Jolyon Palmer enjoyed a busy Friday in Montreal as the young Briton completed nearly 80 laps of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The Renault Sport F1 driver is running the French manufacturer’s all-new engine for the first time this weekend, after team-mate Kevin Magnussen and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo got their introduction to the unit in Monaco last time out.
Both Jolyon and Kevin carried out a solid programme during practice in Canada, although the latter did face some mechanical problems in the opening session. Jolyon also spent a significant period of time in the pit lane during FP1 but was still able to complete 28 trouble-free laps.
The Renault squad upped the ante during the afternoon run as Jolyon circled the track another 48 times, making solid progress while familiarising himself with both the circuit and engine.
The 25-year-old former GP2 champion was less than two tenths off Magnussen’s pace in the morning, where he finished 20th overall. Jolyon ended up in the same position during FP2.
"It has been a learning day for the track really," said Jolyon. "The lap times don't really tell the full story and there's definitely more time to find in the car. I made a little mistake on my soft tyre lap in FP2, it was a bit of a scruffy one, but the data shows the potential is there. The track is extremely cool and I'm really looking forward to the weekend."
Free Practice 3 will take place tomorrow morning in Canada before the all–important qualifying session commences at 6pm UK time.