The second free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix kicked off under unstable weather conditions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, located on the island of Saint Lawrence. Fernando Alonso tops the Canadian GP FP2 followed by George Russell and Lance Stroll. Three Mercedes power unit in the top three to encourage their comeback.
Leading the timesheets in the first free practice session was Lando Norris, with the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc securing second and third positions, respectively.
The session started on time with the green flag, but it immediately featured a twist. Charles Leclerc came under investigation for non-compliant use of the intermediate tire. The reason was that the session had not been declared wet before the start of FP2, a status that was only confirmed six minutes into the session.
Fifteen minutes into the session, after several laps on slick tires, track conditions worsened due to heavy rain showers, particularly at Turn 10. Numerous off-track excursions forced drivers to switch to intermediates. However, some drivers managed to find a pace before the rain intensified. Fernando Alonso posted a time of 1:18.862, with his teammate Lance Stroll trailing by one second. They were the only ones who seemed to extract the best performance from the slick tires.
Ten minutes later, the action intensified as track conditions slightly improved. Alonso further lowered his time by three seconds, with George Russell just four-tenths slower. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, the only driver on medium tires, held onto fourth position.
Unexpected issues arose for Max Verstappen, who abandoned his car with half an hour remaining in the session. The car was neutralized as mechanics struggled to open the side pod. The rain returned forcefully, like a dance, temporarily halting the session.
The problem was later identified as a malfunction of the ERS (Energy Recovery System), and attempts were made to fix it before the session’s end. The rain returned forcefully, temporarily halting the session.
As the rain eased up, some track activity resumed, but only with intermediate tires. This situation seemed unfavorable for McLaren, as Lando Norris struggled to keep his car on the track.
A long run with intermediate tires presented a tricky situation for the teams. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc was summoned to meet with the stewards at 00:30 CET regarding the tire infraction. The session concluded with practice starts, and FP3 was confirmed for tomorrow, Saturday, June 8th, at 18:30 CET.