Ferrari reacts in EL2, Hamilton and Verstappen hit the wall

Under the warm and generous Montreal sun, red took over gray during Free Practice 2 of the Canadian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc concludes this opening day in Quebec with the first reference of the weekend: a time of 1’12”177. 

The Monegasque precedes his teammate at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, by 74 thousandths, while the best ranked of Mercedes, that of Valtteri Bottas, 0''134 behind Leclerc's time. Dominant this morning in Free Practice 1, Lewis Hamilton had a more complicated session since he flirted a little too much with the limits of the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. 

The five-time world champion was a bit greedy with the curb at turn 8 and hit the wall at the right rear. Visibly annoyed by his mistake, Hamilton immediately apologized to his team on the radio.

His W10 having suffered damage to the floor, the team had to make a rear axle change as a precaution, which limited Hamilton to just 8 laps this afternoon.

Even the best in the business makes mistakes sometimes… #CanadianGP  #F1 pic.twitter.com/dh05Hvdohr

—Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) June 7, 2019

The Briton is not the only one to have been trapped in the heart of La Belle Province. Max Verstappen indeed went to kiss the famous Wall of Champions a little too closely. The Dutchman had to settle for 13th time, one place behind his neighbor in the garage. Pierre Gasly, while he was in 4th position this morning. 

These different swirls gave a fairly unique look to the first half of the table since we find Carlos Sainz et Kevin Magnussen in 4th and 5th rows. Despite his swerve at turn 8, Hamilton still finished with the 6th fastest time of the session.

Encouraging performances for Racing Point and Renault, who occupy the second part of the Top 10 in the following order: Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, and the regional stage Lance stroll, who has a stand in his name at the pin. 

In the second half of the ranking, Toro Rosso still seem to be struggling at the moment - Alexander albon is 14th, one position ahead of Daniil Kvyat – while Kimi Räikkönen occupies a modest 16th place, he who was in the Top 10 this morning.

The Finn precedes the Haas de Romain Grosjean, only 17th, and the second Alfa Romeo by Antonio Giovinazzi. Accidented in FP1, the Italian was only able to cover 16 laps due to a gearbox change.

Finally, Williams continue to vegetate at the back of the pack. George Russell and Robert Kubica, who had made way for the reservist Nicholas latifi in the morning, emerge respectively 2”8 and 3”1 from the best mark established by Leclerc. 

FP2 CLASSIFICATION

The Ferrari duo finish at the top, with Bottas just behind #CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/d5XvOe0UoS

- Formula 1 (@ F1) June 7, 2019