Verstappen suffers problems during rain-affected second practice in Canada.
Fernando Alonso set the fastest time during a rain-affected Free Practice 2 at the Canadian Grand Prix, with the Spaniard putting his lap in during drier running earlier in the session, while Max Verstappen had his session curtailed after a technical problem.
Amid grey skies and a high risk of rain when the lights went green at 1700 local time, Verstappen led a queue out of the pit lane as many drivers looked to put some early laps on the board before any potential change in the conditions.
There was soon trouble for Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque noted by the stewards for ‘tyre usage’ after heading out on used intermediates when the track had not been declared wet. The alleged offense will be investigated after the session.
With most of the pack running slick tires in the early stages, the arrival of increasingly heavy rainfall started to cause problems. Lance Stroll – a driver known for performing well in the wet – and Kevin Magnussen were amongst those to run off the circuit, before the conditions started to improve again.
“I smell a bit of smoke,” Verstappen reported from his RB20 as the hour headed towards its halfway point. With the Dutchman having safely gotten out of the car in the Red Bull garage, the mechanics set to investigating the problem.
“Unfortunately FP1 was very affected by the weather and we also did not get many laps out of FP2," added Verstappen. “There was a suspected electrical issue so the Team told me to box. They are investigating what the issue is in the garage now and I’m sure we will get to the bottom of it. It is not ideal as I would have liked to have driven a few more laps and it is not how I would have liked to have finished the session. But now we just need to understand more about what happened and the implications that it will have for this weekend."
It was confirmed that Verstappen would not be rejoining the session owing to an ERS issue on his car, but there was a late burst of action for the rest in the latter stages, with many bolting on the intermediate tires for their final laps.
Traffic was becoming an issue out on track, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz voicing their frustration. However, as the rain increased again, everybody soon returned to the pit lane, leading to a lull in the action while Alonso sat at the top of the timesheets.
“It was a tricky Friday for the entire field due to the weather with not many laps recorded, particularly in FP1," said Alonso. “The conditions meant the track was never fully wet or fully dry but it could be like this in Qualifying and the race so today could provide very useful information for the rest of the weekend.
“If the conditions are the same tomorrow, those that are sharp in Qualifying and make the right decision on tyres could gain a big advantage. It’s going to be interesting for those watching but for us as a team it’ll be about getting the tyre calls right and aiming to make the most of that."
While the track became increasingly dry, Alonso’s earlier time of 1m 15.810s in the Aston Martin remained unbeaten, with the Mercedes of George Russell following in P2 while Stroll slotted into P3. Leclerc – who suffered a spin later in the session – claimed P4, from the RB of Daniel Ricciardo in P5.
With the opening day of track action now complete, the teams and drivers will assess their data before returning for third and final practice on Saturday at 1230 local time, ahead of qualifying later in the day.