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F1 Canadian GP: Russell tops FP2 ahead of Norris and Antonelli

Mercedes driver George Russell has topped second practice at Formula 1's Canadian Grand Prix ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris.

Russell went top after 23 minutes with a lap on Pirelli's medium tyres to set up an intriguing tyre choice for qualifying, with Norris unable to beat the Briton’s time on softs.

After six minutes of FP2, Stroll suffered terminal damage to his Aston Martin’s front-left by tapping the outside wall at Turn 7, forcing him to park his car at the hairpin. It's the latest setback for the Canadian, who is making a return in front of his home crowd after sitting out the Spanish Grand Prix with hand pain.

Russell subsequently led the early running with a 1m12.887s and then 1m12.602s on softs, but it was his medium tyre lap of 1m12.123s, that ended up staying on top until the end. That appears to set up another tyre choice headache for Saturday qualifying at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

With 26 minutes to go, Norris finally found a clear lap to set a time 0.028s slower than Russell, meaning it is not yet clear whether the C6 soft or C5 medium is the best way to go over one lap, as was the case in Imola.

Russell's rookie team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was third on soft tyres ahead of Williams driver Alex Albon, who confirmed his team's strong start to the weekend on a Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve that should suit the Williams FW47.

Lando Norris, McLaren (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images)

Fernando Alonso was fifth-fastest in the sole remaining Aston Martin, with his encouraging lap drawing applause from his mechanics in the garage.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri only managed sixth, four tenths in arrears, followed by the second Williams of Sainz.

Lewis Hamilton claimed eighth as the only Ferrari in action in FP2, after team-mate Charles Leclerc was forced to sit out the session due to a chassis change, the result of his crash in first practice.

It was also a subdued session for Max Verstappen, who looked set to finish outside the top 10 until a last-ditch effort on mediums that took him up to ninth.

The reigning world champion, who topped FP1, reported that his Red Bull was feeling "more nervous" than in first practice and also struggled to slow the car down on cold brakes, as one of several drivers to bypass the final chicane.

Verstappen's late effort bumped Racing Bulls rookie Liam Lawson out of the top 10, with the New Zealander narrowly ahead of his team-mate Isack Hadjar after both drivers got frustrated by the traffic issues around the Montreal circuit.

F1 Canadian GP results - FP2

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h
1 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 33

1'12.123

  M 217.678
2 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 32

+0.028

1'12.151

0.028 S 217.593
3 Italy A. Antonelli Mercedes 12 Mercedes Mercedes 33

+0.288

1'12.411

0.260 S 216.812
4 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 36

+0.322

1'12.445

0.034 M 216.710
5 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 31

+0.335

1'12.458

0.013 S 216.671
6 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 32

+0.439

1'12.562

0.104 S 216.361
7 Spain C. Sainz Williams 55 Williams Mercedes 37

+0.508

1'12.631

0.069 S 216.155
8 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Ferrari 44 Ferrari Ferrari 34

+0.530

1'12.653

0.022 S 216.090
9 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull 31

+0.543

1'12.666

0.013 M 216.051
10 New Zealand L. Lawson RB 30 RB Honda 30

+0.628

1'12.751

0.085 S 215.799
11 France I. Hadjar RB 6 RB Honda 31

+0.676

1'12.799

0.048 S 215.656
12 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault 34

+0.751

1'12.874

0.075 S 215.434
13 Brazil G. Bortoleto Sauber 5 Sauber Ferrari 32

+0.773

1'12.896

0.022 S 215.369
14 Germany N. Hulkenberg Sauber 27 Sauber Ferrari 33

+0.791

1'12.914

0.018 S 215.316
15 Japan Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 22 Red Bull Red Bull 35

+0.816

1'12.939

0.025 S 215.242
16 United Kingdom O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87 Haas Ferrari 36

+0.957

1'13.080

0.141 S 214.827
17 France E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31 Haas Ferrari 33

+1.052

1'13.175

0.095 S 214.548
18 Argentina F. Colapinto Alpine 43 Alpine Renault 33

+1.775

1'13.898

0.723 S 212.449
19 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 2

 

     
20 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 0

 

     
In this article
Filip Cleeren
Formula 1
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