Lewis Hamilton and George Russell quickest in FP2 in Canada as first practice session abandoned due to CCTV fault
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Updated 17/06/2023 at 10:10 GMT+1
Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were quickest in the second practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday evening. The first session had been curtailed due to a failure of the circuit's CCTV system, and that led to the second runout being extended to 90 minutes. The unusual length saw teams struggle to test with their normal approaches.
Verstappen on his dominant victory in the Spanish GP
Mercedes carried their good form from the Spanish Grand Prix into a one-two result in the second practice session in Canada.
The pair were second and third respectively last weekend, as they continue to enjoy the benefits of their new design.
The pair were clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in third, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso splitting him from his team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Current world champion Max Verstappen was sixth fastest, almost half a second slower than Hamilton in Montreal.
The rejigged time limit for the second session saw a wide variety in approaches, with Mercedes using a race-simulation setup first, and then their qualifying strategy.
Red Bull appeared to try the reverse approach, which meant that Verstappen was running his paciest setup when the track was at its slowest.
Hamilton said after the session: "It was OK. Probably the bumpiest circuit we have been on for a long time. But, bit of a strange day. Missed the first session, felt really bad for all the fans.
"I love driving this track. It's mega. The car didn't feel bad but I think we definitely have some work to do. Not the greatest but not the worst.
"It is feeling pretty decent but it is just bumpy. I think everyone is having struggles with the bumps. We just have to improve our ride control and a bit of balance through the corner and I think we'll be all right.
"The car is massively better than last year. The rear end is not but overall it is a step forward and I am definitely feeling the improvements we brought in Monaco.
Verstappen admitted he "didn't have a good day.”
He continued: "We know our limitations with the car, and probably with the track like it is now with the bumps and kerbs it is definitely not suiting our package for now but we will try to find a few improvements."
The first practice session was abandoned earlier on Friday because of a failure of the CCTV system.
The drivers were starting to make their early attempts to get a feel for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and also their new setups, with a handful of teams bringing some changes to Canada.
However, after Alpine’s Pierre Gasly stopped on the track, it had appeared that the Frenchman’s safe removal from the course would have allowed action to resume.
However it became clear that a delay was caused by another issue, with the CCTV system not working, with no quick solution to the fault.
The FIA then abandoned the remainder of FP1, and instead chose to extend FP2 to meet the requirement of 150 minutes between the two sessions, as the problem persisted.
Hamilton earlier reflected on some recent success, after they got rid of their ‘zero-sidepod’ design, and with a twin-podium finish in Catalonia, and the former world champion was optimistic before FP1.
"We've been making progress in the car. Last race, we've all been buzzing back at the factory, the whole team has this new energy and kind of feel that we've got a North Star - we know where we're going and how to get there," Hamilton said.
"Excited coming here. We generally don't know whether this track suits our car and the car's characteristics but the weather may change that."
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