Alonso tops rain-hit Montreal practice

Fernando Alonso was fastest in a rain-affected second practice at the Canadian Grand Prix as championship leader Max Verstappen suffered a fire.

The session was ran in drying conditions but the rain increased with 30 minutes to go, so Alonso got the best time on the board during the dry running as he went 0.463s quicker than Mercedes’ George Russell.

Reigning world champion Verstappen only completed four laps due to an ERS (electrical recovery system) failure, which saw the car catch a smile fire as he came back into the garage. Both Red Bulls were fitted with a new engine ahead of Friday’s running in Montreal.

Verstappen has a 31-point lead over Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship but Red Bull are expected to be slightly on the backfoot again due to the high kerbs at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, an area where Ferrari are stronger.

But the rain throughout both practice sessions means nobody has had any seriously representative running.

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Alonso’s 1:15.810 was two seconds slower than the best dry lap time from 2023. Nevertheless, Aston Martin were very quick in the drying conditions as home driver Lance Stroll was third, ahead of Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo in fifth.

“It was a tricky Friday for everyone, not many laps and no proper laps in wet or dry conditions,” said Alonso.

“But it could be like this in Qualifying or the race, so we need to analyse the data and be very sharp. The right decision can gain you five seconds, the wrong decision and you are out of the race.

“It’s going to be an interesting weekend for you guys on the outside but for us it will be a gamble on which tyre to put on.”

Impossible to predict pecking order

Ferrari were described as favourites for victory this weekend in Montreal by Lando Norris, but McLaren should also be in contention for the win on Sunday.

Norris, who topped first practice, was last in the classification and team-mate Oscar Piastri was 16th, but their positions don’t represent their actual pace.

Lewis Hamilton finished second practice in seventh and was one of several drivers to complain about traffic going into the final chicane.

Alonso called out Leclerc for blocking at the end of the back straight, stating it was “typical Ferrari”. Leclerc is under investigation for a “tyre usage” incident.

The stewards have not confirmed what the incident is about but Leclerc went onto the track in the first minute of the session on intermediates, when the track was not declared wet.

Rules state the drivers cannot use intermediate or wet tyres if the circuit is not declared a “wet track”, a message which appeared five minutes into the session.

Canadian GP Practice Two Timesheet

Driver
Team
Time

1) Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
1:15.810

2) George Russell
Mercedes
+0.463

3) Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
+0.654

4) Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+0.746

5) Daniel Ricciardo
RB
+0.921

6) Kevin Magnussen
Haas
+0.963

7) Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
+1.098

8) Yuki Tsunoda
RB
+1.141

9) Alex Albon
Williams
+1.167

10) Sergio Perez
Red Bull
+1.231

11) Esteban Ocon
Alpine
+1.607

12) Logan Sargeant
Red Bull
+1.686

13) Carlos Sainz
Ferrari
+1.912

14) Valtteri Bottas
Sauber
+2.007

15) Nico Hulkenberg
Haas
+2.093

16) Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+3.198

17) Zhou Guanyu
Sauber
+3.277

18) Max Verstappen
Red Bull
+3.501

19) Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+4.979

20) Lando Norris
McLaren
+5.033

Sky Sports F1’s live Canadian GP schedule

Saturday June 8

5.15pm: Canadian GP Practice Three (session starts at 5.30pm)

8pm: Canadian GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: Canadian GP Qualifying

11pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday June 9

5.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Canadian GP build-up
7pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

9pm: Chequered Flag – Canadian GP reaction

10pm: Ted’s Notebook

Formula 1 is on Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and you can watch every session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 7pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime