Formula 1

Verstappen pips Leclerc in second Canadian GP F1 practice

by Josh Suttill
3 min read

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Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen edged his title rival Charles Leclerc to complete a clean sweep of the Friday practice sessions at the Canadian Grand Prix.


Key moments:

> Verstappen 0.081s quicker than Leclerc

> Vettel and Alonso fourth and fifth

> Ride comfort woes continue for Hamilton

> More reliability woes for Bottas


Verstappen’s fine form at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve continued into Friday evening in Montreal as he beat his FP1 benchmark by a second, when he set a 1m14.127s.

The Red Bull driver was just 0.081s quicker than Leclerc, whose Ferrari team will decide overnight whether to take its inevitable engine grid penalty this weekend.

Motor Racing Formula One World Championship Canadian Grand Prix Practice Day Montreal, Canada

Carlos Sainz was third quickest, just over a couple of tenths adrift of his former team-mate Verstappen.

The top five was rounded by a pair of multiple world champions – Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Two-time Canadian GP winner Vettel was just 0.315s slower than Verstappen as Aston Martin’s understanding of its upgraded AMR22 improves.

Alonso backed up his strong third place in FP1 with fifth place in second practice for Alpine.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was sixth fastest ahead of the lead Mercedes of George Russell.

When FP2 began, the Mercedes cars sat in the garage as the team continued to make post-FP1 set-up changes.

Once they got out on track, Russell set the seventh-fastest time while Lewis Hamilton struggled to get a solid lap together and ended up 13th.

Motor Racing Formula One World Championship Canadian Grand Prix Practice Day Montreal, Canada

“The car is undriveable like this” was Hamilton’s verdict before he came into the pits during the final moments of the session.

Lando Norris was eighth, with his McLaren team-mate Daniel Ricciardo just 0.046s slower in ninth.

The top 10 was rounded out by the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez could only manage the 11th-fastest time – a difference Red Bull team boss Christian Horner put down to “set-up” when asked about the deficit by SkySportsF1.

Valtteri Bottas spent the majority of FP2 stuck in the garage as the Alfa Romeo driver suffered another nightmare Friday – this time an electrical issue prevented him from setting a time.

Practice 2 Results

Pos Name Car Best Time Gap Leader
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1m14.127s
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m14.208s +0.081s
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1m14.352s +0.225s
4 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m14.442s +0.315s
5 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 1m14.543s +0.416s
6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Red Bull 1m14.879s +0.752s
7 George Russell Mercedes 1m14.971s +0.844s
8 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.987s +0.86s
9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.033s +0.906s
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1m15.119s +0.992s
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1m15.167s +1.04s
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m15.396s +1.269s
13 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m15.421s +1.294s
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1m15.499s +1.372s
15 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 1m15.516s +1.389s
16 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m15.526s +1.399s
17 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Red Bull 1m15.567s +1.44s
18 Alex Albon Williams-Mercedes 1m16.171s +2.044s
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1m16.509s +2.382s
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