MONTREAL — Formula 1 points leader Max Verstappen had to leave the track early with his Red Bull machine smoking, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso managed to clock the fastest lap during the second free practice at the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday.
Due to heavy rain, lightning, and hail hitting Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before the first practice session, Verstappen had to head back to the garage after only four laps into the second session following a run on dry tires. Red Bull stated that the smoke was a result of a battery issue.
Alonso set a fast lap time of 1 minute and 15.810 seconds. George Russell from Mercedes came in second with a time of 1:16.273, followed by Lance Strol from Aston Martin, the only Canadian in the field, at 1:16.464.
In the earlier session, McLaren’s Lando Norris clocked a lap time of 1:24.435 after the downpour delayed the practice. Carlos Sainz from Ferrari was second, with teammate Charles Leclerc following closely behind.
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There was a spell of lightning, heavy rain, and hail around an hour before the start of the practice. Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas even attempted to make a snowball out of the sizable hail pieces that covered the paddock.
Spectators were asked by event organizers to evacuate the grandstands due to the severe weather conditions, and the police had to close down the bridges leading to Notre Dame Island.
The storm calmed down about 15 minutes before the expected start time, and the site was reopened for fans to return. However, the drivers didn’t get on the wet track until 22 minutes into the session as the groundcrews worked to clear the water, though conditions were still far from optimal.
Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu caused a red flag five minutes later when he aquaplaned and brushed against the wall at Turn 5 before coming to a stop. Several other drivers, including Bottas and Stroll, also slid off track and onto the grass during the session.
More rain is in the forecast for the weekend, with qualifying set for Saturday and the race on Sunday.
