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Formula 1
Canadian GP
F1 Canadian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
Updates for practice at the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
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F1 returns to the famous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this weekend for the first time since 2019, following two years of COVID-19 enforced cancellations.
Max Verstappen emerged victorious at last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix as the Dutchman headed a Red Bull 1-2, as mechanical frailties struck Ferrari and title contender Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen heads to Canada with a 21 point championship lead over team-mate Sergio Perez, while Leclerc is third having slipped 34 points adrift.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the most recent Canadian Grand Prix in 2019.
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Summary
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Summary
- Verstappen tops FP2 for the Canadian GP
- Leclerc finished second, with Sainz in third
- Bottas' session finished early with an electrical issue
- Verstappen also led FP1 from Sainz and Alonso
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Leaderboard
- Verstappen, Red Bull
- Leclerc, Ferrari
- Sainz, Ferrari
- Vettel, Aston Martin
- Alonso, Alpine
- Gasly, AlphaTauri
- Russell, Mercedes
- Norris, McLaren
- Ricciardo, McLaren
- Ocon, Alpine
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Thank you to all of you who spent your Friday evenings following our live coverage. We'll now be back at 6pm UK time tomorrow for FP3, with qualifying then following at 9pm. Until then, bye for now.
So, here's a round-up of the notable moments from that session - including the drinks can be retrieved by a marshal, yep we were scraping the barrel a bit in that one - with Verstappen's pace once again looking ominous: https://autosport.com/all/news/canadian-gp-verstappen-holds-off-leclerc-in-second-practice/10323939/
We avoided the rain in that session, but it might not be the case tomorrow - and some rain in qualifying, especially if the teams don't experience the wet stuff beforehand, could spice things up nicely.
While the cars complete their practice starts, there's a notable absentee as Bottas failed to set a time in the whole session with those anti-stall woes. His miserable Friday streak continues.
Completing the drivers under investigation is Stroll, who is also having his rejoining from cutting the final chicane being looked at.
Not the most exciting of sessions, but it's an interesting top six with Verstappen heading Leclerc, Sainz, Vettel, Alonso and Gasly. What have we learned? Not a huge amount given the differing strategies adopted by the teams - but Verstappen looks strong, and so does Alonso.
Checkered flag
And that's your lot, folks! The chequered flag appears to bring Friday running to a close.
Hamilton is really not happy, reporting "this car is now undriveable". And he decides to pit. Clearly, reverting to the standard floor has not made a difference and there's a replay of him failing to make one of the corners.
Magnussen is the latest one to lock a wheel - this time at the Turn 8/9 chicane - and it's worth remembering that this circuit is notoriously tough on brakes.
Meanwhile, replays are showing a host of drivers - including Leclerc - cutting the final chicane as the Montreal layout is catching plenty out.
One driver who would like the order to change is Bottas. The Alfa mechanics are still working on his car as he's yet to set a time.
Right, this is your 10 minutes left klaxon! We're not expecting the leaderboard to change much in these final stages, but you never know...
Elsewhere, there's an interesting split in strategies between the Red Bulls and Ferraris. While Verstappen and Perez are on the mediums for their long run, Leclerc and Sainz are on the softs.
Vettel seems to be on a one-man mission to keep the stewards as busy as possible! His latest potential offence is failing to follow the race director's instructions when it comes to rejoining the circuit after locking up and cutting the final chicane.
Verstappen is told heavy rain will arrive about 10 minutes after the session, but there may be a few drops before. "That's lovely," is the Red Bull driver's response, he certainly sounds less frustrated than FP1 earlier when he was bemoaning rollbar issues and clipping problems.
If the rain doesn't arrive, we can now expect the long-run phase of the session to begin as - everyone bar Bottas - has set a time on the softs.
Replays show Zhou getting in the way of Ricciardo - the McLaren driver left frustrated as he is blocked by the Alfa Romeo.
We may have had errant drinks cans in this session, but we're yet to see any of the local wildlife put in an appearance. For their sake, that's definitely a good thing!
There's just over 20 minutes remaining, and it looks as if Bottas might not be able to set a time in this session as these anti-stall problems persist.
Vettel may be quick, but he reports something coming loose on the side of his Aston Martin and the team begin examining the car.
Stopwatch
Make that seventh now for Russell, as Gasly improves up to sixth. Given Perez's poor pace (he's 11th), it's quite a mixed-up order we've got currently.
We haven't spoken about Hamilton for a while. His team-mate is up in sixth, but Hamilton - having reverted to the more standard Mercedes floor - is down in 13th currently.
We mentioned rain earlier, and it's on the horizon in Montreal as menacingly dark clouds close in on the circuit - but will they hit in the remaining 25 minutes of this session? Could make things a little spicy.
Stopwatch
Another of the stars of the early 2010s is on a charge and Vettel has gone up to fourth - now everyone is on soft tyres, it does seem the Aston has some genuine pace.
Vettel is certainly attracting the attention of the officials. When one investigation is not enough, he's now being examined for "driving unnecessarily slowly" leaving the pits - in addition to his earlier unsafe release accusation.
Stopwatch
Sainz, is the latest to improve in this flurry of quick times, and he is up to third.
Stopwatch
But it's game on at the front, perhaps, as Leclerc almost matches Verstappen's time! There's just 0.081s splitting the title rivals.
Oh, and is this something a bit more encouraging from Mercedes? Russell has just popped up to third. He may be 0.84s behind Verstappen, but at least he's in the mix.
Stopwatch
Alonso is really pushing once again, brushing the grass on this latest lap - and he improves his time but stays fourth.
Stopwatch
Perez is now putting in his flying effort but he's nowhere near the pace of his team-mate and he is a whole second slower than Verstappen.
Stopwatch
Verstappen has now bolted on the softs and he's set a new fastest time - a 1m14.127s and is now 0.7s faster than the Ferraris.
Bottas has now headed back out on track. But he says, "there's still something weird on downshifting". And he's told to box again. It's not all going to plan for the Alfa once again.
Green flag
With the can removed, the track is green again - and it did coincide with a time when most of the cars were in the pits anyway.
Yellow flag
We've now got a virtual safety car - and it seems the reason is a can on track! Yep, that's an unusual one. And there's a huge cheer as the marshal retrieves it.
There's just been a replay of Bottas slowly crawling back into the pitlane - and he seems anti-stall has been cutting in.
Stopwatch
Stroll has also improved - and he goes sixth, one spot behind his team-mate.
Stopwatch
The Aston Martins are showing more pace so far this weekend and Vettel has improved to fifth - although it's worth noting he's on the soft tyres rather than the mediums most have used.
Breaking news
Gasly, meanwhile, is under investigation for failing to follow the race director's notes when it comes to rejoining after skipping the final chicane. It could be a slap on the wrist for the AlphaTauri racer.
Down in the Alfa Romeo garage, it's not looking good for Bottas - he's not yet set a time and is out of the car.
Sainz continues to moan about the porpoising but it's not holding him back as he moves up to second - but is quickly displaced by Leclerc - who closes to within three tenths of Verstappen.
By: autosport.com
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