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Russell tops Norris in second Canadian GP practice
George Russell pipped Lando Norris to top spot in second practice at the Canadian Grand Prix despite using the nominally slower tire for his fastest lap. He set the Friday benchmark at 1m12.123s on the medium tire, the C5 compound, after switching off the C6 softs with which he started the session.
Though almost every driver used the soft tire to set their fastest time, there is uncertainty whether the new Pirelli C6, in use for only the third time this season, will deliver over a full qualifying lap.
Norris used the soft on his way to second. He was just 0.028s slower than his compatriot despite what should have been a faster tire. Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed the top three, but despite also using the soft compound, he was 0.288s slower than his session-topping teammate.
Alex Albon continued Williams’s good form from FP1 with the fourth-fastest time, 0.322s off the pace and also on the medium compound, setting up an intriguing picture at the front of the field. Fernando Alonso flew the flag for Aston Martin in fifth, the Spaniard 0.335s slower than Russell, after teammate and home favorite Lance Stroll crashed out of the session just five minutes into the hour.
Stroll understeered exiting the Turn 6-7 chicane, but rather than back out, he kept his foot in and tapped the wall at speed, shattering his front-left suspension. The Canadian attempted to limp back to pitlane but was reminded by his race engineer that the regulations now discourage cars from continuing when so badly damaged, so he parked his Aston Martin at the marshal post at the top of the hairpin, in front of the grandstand bearing his name, to end his Friday participation without a time.
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Championship leader Oscar Piastri was sixth quickest, 0.439s adrift and only 0.069s ahead of Carlos Sainz in the second Williams.
Lewis Hamilton was Ferrari’s sole representative in the session, setting the eighth quickest time, more than 0.5s off the pace.
Teammate Charles Leclerc was unable to join the session after the team discovered chassis damage sustained in his crash in FP1 when he broke both left-hand wheels colliding with the barriers at Turn 3-4 chicane. Even if the team were able to rebuild his car in the 150 minutes between practice sessions, regulations prohibit a driver from using two different chassis on Friday.
Max Verstappen was ninth, also on the medium tire, 0.543s off the pace. The Dutchman complained of a lack of bite from his brakes when under temperature, an issue he said worsened since FP1.
Liam Lawson completed the top 10 for Racing Bulls despite high frustration over traffic, earning a caution from his race engineer to calm down given the likelihood of traffic in qualifying on Saturday. Teammate Isack Hadjar followed ahead of Pierre Gasly and Sauber teammates Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg.
Yuki Tsunoda was 15th in the second Red Bull Racing car, 0.273s slower than teammate Verstappen.
Haas duo Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon were 16th and 17th respectively ahead of Franco Colapinto, who was slowest of the session, 0.723s off the back of the pack, his session having included an almost identical spin at Turn 2 to his pirouette in FP1.

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Michael Lamonato
Having first joined the F1 press corps in 2012 by what he assumed was administrative error, Michael has since made himself one of the few Australian regulars in the press room. Graduating in print journalism and later radio, he worked his way from community media to Australia's ABC Grandstand as an F1 broadcaster, and his voice is now heard on the official Australian Grand Prix podcast, the F1 Strategy Report and Box of Neutrals. Though he'd prefer to be recognized for his F1 expertise, in parts of hometown Melbourne his reputation for once being sick in a kart will forever precede him.
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