Alonso and Norris set fastest times in wet practice in Montreal

Fernando Alonso showed impressive speed in Friday practice at the Canadian Grand Prix, topping the time sheets on a day marked by heavy rain. The Aston Martin driver clocked the fastest lap during the second practice session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, finishing 0.463 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who secured the second spot. Alonso’s time came during the driest window of the session, just before rain returned to disrupt proceedings in Montreal.

The opening practice session was similarly rain-affected, with McLaren’s Lando Norris recording the fastest time. However, the wet conditions throughout the day rendered the headline lap times somewhat irrelevant. Despite the challenging weather, there were significant developments on track, particularly for championship leader Max Verstappen.

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Verstappen encountered issues in the second practice session, managing only 18th fastest before pitting after four laps due to smoke emanating from the back of his Red Bull car. The team later identified a problem with the energy recovery system (ERS) as the cause. Reflecting on the situation, Verstappen expressed his frustration, stating, “It’s not ideal, I would have liked to drive more laps. So it’s definitely not how I would have liked to get on in P2. But it is more important to figure out what happened and what implications it will have on the weekend and the rest of the year.”

The day was heavily influenced by wet weather conditions. Before practice began, a severe storm led organizers to temporarily close Ile-Notre Dame, the man-made island in the St. Lawrence Seaway that hosts the track. Although the first session started on time, the cars were initially unable to take to the track as marshals worked to dry the surface.