FP2: Verstappen pips Leclerc by 0.081s to sweep Friday practice sessions in Montreal

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen set the pace in second practice for the Canadian Grand Prix, but his title rival Charles Leclerc kept him honest as he ended up just 0.081s adrift at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Red Bull driver clocked a 1m 14.127s on fresh soft tyres, with a chunk of fuel taken out, to top the times ahead of Leclerc, with the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz two tenths of a second off the pace in third.

AS IT HAPPENED: All the action from second practice for the Canadian Grand Prix

Perhaps the surprise of the session came from Sebastian Vettel, winner in Canada in 2018, with the German putting his Aston Martin a superb fourth, only 0.315s off the ultimate pace.

Fernando Alonso looked strong in first practice and he continued that form into the second session, slotting his Alpine into fifth – a tenth behind his fellow world champion Vettel – with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly sixth.

Gasly ran wide at final chicane and went the wrong side of the bollard, prompting the stewards to say they will be investigating the incident after the race. Vettel did the same and will be investigated, too, as will team mate Lance Stroll.

George Russell was the leading Mercedes in seventh, with McLaren’s Lando Norris slotting into eighth and making it seven different teams in the top eight positions, with just 0.860s separating the octet.

GOOD LAP vs GREAT LAP: Ride onboard with Gasly and Verstappen in Montreal

Daniel Ricciardo continued his turnaround in form with ninth, less than half a tenth of a second behind team mate Norris, as Esteban Ocon completed the top 10.

Monaco Grand Prix winner Sergio Perez had a disappointing middle sector on his soft tyre run and thus was out of position in 11th, ahead of Stroll, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton only 13th – 0.4s slower than team mate Russell.

Hamilton reverted to the standard floor for this season, rather than the version that had a hole cut into it which he ran in FP1, to bring him in line with Russell.

Kevin Magnussen looked stronger than he did this morning with 14th – the Dane having finished FP1 in P20 – a fraction clear of Haas team mate Mick Schumacher, with Zhou Guanyu 16th, his Alfa Romeo team mate Valtteri Bottas’s Friday practice woes continuing as he failed to set a time.

READ MORE: Tsunoda to start Canadian GP from back after engine change, as Leclerc avoids penalty

The Finn did get out on track, running three laps, but he was called back each time when the team discovered a problem, including him losing drive and coasting into the pits.

Yuki Tsunoda – who is on a different programme as he’ll be starting the race from the back of the grid after engine penalties, and therefore is focused on long run performance rather than qualifying – was 17th, with Williams duo Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi 18th and 19th respectively, ahead of Bottas.