The first free practice session seemed to favour the Michelin-shod runners with a battle for fastest times between the McLaren-Mercedes and Williams-BMWs. Juan Pablo Montoya held fastest time in his Williams FW24 until four minutes from the end when Coulthard popped up to head the timing screens with a best time one-tenth of a second quicker.

Technical: Slight upgraded Mercedes V10 engine specification to be used on Saturday.

Sporting: Coulthard had a good run to fastest time with Raikkonen winding up fourth, both drivers having minor problems trying various software options which did not quite work. Working on race trim and no major mechanical problems.

Quotes: Martin Whitmarsh: "We learned quite a lot today, but we haven't seen the full potential of Williams or Ferrari so I don't think we should get carried away."

Technical: Aerodynamic changes at the rear of the car for this race.

Sporting: Ralf concentrated on race preparation and got through his entire programme despite a spin, including his tyre choice for qualifying and the race. Montoya reported that the handling balance of his car seemed even better than last year and the available Michelin tyres had good and constant grip.

Quotes: Ralf Schumacher: "We expect to be on the first or second row tomorrow."

Technical: Revised aerodynamic package for this circuit.

Sporting: Schumacher ran three sets of tyres as he prepared his race set-up, determined not to leave anything to chance after failing to make the optimum choice for last year's race. He touched a wall and broke his right rear wheel rim during the first hour. Barrichello had brake problems during the second hour but believes things will be better tomorrow.

Quotes: Schumacher: "It will be close tomorrow but we think we know our car's potential."

Technical: New chassis for Salo. All three cars had new floors, engine covers and front and rear wings for this race.

Sporting: Salo's first session proved that the cars needed a change of gear rations for tomorrow, while McNish spent the morning session learning the circuit and then had an engine oil leak in the afternoon.

Quotes: Salo: "We obviously haven't had the chance to test here so we have some learning to do."

Technical: Revised aero package at the rear with revised rear suspension, longer wheelbase, new bodywork kit including diffuser and bargeboards. Revised Honda engine specification based on Austrian qualifying spec V10.

Sporting: Villeneuve reported that the team concentrated on qualifying trim rather than race preparation work which is the usual Friday format. Car felt more stable and seemed to have more downforce in slow corners.

Quotes: Panis: "Had we had the totally new engine available to us this weekend I think it is possible we could have qualified in the top six. As it is the top ten is our aim."

Technical: No major changes to car specification.

Sporting: Frentzen reported a productive day working on race set-up but Bernoldi had a small hydraulic problem which stopped him out on the circuit.

Quotes: Bernoldi: "The brakes we have here take a but of getting used to, but overall the car feels good."

Technical: All-new Cosworth CR4 V10 engine available for practice and qualifying on Saturday.

Sporting: Practice session concentrated on ensuring that the cars are mechanically as reliable as possible for Sunday's race.

Quotes: Niki Lauda: "Past experience teaches us that at Montreal if you can keep going to the finish, you could be rewarded with a surprise result."

Technical: No major technical changes for this race.

Sporting: Fisichella reported the car felt really good in the morning, but when he fitted new tyres it suddenly developed huge understeer so he will have to have a complete re-think on set-up for tomorrow. Sato started with the wrong set-up, losing ten minutes or so while this was sorted out, then had electronic problems, brake troubles and finally a broken exhaust.

Quotes: Gary Anderson: "We are quite pleased with what we've done today, continuing our efforts to make our car better for the race."

Technical: No major changes to car specification for this race.

Sporting: Heidfeld quite satisfied with his time considering he had a lot of fuel aboard, completing two fairly long runs. Massa had a couple of moments at the first corner while running on old tyres but is confident that the track conditions will be much better tomorrow.

Quotes: Willy Rampf: "We only tested in preparation for the race with different brake materials and cooling solutions."

Technical: No major changes to car specification for this race.

Sporting: Trulli lost the second session due to an unspecified technical problem while Button experienced engine problems during the morning and had a fresh V10 installed between the sessions.

Quotes: Button: "We worked well this afternoon but I still haven't found a good balance. We have a lot of work to do before tomorrow morning."

Technical: No major changes to car specification for this race.

Sporting: Both drivers used different set-ups and both had to learn the circuit, Yoong running with a heavier fuel load than his team-mate.