday that it would dramatically reduce the number of on-track overtaking moves.
Whiting will report back to the strategy group, which is expected to drop the plan.
Rain on the way
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"The early morning clouds cleared through first practice and lunchtime was dry and sunny at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. But rain is headed this way, and that could mean a frantic start to second practice.
"The forecast for the weekend is dry and teams will not want to miss out on doing their important qualifying simulation runs on the super-soft tyres. Will these be brought forward a little to ensure teams can get them in?"
Welcome back
I promised you a picture of James Hunt with a trumpet, and I'm a man of my word.
The grainy YouTube-grab above rather limply symbolises our attempt to join in with BBC Music Day, which over the next few hours will continue with similarly crumby pics from the archives but hopefully a few diverting tales along the way.
Oh yes, and we'll also have coverage of second practice from the Canadian Grand Prix.
Bye for now
OK, we're shutting down for a little while now.
Andrew Benson's FP1 report is already on the site.
We'll be back with you at 18:30 BST ahead of second practice at 19:00.
In the meantime, keep your musical suggestions coming in to #bbcf1.
I'm off to find a picture of James Hunt playing a trumpet.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Simon Sneddon: Crash, by The Primitives - which is nearly 30 years old!
Tom Taylor: You Spin Me Round - Dead or Alive.
Andrew Webb: Just Drive by Alistair Griffin - I always think of F1 when I hear it.
FP1 times
Brought to you by the good folk in the Lotus garage.
A little McLaren team radio from earlier...
Jenson Button: "I don't why, but I'm in a corner every time you talk to me. There's enough straights here, Tom."
Mercedes out on their own
So, no surprises in that session so far as the top of the order goes, with Lewis Hamilton quickest by four tenths from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Third, impressively, goes to the Lotus of Romain Grosjean while equally eye-catching was fourth for Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India.
Special mention too for the McLaren of Fernando Alonso, which ran trouble-free to ninth place.
Chequered flag
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
John Vincent: Race for the Prize by the Flaming Lips.
Rebecca Cowley: Smash into you by Beyonce reminds me of Maldonado!
Stephen Cleaver: The original "Cars" by Gary Numan & "Bat Out Of Hell" by Meatloaf.
Five minutes to go
Ok, this session is winding down now.
Worth noting that all these times in the session have been set on the soft tyre, so there's no discrepancy on rubber. Fuel levels are of course another matter.
Still no change at the top, it's Hamilton from Rosberg from Grosjean.
Nico Hulkenberg is fourth in the Force India. Good effort from him.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Ruth: Maybe Scream If You Want To Go Faster by Geri Halliwell is apt for Red Bull/Horner?
Tom Van Bael: Speed king - Deep purple.
SnowLeopard71: Speedway by The Prodigy.
Ten minutes to go - how they stand
Sainz stranded
Carlos Sainz has had a tickly session in the Toro Rosso. He had a spin a little earlier and now his car has let him down at the end of the pit lane.
His mechanics sprint down to assist but a shake of the Spaniard's head indicates it's game over for now.
He's wheeled back to his garage.
Get involved - F1 music #bbcf1
Allie: Every engineers favourite song? Shut up and drive by Rihanna!
Barrie McCurdie: Obvious one is Fast Car, Tracy Chapman.
Lewis Duncan: Turbo Lover by Judas Priest suits modern F1. Also I always associate F1 with Can I Play With Madness? by Iron Maiden.
Hamilton opens up gap again
A 1:16.212 sees Lewis Hamilton put a gap of four-tenths between himself and Nico Rosberg.
That time just 0.094 off the best time set in second practice last season, his team says.
Post update
Mercedes on Twitter: A quick orientation check from @LewisHamilton at T10 there... important stuff, of course ;)
Mistakes creeping in...
With this track still to rubber in we've had a few drivers facing the wrong way in the last few moments.
Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso got it wrong initially, spinning off at turn one, while seconds later we saw the Williams of Valtteri Bottas getting it wrong.
Oh, and Lewis Hamilton has just pirouetted at the hairpin. No big drama. He gathers it all up and continues - but not before being passed by a slightly bemused Rosberg.
Rosberg closing on Hamilton
Nico Rosberg is keeping Lewis Hamilton honest. He's just improved his time and is now just 0.019secs behind his Mercedes team-mate.
Half an hour of this session remains.
Something for the dads - get involved #bbcf1
If you're a thirty-something saddo like me, music and the BBC probably means eyeballing Legs and Co on repeats of Top of the Pops on BBC Four on Thursday night.
OK, more accurately, eyeballing Gill from Legs and Co on repeats of Top of the Pops on BBC Four on Thursday night.
But apparently the BBC does music in loads of other ways. There's radio stations and everything. So in honour of this, today has been designated BBC Music Day, which means we are clumsily going to shoehorn F1 and music together.
So let's get involved using #bbcf1: what are your greatest F1 songs?
No prizes for Fleetwood Mac's The Chain, which is of course the legendary BBC F1 opening tune, although it is an absolute belter.
But which pieces of music do you associate with this great sport? Or even, which songs can you think of that are written specifically about F1 - there are more, probably, more than you think.
Failing that, just give us some great 'drivers as songs' like you were doing in Monaco.
Williams expecting better
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"Williams had a dire weekend in Monaco, qualifying both cars well outside the top 10 and finishing 14th with Valtteri Bottas. The track exposed the car's lack of low-speed grip, which is both aerodynamic and mechanical.
"But the team are expecting a much better weekend in Canada, thanks to taking a fresh engine in both cars and what Bottas calls 'a small aero upgrade'.
"The Finn said: 'We should not be so far from Ferrari. We should be looking to beat Red Bull here and in Spain we were not that far off Ferrari, and if we can make a small step forward we should be pretty close. I can't say we will beat Red Bull but we will do the best we can to do it."
Grosjean up to third
The Mercedes boys have not improved their times at the summit, but up to third place has gone the Lotus of Romain Grosjean. He's set a time 1.1secs off Lewis Hamilton's best.
The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel is down to fourth, ahead of Felipe Massa's Williams and the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.
Blast from the past...
Chris Evans on Twitter:F1 Canadian GP practice - look out for Manor. Howdy partners!
Get involved - Verstappen's Monaco hangover #bbcf1
Snaproll: If he does need to apologise it's between him and Grosjean. Why are the Massas of this world getting involved?
Dylan Hardman: Verstappen was at fault. He had no trust in Grosjean under braking, but he's young and naive so won't admit his mistake.
Mollie Ellen: He's paid the price with the end of his race and a 5 place drop. A racing incident that wasn't malicious and an obvious mistake.
Post update
Lee McKenzie
BBC F1 pit-lane reporter
"There are shards of metal right outside Max Verstappen's garage in the pitlane. You wouldn't want to be running your tyres over them."
Honda spend some engine tokens
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"McLaren's engine supplier Honda have used two development tokens for this race, but Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are not expecting a power boost from the engine that still lags a long way behind the best.
"Alonso said the improvements were about 'reliability'; Button used 'efficiency'. 'We just have to get stuck in, get on with our place and see where we are,' Button added. 'There are long straights here. I think we have made some positive improvements, but whether it is enough we'll have to see.'"
Purely a need to know basis
Red Bull team radio: "Hamilton is P1, 1:16.6..."
Daniil Kvyat: "I don't need to know this. I don't need to know this."
Touchy.
Moment for Nico
The Mercedes boys are at least pushing the limits for their one-second gap to the rest, with Nico Rosberg running out of road on the entry to turn six and cutting the corner.
Moments later we saw a stunning slow-mo replay of Lewis Hamilton's rear wheel vibrating wildly under braking and turn-in.
Look out for more of those shots this weekend.
Mercs in a league of their own
A 1:16.608 has Lewis Hamilton at the top of the pile with 30 minutes of this session nearly gone.
He's a quarter of a second quicker than Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
There is then a ONE SECOND gap to the rest, led by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Hmm.
Post update
Jennie Gow
BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter
Button back in the pits after saying the car was "still the same" last time out.
Metal shards and F1 tyres? Not a good combo
Not quite sure of the circumstances of this little drama, but it seems some tape running across the pit lane has been partly removed, leaving beneath a number of large metal shards, as the picture below indicates.
Interesting one. Session still running. Will give you more info if we get it.
'Whatever happens, happens'
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"Jenson Button was, in general, his usual jovial self on Thursday, but one subject definitely touched a nerve.
"McLaren chairman Ron Dennis went to Denmark with reserve driver Kevin Magnussen last week and in the course of an address to Danish businessmen effectively said that if he could source a big chunk of money from the country, Magnussen could be in the car next year. The comments were reported in the UK.
"Button's place at McLaren in 2016 is far from certain - the team have an option to keep him but could just as easily plump for Magnussen or their other protege, GP2 championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne. Button is well aware of this.
"Asked about Dennis's comments, Button said: 'I hadn't heard that. Whatever happens, happens. We all have throwaway lines. It was the case the end of last year as well, but I'm here. So there you go.'"
Post update
Mercedes on Twitter: We do have the softest compounds in the @pirellisport range for this race: Soft and Supersoft as per Monaco
Hamilton sets early flier again
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"In Monaco, Lewis Hamilton was stupendous in the opening laps of practice, going straight on to attack mode and lapping seconds faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg anyone else. He's doing it again here.
"Rosberg just did a one minute 23.011 on his first flying lap. Hamilton, dangerous walls notwithstanding, did a 1:20.287 - 2.724secs quicker."
Get involved - Verstappen's Monaco hangover #bbcf1
There was plenty to discuss in the wake of the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the main topics being Max Verstappen's actions before and after he hit the back of Romain Grosjean into turn one.
Here's a few of your comments on the subject. Views on this or any topic to #bbcf1 please.
Cryo Lockdown: At fault? Yeah he had his part in the crash. Should he apologize? No, you are not in F1 to make friends, stand your own!
Tom McRae: Verstappen is way too young for F1. He needs to learn more in lower formulas.
LJW: It looked like Grosjean braked very early and Verstappen had committed to a lunge. Racing incident for me.
Mercs on the board early
We've got just two times on the board 10 minutes into this session, and it's the Mercedes boys who are the early birds.
Lewis Hamilton sets a 1:20.287 and Nico Rosberg does a 1:23.011.
Post update
Formula 1 on Twitter: A few grey clouds are looming over the Canadian GP.
Constructors' standings after six rounds
Early bother for McLaren... again
Not for the first time this season a McLaren-Honda has hit trouble early in a practice session.
"I can't get out of second gear," says Jenson Button over the team radio.
He drives one lap at slow speed and peels back into the pits for repairs.
Yer drivers' standings after six rounds
Green light
First practice for the Canadian Grand Prix begins and the guys aren't hanging around.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen is out front as around half a dozen drivers emerge from the pit exit.
Hamilton keen to forget Monaco blip
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"Lewis Hamilton is never very far from a headline, but nearly two weeks on from seeing a Monaco Grand Prix he had dominated slip through his fingers he was determined not to create any more.
"He arrived in Canada with one message in mind: Monaco is over; I've moved on; I intend to win here.
"That task starts at 10:00 local time, on a day when rain threatens to disrupt every driver's preparations for what is always one of the most difficult, demanding and downright dramatic races of the year."
Montreal forecast
"All in all, a decent weekend at Montreal weather-wise. The only chance of rain across the entire event is on Friday."
The words of BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson just 24 hours ago, and it seems he was right.
There's a few drops of rain in the air ahead of today's sessions, but beyond that we look set for a fine weekend.
Watch Ian's full forecast here.
Post update
Sahara Force India on Twitter: A very light drizzle is falling over the circuit as we prepare for the first session of this Canadian GP weekend. Brollies at the ready!
A world away from Monaco...
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"Twelve days ago, the Formula 1 drivers were battling with the tight twists and turns of Monaco in cars loaded with as much downforce as possible.
"An ocean and a culture away, the difference in the machines in which they will take to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is as big as the chasm between uptight and preening Monaco, and buzzing and multi-cultural Montreal.
"'It's a completely different car to Monaco," Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg says, 'the complete opposite, so it takes time to get used to it. There is less downforce, I have to brake earlier, I have less grip. So it takes some getting used to.'
"That was an interesting contrast from McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who said, matter-of-fact: 'The walls are very close, but we come from Monaco so there is not more risk than there.'
"And right there you have the difference between an adaptable 'natural' talent, and someone who has to work that bit harder to get up to the highest level, but through application and dedication can get there."
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of the first two practice sessions for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Suddenly, the 2015 season is looking a little more unpredictable, with Lewis Hamilton's lead at the head of the drivers' standings whittled down to 10 points after back-to-back wins for Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
It will all get very interesting if the German makes it a hat-trick this weekend.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's see what happens in practice first...
Turn that frown upside down
It's fair to say that Thursday F1 drivers' news conferences are seldom teeth-baring, smiley affairs, but yesterday's seemed particularly glum.
Max Verstappen was defending himself from his peers after his Monaco prang, Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez had last year's spectacular Montreal coming-together dredged up, and Lewis Hamilton still looked miffed about his team's miscalculations last time out - despite his claims to have moved on.
Even so, the mood was more downbeat than it needed to be.
C'mon chaps. You're F1 drivers!
Even better, you're F1 drivers and the next race is the utterly brilliant Canadian Grand Prix!
Reason to crack a smile surely?