Friday in Montréal delivered its fair share of drama. Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc were ruled out of FP2 after crashing. The track offered low grip, and the spotlight turned to unexpected contenders.
Ferrari Unstable in Free Practice
After a crash in FP1, Ferrari confirmed damage on Charles Leclerc’s chassis. He got ruled out of FP2 altogether followed by Stroll later on.
His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, was the first car out on track, seemingly trying to collect data for both of them. He wasn’t gentle either, setting a purple first sector and nearly brushing the wall with how close he got. After a small mistake, he aborted his first flying lap. He didn’t need to be sad, as he went P1 on the next attempt.
End of Free Practice for Lance Stroll
The track was still too green — Lando Norris proved as much when he missed the final corner. What wasn’t green anymore were the flags, which turned yellow as home hero Stroll hit the wall in S2. His front suspension broke during the crash. Although he was eager to bring the car back, his engineer advised him to stop at a safe spot instead. This allowed Free Practice 2 to continue, unlike the red-flagged FP1.
Although the team confirmed he would be back for his home race after various speculations, the crash is another setback.
Williams in Form During Friday’s Practice Sessions
Albon continued to show strong form for Williams, going fastest — though he was on the softest tyres. Norris and Hamilton slotted behind him on mediums.
All drivers still seemed to struggle with low grip, missing corners left and right — from McLaren to Ferrari to Williams. Speaking of the blue cars from Grove, Albon missed his pit box, locking up and sailing past his mechanics. They could just stare as he went by.
Needless to say, his teammate supported the team’s strong showing, going P2 on medium tyres, just behind Russell on softs.
Franco Ballerinto
Another yellow flag appeared when Colapinto spun at Turn 2, ending up facing the wrong direction, just as his teammate passed by. He repeated the same pirouette he made in FP1.
With some unlucky moments since his return to the seat including a crash, there are speculations growing that Flavio Briatore isn’t very happy with the Argentinian so far.
Russell on Top of FP2
Midway through the session, with Russell firmly in P1 — this time on mediums — Antonelli slotted in two tenths behind him, although on softs. No one else could match their pace so far, with Hamilton in P3, almost six tenths behind Russell despite also running softs. On track, traffic proved to be a major issue, with frustrated radio messages coming from several drivers.
With 20 minutes to go, most teams switched back to medium tyres for longer runs, and no major position changes followed. Russell, Norris, Antonelli, Albon, and Alonso ended the session in the top five.
All To Play For
Overall, the track seems to reward cars with lower aerodynamic efficiency, such as those from Williams and Aston Martin, while teams more accustomed to dominating — like Red Bull, Ferrari and even McLaren (although only in the hands of Oscar Piastri) — appear to be on the backfoot.
It’s all to play for after an eventful Friday in Montréal, with grip still low and drivers eager to get more track time tomorrow ahead of qualifying. Will Stroll and Leclerc come back after crashing?