Canada – Free Practice 2: Räikkönen not idle, spinning all over the place!
Iceman finished in the lead, the only driver under 1:13. Lewis Hamilton was just a tenth off the pace, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel. The session was marked by an impressive number of failed braking maneuvers!
The second session in Montreal was spared from rain, allowing drivers to practice on a track considered dirty during FP1. First driver out of the pits, Carlos Sainz wasted no time, after losing all the benefits of the first session due to an engine failure at the start.
The Ferraris were also quickly in action. Conversely, the two Mercedes gradually got into the swing of things. Valtteri Bottas started with only soft tires. The Finn created a small surprise with a very good lap time of 1:14.079.
As for his teammate, Lewis Hamilton allowed himself to ease off the gas before the final chicane, not giving an immediate read on his performance. However, the three-time world champion was also the first to go under the 1:14 mark, with a time of 1:13.955, twenty minutes after the green light.
Sebastian Vettel responded easily, during his first run on ultra-softs: 1:13.200 on his third flying lap. Moments later, Kimi Räikkönen raised his level, taking the lead with a time of 1:12.935. Slightly behind the Mercedes in the third sector, the 2007 world champion widened the gap in the second, going two-tenths faster.
The match is in any case open at the end of this Friday between the two leading teams. Even though once again, the Mercedes seems more nervous in the long stints. Its strong top speed in the long straight towards the final chicane will be a significant advantage.
Naturally, the progression of times compared to the initial session is very interesting. Nine-tenths were gained between the two sessions. But the absolute track record still holds, by just two-tenths.
Despite a constantly improving track, numerous spins were executed during the 90 minutes of practice. The most notable driver in this regard was Romain Grosjean. He first made a mistake in the sixth turn, and the Frenchman repeated a similar mishap a few laps later. Then, the former Lotus driver missed the trajectory in T1, cutting across the side. The electronic system at the rear clearly seems faulty on the Haas VF-17.
In general, the entire track was not spared. Simulations on long stints provided the opportunity to see Bottas or Vettel perform a compulsory 360-degree maneuver. Here more than anywhere, brake settings require maximum sensitivity.
Another spin, this time it’s the championship leader VET (P3) as he pushes hard to chase down HAM (P2) and RAI (P1)#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/Zr9x9eglLY
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9
Another driver in trouble, Daniel Ricciardo aboard his Red Bull. Reporting power losses in his car, the 2014 winning driver lost a second and seven-tenths to Max Verstappen, finishing in a modest 15th place. Particularly, “Dan the Man” ended the session from his garage, giving mechanics time to change the faulty engine.
“First of the others” in fifth position, four tenths off the lead, his teammate also did not complete the session. Worse, his RB13 stopped in the second sector, after a gearbox problem. This stoppage caused the red flag to be shown, 15 minutes before the end.
RED FLAG 🚩
VER stops on track and the session is suspended temporarily with 17 mins to go#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/1U4huSKxr3
— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 juin /f1/actualite/22047-canada-essais-libres-1-hamilton-le-plus-rapide-au-milieu-des-ecureuils-et-des-marmottes-.html
Further down the rankings, Fernando Alonso was fortunate this time to have a session without any engine interruptions. His track outing was, however, delayed after the installation of a new engine, following his troubles in FP1. The double world champion returned to action, seventh, one second and four-tenths ahead of Vandoorne.
On the tire front, the Quebec trend follows the norm for this season. The degradation of the tires will hardly be a problem, with the ultra-soft lasting beyond 25 laps (26 laps specifically with Carlos Sainz). If the weather doesn’t interfere, only one pit stop is expected during the 70-lap race this Sunday.
Here is the final ranking of this second free session:
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP2)@ScuderiaFerrari fight back to edge @MercedesAMGF1
ALO sneaks into the top 10#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/VnStLaOtj2
— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 juin /f1/actualite/22047-canada-essais-libres-1-hamilton-le-plus-rapide-au-milieu-des-ecureuils-et-des-marmottes-.html
