FP2 in Canada goes ahead without Leclerc, who pays the price for his FP1 crash. Mercedes takes advantage to claim P1 and P3, while McLaren’s performance remains unclear.
FP2 in Canada leaves a mixed picture. McLaren took a while to get going but remained close to the front. Mercedes seized the opportunity, topping the session with Russell and placing Antonelli in third. Norris slotted into second, while Piastri ended up in sixth. Max Verstappen was down in ninth, though his race pace looked promising. Ahead of him was Hamilton, while Leclerc was forced to miss the session altogether.
First 30 minutes
At the green light, Lewis Hamilton was among the first to hit the track. With Charles Leclerc sidelined due to the significant chassis damage from his FP1 crash, Ferrari placed all its focus on the Briton, who immediately went on the attack despite the still-evolving and tricky track conditions.
Less than 10 minutes into the session, a yellow flag was brought out: Stroll, possibly distracted by the cars in front, ran too wide and hit the wall hard with his left front, breaking his suspension and ending his session early.
Meanwhile, on yellow tyres, Hamilton got within 22 thousandths of Norris, setting up a temporary 1-2 for the pair. McLaren still appeared tricky to handle, with both the Briton and his Australian teammate running off at the final corner multiple times, unable to turn in.
Another 360-degree spin for Colapinto, as in FP1, didn’t stop his session — he managed to recover and continue. Williams remained solid, but it was Mercedes who made a statement: with 30 minutes remaining, Russell led on yellow tyres, followed by Antonelli on reds just two tenths behind.
Final 30 minutes
At the halfway mark, Lando Norris suddenly came alive and posted the second-best time with a 1:21.151, just 28 thousandths behind George Russell. Oscar Piastri continued to struggle with a McLaren that proved difficult to read during this session.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen ended further back — eighth and ninth respectively — with the Dutchman repeatedly reporting cornering issues.
About 20 minutes from the end, drivers began race pace simulations, revealing a notable trend: almost everyone was lapping consistently in the low 1:16s, with Kimi Antonelli averaging as the fastest. Verstappen started off slow but then aligned with the rest.
Lewis Hamilton began with some slower times, likely due to traffic, before matching the others as well. A key factor to watch is graining: nearly all cars experienced it at some point. This issue could result in a performance drop of up to a second, potentially playing a decisive role in Sunday’s race.
In this tightly packed field, Russell topped the times, followed by Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli. Oscar Piastri took sixth, while Hamilton’s eighth place remains open to interpretation.
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