Verstappen pips Leclerc in second Canadian GP F1 practice

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.

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.

P5 for @alo_oficial currently 🔥#CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/MLtUjpvS9f

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 17, 2022

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.

“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