Lewis Hamilton tops charts in rain-hit Canadian GP FP2
Lewis Hamilton topped the charts in FP2 for the Canadian GP, ahead of teammate George Russell and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, while a late downpour created a dramatic ending to the session.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell achieved a Mercedes 1-2, taking top spot in the Canadian Grand Prix's second free practice, as heavy rain made a dramatic entrance in the final five minutes.
Hamilton's 1:13.718s surpassed George Russell's 1m13.745s and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz's 1:14.196s.
Stop-and-go session
The second practice session was stretched by 30 minutes due to technical issues with the circuit's CCTV system curtailing the first session.
Limited laps in FP1 led to a greater focus on data gathering for Saturday's qualifying preparations.
Charles Leclerc set the opening pace, followed by Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas.
Despite concerns about his Red Bull's downshifts, Max Verstappen brought the times down into the 1m14s.
Leclerc reclaimed the top spot before Nico Hulkenberg's smoking car brought about a red flag and a ten-minute delay.
On the restart, Sainz swiftly reclaimed the top spot. A second red flag interrupted the session, this time due to Esteban Ocon's halted Alpine at Turn 9.
With threatening rainclouds overhead, teams focused on conducting their longer runs in the remaining 40 minutes.
In the last half-hour, George Russell temporarily topped the timesheets before being outpaced by Hamilton.
Despite predictions of rain, teams continued gathering data on the dry circuit. As the wind picked up, track temperatures fell, leading to more driver errors and slippery conditions.
Sudden downpour creates chaos
With five minutes remaining, a sudden deluge at the hairpin turned the circuit into a split track condition-wise.
Lando Norris was the first to venture out on intermediates, followed by a few other teams.
The increasingly wet track proved too challenging, leading to wide moments for Lance Stroll and Sainz at Turn 8.
Hamilton's time remained unbeaten, despite the difficult conditions. Russell followed in second, with Sainz in third, and Alonso in fourth place.
Verstappen finished sixth, just under a tenth ahead of Bottas.
Despite close encounters with the Wall of Champions, Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri managed to finish in the top 11.
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