ANDhidden until the end, but again very fast. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell they took a while to tighten, but they finished first and second in Free Practice 2 at the Canadian Grand Prix, It was just before the rain came that I finally respected the competitors, especially to Aston Martin, who had the most to test with his new bodywork and who ended up surpassing Free Practice 1. blank due to the computer blackout, to complete all his busy schedule.
Alonso went up to the room immediately after the Mercedes took command, with half an hour to go, and when it was almost starting to spark. It ended up pouring. It was the last car that improved their personal times. Then everyone tried rain tires in case Saturday repeats itself for the classification (10:00 p.m.).
Sainz third and very solid
In addition to those from Brackley, confirming his rise from Barcelonathe Ferraris were the ones who left the best sensations, working at full capacity with all available compounds (C3, C4 and C5) for this weekend. Carlos Sainz seemed to be a point ahead of Leclerc the whole session. He was on the verge of winning in 2022 at this track and is running again for the win.
Do the Red Bulls slack off?
those who They showed a certain weakness, for the first time so far this year, in Free Practice, it was the Red Bull and especially Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was beaten by five rivals, to be sixthsomething completely unusual. Czech was eighthwith a rhythm very similar to that of the world champion. Is this where the Austrians slack? It is really early to tell, but there is a silver lining to hope.
Free Practice2, Canadian GP 2023 (90 minutes)
1 L. Hamilton Mercedes 1’13″718 30
2 G. Russell Mercedes 1’13″745 +00″027 31
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’13″844 +00″126 38
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1’14″044 +00″326 35
5 C. Leclerc Ferrari 1’14″094 +00″376 37
6 M. Verstappen Red Bull 1’14″142 +00″424 34
7 V.Bottas Alfa Romeo 1’14″220 +00″502 39
8 S. Perez Red Bull 1’14″250 +00″532 29
9 L. Stroll Aston Martin 1’14″419 +00″701 30
10 P. Gasly Alpine 1’14″477 +00″759 39
11 O. Piastri McLaren 1’14″533 +00″815 37
12 K. Magnussen Haas 1’14″544 +00″826 35
13 L. Norris McLaren 1’14″617 +00″899 36
14 G.Zhou Alfa Romeo 1’14″811 +01″093 36
15 Y. Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1’14″941 +01″223 42
16 N. De Vries AlphaTauri 1’15″002 +01″284 37
17 A. Albon Williams 1’15″003 +01″285 33
18 E. Ocon Alpine 1’15″092 +01″374 17
19L Sargeant Williams 1’15″426 +01″708 38
20 N. Hulkenberg Haas 1’16″369 +02″651 11
Alpine’s second breakdown
If in Free Practice 1 it was Gasly,in Los Libres 2 it was Ocon, the one who stood still. Nor does it mean anything, because on Fridays there are many teams that use old units for Fridays. Chance, but both Alpines have had starting problems in Montreal.
Hulkenberg engine break
He Haas engine, one of Ferrari’s clients, said enough and broke with an hour to go (of the 90 minute session) on the back straight of the circuit. Just the day that it was confirmed that both Leclerc and Sainz placed new units for their cars. after the changes Arabia, the second race of the year, there are approximately five Grand Prix that last the units of the ‘cavallino’. It is the third in the case of those from Maranello, so they have one more left before penalizing at the end of the season.
After that first half hour, Leclerc dominated ahead of Verstappen and Sainz, but the three cars were in a hairpin of only 102 thousandths. Carlos expected Barcelona’s improvements to the SF-23 to work much better this weekend and it seems he was right.
The Aston Martin, engaged in validation tests of the new aerodynamic package, appeared very low in terms of timesbut it was really early to draw valid conclusions for the rest of the weekend.
After the first half hour
1 C. Leclerc Ferrari 1’14″094 12
2 M Verstappen Red Bull 1’14″168 +00″074 12
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’14″196 +00″102 13
4 V.Bottas Alfa Romeo 1’14″640 +00″546 16
5 P. Gasly Alpine 1’15″064 +00″970 13
6 O. Piastri McLaren 1’15″131 +01″037 14
7 K. Magnussen Haas 1’15″189 +01″095 12
8 S. Perez Red Bull 1’15″230 +01″136 8
9 A. Albon Williams 1’15″396 +01″302 10
10 L. Norris McLaren 1’15″508 +01″414 10
11 E. Ocon Alpine 1’15″716 +01″622 14
12 N. De Vries AlphaTauri 1’15″774 +01″680 15
13L Sargeant Williams 1’15″943 +01″849 14
14 L. Stroll Aston Martin 1’15″958 +01″864 12
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1’16″092 +01″998 14
