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.

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