Hamilton set to resume battle with Verstappen at Imola

World champion Lewis Hamilton won't change his approach despite seeing a rival from another team threaten his and Mercedes' dominance of Formula One.

Hamilton has won the title in six of the past seven seasons, with his stranglehold on the crown only being interrupted in 2016 by then-Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton's current teammate, Valtteri Bottas, finished runnerup to the British driver in the past two seasons.

But, after a thrilling duel at the season opener in Bahrain, Red Bull's Max Verstappen appears set to push Hamilton even closer this year. Hamilton doesn't seem rattled, though.

"We approach every weekend the same as we always have. ... If it ain't broke don't fix it," Hamilton said on Thursday ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. "We do what we do, we love the challenge. It's exciting for all of us that we do have such a challenge on our hands and it's not one that we shy away from."

Hamilton just managed to hold off Verstappen to win the season-opening Bahrain GP last month.

The race was effectively decided when Verstappen overtook Hamilton on lap 53 of 56 but went too wide on a turn and off the track limits. He was told by his team to give Hamilton the position back, as he risked a time penalty.

Verstappen still had a few laps to catch Hamilton and almost did, finishing 0.74 seconds behind the Mercedes driver.

But the 23-year-old Verstappen appeared calm and philosophical about matters ahead of the second race of the fledgling season.

"I think it makes no sense to start smashing things, or throw things first of all," he said. "Of course when I crossed the line I was disappointed, but I think I've learned over the years that there is nothing lost after the first race.

"The most important thing is to score points, not like last year where you're off the pace and you don't even score points, so this time we had a very competitive package in general, and we scored good points. Not first, but still second, so it's not the end of the world."

Verstappen certainly appears a force to be reckoned with this season. He took a superb pole position in Sakhir as he continued his form from preseason testing and last year's seasonending Abu Dhabi GP, which he won.

His tussle with Hamilton looks set to continue at Imola, with Verstappen and his team keen to not let another chance slip them by.

"I think (Bahrain was) definitely an opportunity missed, but I think if we have the fastest car then it's not going to matter, because then we have 22 races to finish in front of them," Verstappen said. "But we'll see about that."

Mercedes one-two in practice at Imola, problems for Red

Mercedes topped both practice sessions for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix as Red Bull endured a torrid day on Friday.

Red Bull was favored heading to Imola but fortunes swung in Mercedes' favor as the reigning championship team managed a one-two in both practices while its rival finished each session with just one driver.

Valtteri Bottas was fastest in both, edging Lewis Hamilton by just .010 seconds in the second practice and .041 in the first.

Pierre Gasly, who briefly separated the two Mercedes drivers, was .078 slower than Bottas in the second practice.

It is his AlphaTauri team's home race, with its Faenza base located 15 kilometers from the track

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who looks set to be Hamilton's closest rival this season, had a problem with his car early in the second practice and his session ended abruptly 10 minutes in.

Verstappen had been thirdfastest in the morning, .058 behind Bottas.

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez failed to finish the morning practice after an incident with Esteban Ocon heading into the Villeneuve chicane.

The rear left tire of Perez's car was ripped off and the front of Ocon's Alpine suffered heavy damage after the pair came together.

That led to a temporary suspension of the session with about 22 minutes left. The red flags came out again shortly after the end of the session as Nikita Mazepin spun off and crashed into the barriers at the pit lane exit.

There were more red flags in the afternoon forcing the session to come to a premature end, approximately four minutes before schedule, after Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari into the barriers. The Ferrari drivers, Carlos Sainz and Leclerc, completed the top five in second practice. There was less than one second separating first and ninth.

There is a third and final practice session on Saturday ahead of qualifying.

The Emilia-Romagna GP is the second race of the Formula One season. Hamilton won the opener in Bahrain last month, just ahead of Verstappen after a thrilling duel.

Canadian Grand Prix remains on F1 schedule for time being

The Canadian Grand Prix remains on the Formula One schedule for the 2021 season for now amid concerns by Montreal health officials about the potential spread of COVID-19.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said Thursday the concerns do not mean the June 11-13 race is canceled for a second year in a row.

"The fact is that Montreal public health issued a notice opposing the holding of the Grand Prix, even behind closed doors," Plante said, according to Canadian Press. "What we want is for public health departments to communicate together before we make anything official. It's the least we can do, out of respect for the various partners.

"In the end, whatever the decision, and if it turns out that the Grand Prix is not coming back to Montreal this year, we will work to ensure the Grand Prix continues to take place in Montreal."

Annie Dufour, a spokeswoman for Montreal public health, said the agency was in no position to authorize the cancellation of the race.

"We're not the ones taking the decision," she said. "We can simply give recommendations and revaluate levels of risk. Obviously, given the fragile epidemiological state in Montreal, we shared our hesitation over the holding of the event."

The Canadian Grand Prix also was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Octane Management, which is is responsible for organizing Montreal's F1 event, declined to comment.

Quebec Minister of the Economy and Innovation Pierre Fitzgibbon said partners involved are trying to minimize the consequences associated with any cancellation.

"What I can tell you is that, indeed, the Quebec government wants to keep the Canadian Grand Prix from 2022 to 2029," he said. "The economic benefits are important for Quebec."

He also addressed whether a cancellation would entail a breach of contract with F1.

"It's a contract," he said. "There's an agreement between the European authorities and the Canadian Grand Prix that's valid until 2029. So if the Grand Prix does not take place this year, it will be because of a force majeure. We're living a very special situation, and health takes precedence over the economy."