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.

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.

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."

"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.

Sahara Force India on Twitter, external: 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!

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."

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...

Image source, Getty Images

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?