Max sixth after prolonged second practice in Canada: 'Still a bit of work to do'

Published on 17 June 2023 by Florence Cobben

Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has finished sixth after an hour-and-a-half-long second free practice training in the lead-up to the Canadian Grand Prix. The two-time Formula 1 world champion set his fastest time relatively early in the session but ultimately had to make way for the Ferraris. The Mercedes, who later on in the session came out on soft tires, closed the session with Lewis Hamilton in first with the fastest time.

“It wasn’t very straightforward, with basically no running in FP1”, Max explains at the end of the Friday practice. “This was the same for everyone, and at least we could get a bit of running in FP2. But I think we still have a little bit of work to do, the car is not fantastic at the moment over the kerbs. It’s not too bad, but we still have to finetune some things.”

“It was a bit more of a tricky session, but sometimes you have those days. We know our limitations with the car, and on the track as it is now with the bumps and the kerbs, it’s not suiting our package for now. But we’ll try to find a few improvements.” Looking ahead, Max predicts: “Probably tomorrow is going to be wet. That normally always brings a few surprises in qualifying. We’ll see what the weather will do on Sunday.”

The second free practice began half an hour earlier than originally planned and took ninety minutes, to grant the teams the extra time needed after the premature end to the first free practice. It immediately became crowded on track, not in the least because of the increased chance of rain.

Max began his first lap on soft tires and immediately sets the fastest time - although his fellow competitors were on mediums. After 8 laps he refined his time to 1:14.726, and the current world champion dove back into the pits.

While viewers at home watched the drivers bounce over the kerbstones in the chicane, Charles Leclerc jumped to P1, as Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz raced to P3, after Max. Afterwards, the Spaniard, also on softs, improved his time to 1:14.196, which was the fastest effort until Leclerc upped Sainz’s time by one-tenth (1:14.094).

With little over an hour left to go, Max reappeared on the soft compound and immediately put his affairs in order by taking back P1 (1.14.168). Shortly after, Nico Hülkenberg ground to a stop at the end of the straight, as clouds of jet-black smoke were rising from his Haas. During a red flag the car was doused and the debris that was strewed across the asphalt was cleaned up.

After ten minutes, the track was greenlit and the drivers immediately got to work. Everyone chose medium tires. Sergio Perez, who was in eight position, had a fright when he almost hit the wall in turn seven and shot straight ahead right after. The Ferraris appeared to be quick and shot to P1 (Sainz) and P2 (Leclerc). Max, on softs, came up short by three-tenths (1.14:142).

With 46 minutes on the clock, the red flag was waved yet again after Esteban Ocon’s Alpine came to a standstill. After a couple of minutes, the lights turned green once more and viewers saw Max, for the first time all Friday, come out of the pits and onto the Montreal track on mediums. The Dutchman focused on working on the race setup of his RB19. Max completed 16 laps and set his times in the 1:17 ballpark, putting him consistently a couple of tenths faster than both Ferraris, who also completed long runs.

The skies above Montreal turned darker and the wind picked up, sending lint and pollen blowing across the asphalt. With eleven minutes to go, Perez came out on intermediates while the track was still dry. Max, the Mercedes and a few others followed suit. The strategy was to scrub the rain tires in advance, in case they would be needed on Saturday’s qualifying or Sunday’s race.

In the last five minutes chaos erupted. Only Lando Norris continued on his intermediates, after which the second free practice concluded a messy Friday. 

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Results second free practice Canada: