Max Verstappen edges Charles Leclerc as Sebastian Vettel faces double investigation

Verstappen in Canada — Photo: © LAT Images

Canadian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen edges Charles Leclerc as Sebastian Vettel faces double investigation

Just 0.081s separated the title-chasing duo

Ian Parkes

Saturday 18 June 2022 00:00 Updated: 09:29

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Max Verstappen edged Charles Leclerc at the end of the second practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix to complete a Friday clean sweep.

Verstappen had topped the opening hour-long run at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve by a quarter of a second to Leclerc's Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz.

It was a much closer affair, however, come the conclusion to the second session as Red Bull's reigning champion finished 0.081secs clear of the Monégasque following a lap of one minute 14.127s, a full second quicker than in FP1.

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Sainz had to settle for being third quickest, again nearly a quarter of a second adrift of the Dutchman, with Sebastian Vettel a surprising fourth on the timesheet, 0.315s off the pace.

Aston Martin driver Vettel, however, faces two stewards' investigations, initially for an unsafe release earlier in the session that forced Haas driver Kevin Magnussen into an abrupt halt in the pit lane to avoid a collision.

The second is for not following the race director's instructions pertaining to turn 14 as he failed to stay to the left of the bollard in returning to the track.

Team-mate Lance Stroll is also under investigation for the same infringement, along with AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.

Vettel, though, can at least be happy with the pace of his car and to be in such a rare position given the team's struggles earlier in the campaign, although there have been signs of improvement of late.

Alpine's Fernando Alonso and Gasly were fifth and sixth quickest ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, who finished 0.844s behind Verstappen.

As for Russell's team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time F1 champion finished the session bemoaning his W13 again, describing it as "undriveable", and with the Briton down in 13th, 1.294s down.

Hamilton had run an experimental floor in FP1, with Russell using the most-recent configuration, with the former reverting to that spec for FP2.

McLaren duo Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were just behind Russell on the timesheet, along with Alpine's Esteban Ocon who completed the top 10.

Not for the first time this season, Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas encountered technical issues that consigned him to the garage for most of the session bar three exploratory laps, leaving him without a time and bottom of the standings.