Verstappen admits first day in Canada ‘not ideal’ as he reacts to FP2 technical issue

Max Verstappen stated that his opening day of practice for the Canadian Grand Prix was “definitely not how I would have liked to get on” after his efforts in mixed conditions were hindered by a technical problem.

Having rounded out the top five positions in a wet/dry FP1, Verstappen managed to complete just four laps – leaving him 18th on the timesheets – during a dry/wet FP2.

FP2: Alonso goes fastest while Verstappen suffers problems during rain-affected second practice in Canada

That was due to a suspected Energy Recovery System problem developing inside his RB20 early in the session, forcing him back to the pits and onto the radio as he commented: “Can you get the fans? I smell a bit of smoke.”

Asked post-session about the disrupted Friday and the issue on his car, the reigning world champion said: “Yeah, unfortunately in FP2, not many laps for me.

“There was a suspected electrical issue so they told me to box and they’re investigating now. I haven’t been back in the garage yet, but I’m sure soon we’ll figure out what it is.”

He continued: “It’s not ideal. I would have liked to drive more laps. Some other people had a few more laps in the dry, a few more laps now in the wet.

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

“It’s definitely not how I would have liked to get on in FP2, but I think it’s more important to just figure out what actually happened, and what kind of implications that will have for this weekend or the rest of the year.”

Verstappen’s team mate, Sergio Perez, was 10th fastest on Friday’s timesheets as he pondered what lies ahead for the rest of the weekend – with further rain set to fall.

“I think it was overall a very tricky day with the conditions that we had,” said the Mexican, with drivers also having to get used to a resurfaced track.

“I think it’s going to be very important tomorrow to be out there at the right time. We could see that already it was changing quite a bit if you were not pushing on the right lap, it could be quite a difference.

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“We felt a bit the car, we have a bit of an idea on the car, but I think it’s very difficult to draw any conclusions on a track that was dominated by the weather, really.”

Verstappen heads into the weekend with a 31-point advantage over Ferrari rival and Monaco Grand Prix winner Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings, while Red Bull sit 24 points clear of the Scuderia in the constructors’ battle.