Canadian GP: George Russell tops Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli in confusing Montreal second practice | F1 News

George Russell was the fastest of Lando Norris in a second confusing training at the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday.

Mercedes seems to be looking for pole position while Kimi Antonelli finished third during his first outing in Montreal, but we do not know how the hierarchical order really accumulates due to the variation of tires.

The rhythm of Russell 1: 12,123 was carried out on average tires which, in theory, should be slower than softs. However, Norris was only 0.028 s slower after having done six laps on his soft tires, so should also have a pace in hand.

Pirelli brought the softest range of tires to the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, the C6 Soft, the C5 medium and the hard C4, but the C6 proved problematic earlier this season in Imola due to its strong tire wear, even on a tour.

This was underlined with Alex Albon de Williams in fourth position on the mediums, ahead of Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin in fifth.

The head of the championship, Oscar Piastri, who was 10 points ahead of Norris, was only sixth and four tenths of the rhythm, because the improvements of the front wing and the suspension of McLaren failed to guarantee Friday training.

McLaren directed the old front wing on the second try and will make a decision before the final training on Saturday at 5.30 p.m. to find out if they keep the new suspension.

Sky Sports F1Karun Chandhok said: “You must say that McLaren seems to be on the rear foot, especially with a rhythm at a touch.

“This is a difficult track to exceed, so in fact the qualifications are super important.”

Max Verstappen, who was not satisfied to bounce back in the back of his car, could only finish the session in ninth behind Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz.

Lance Stroll crashed very early after hitting the wall around 7 and Charles Leclerc did not participate in the second training after a big accident during the first practice which required a change of chassis.

Several drivers have had offspring throughout the day while they struggled in the cold conditions of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, which is suitable for Mercedes.

“A very positive day,” said Russell, whose last victory came in November 2024 to Las Vegas.

“We have had higher expectations when we arrived this weekend due to the cooler conditions, the track is quite fluid, so the tires are quite cold.

“We know our weakness, it is when it is hot, we are difficult. When it is cold, the tires are cold and that we are competitive. It is validation today. We will try to maximize this weekend.

“My turn was strong. It was optimized. There was no longer in the tank. We had everything on the table, the full beans, the power and everything else.

“You must be realistic. A number of teams think of the average tire. Come qualify, go on the sweet or the medium, this is one of the challenges with this C6 compound.”

Canadian Sky Sports F1 schedule

Saturday June 14
2:10 p.m.: F1 Academy Race One
5:15 p.m.: Practice of Canadian GP three (the session starts at 5.30 p.m.)
7:30 p.m.: F1 Academy Race Two
8:30 p.m.: Canadian GP qualification accumulation
9 p.m.: Canadian GP qualification
11 p.m.: TED’s qualification book

Sunday June 15
3:50 p.m.: F1 Academy Race three
5.30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: Canadian GP Build-Up *
7 p.m.: The Canadian Grand Prix *
9 p.m.: Damy flag: GP Canadian reaction
10 p.m.: Ted’s notebook

* Also on the main event of Sky Sports

The Formula 1 2025 season resumes live Sky Sports F1 With the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract, cancel at any time.