Hamilton tops despite crash in rain-lashed Canadian GP practice

Lewis Hamilton stayed top of the timesheets despite crashing into the tyre wall after a rain-lashed Canadian Grand Prix practice.

The 30-year-old Formula One champ headed Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel despite kerb-hopping the last chicane on what would have been his fastest lap.

The Mercedes driver put Monaco's disappointment behind him to set the pace in a dry morning session before rain came and made the circuit un-drivable.

When rain hit, Hamilton slid at the hairpin, breaking his front wing, the BBC reported.

However, the racer blamed the crash in the second session on his car aquaplaning because the car could not be controlled when the wheels float on water as he was braking.

Hamilton was 0.316 seconds faster than Vettel on headline lap times, with Raikkonen just 0.06 seconds drifting of his team-mate and Nico Rosberg 0.452secs slower than the world champion.