F1-EL2: Hamilton dominates before making a mistake

Until the arrival of rain on the Gilles Villeneuve track in Montreal, the second free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix had allowed Lewis Hamilton to stand out again after his best time in EL1. With the switch to super-soft tires, the Briton Mercedes had signed a best lap in 1'15″988, enough to rise to the top of the session in front of the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

From the first drops of water on the track, the entire field logically decided to enter the pit lane. Although the rain intensified, Mercedes nevertheless sent its two cars onto the track again on intermediate tires, to collect departure procedure data. A few moments later, Hamilton was trapped at the hairpin, aquaplaning and ending his race, at low speed, in the tire wall. The session was interrupted by the red flag, time to evacuate the No. 06 W44 Hybrid damaged at the nose.

If the green flag was finally displayed subsequently, the deluge slowed down the desires of the competitors, allowing Hamilton, despite his misfortune, to maintain the best performance. Behind the double world champion and the two Ferraris, Nico Rosberg placed the second Mercedes in fourth position ahead of the Lotus of Maldonado. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) takes sixth place ahead Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Felipe Massa (Williams) and both Red Bull by Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) suffered a puncture during the first part of the session and finished just outside the top 10.

The third free practice session will take place tomorrow at 16 p.m. French time.