Vettel splits Mercedes but Hamilton seals Friday double; Rosberg 0.5s behind team-mate; Button seventh despite engine change
Monday 13 June 2016 12:11, UK
Lewis Hamilton continued the perfect start to his Canadian GP weekend by setting the pace in Practice Two, though he was closely followed by Sebastian Vettel.
Mercedes secured a one-two in Friday's earlier session and Hamilton was again in ominous form at a track where he has won four times before, topping the P2 timesheets with a 1:14.212 on the ultrasoft tyre.
But instead of having Nico Rosberg as his closest rival this time around, Vettel split the Silver Arrows on the same compound in his Ferrari and was just two tenths off the world champion.
Max Verstappen was fourth for the second time of the day in Montreal, with Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo a place and just 0.012s behind.
"I just don't know about this session," said Sky F1 commentator David Croft. "For me, there are still a lot of unknowns. The Red Bull hasn't been as quick over a single lap as some people expected."
Other than Hamilton and Vettel, the other stand-out performers from the session were Valtteri Bottas and Jenson Button - who had identical benchmark laps of 1:15.213.
When is the Canadian GP on Sky?
Button's best effort came despite missing a chunk of P2 due to an engine change, with the Brit returning to his Monaco ICE. Crucially for the McLaren veteran, he has kept the turbocharge upgrades the team brought to Canada.
While Vettel was enjoying challenging both Mercedes, it wasn't a happy session for Kimi Raikkonen in ninth. The Finn, who expected a "step forward" from the Scuderia's latest updates, was in the pits for much of the afternoon.
"It was far from an ideal day," he told Sky Sports F1. "It's a struggle to make any sense of the car. It's one of those days where you keep changing and nothing seems to work exactly as you hope."
Felipe Massa recovered from his early Turn One shunt though he could only manage P13 in an improving Williams, but the session essentially belonged to one man.
P2 is often an indicator of the pecking order come race day and Hamilton's pace on the soft tyre was also encouraging, faster than both Red Bulls' ultrasoft efforts on the yellow-marked rubber.
However, though the weather looks promising for P3 and qualifying, a drop in temperature and rain on Sunday remains a distinct possibility as the Englishman looks for his second win of 2016.
Practice Two timesheet
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:14.212
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:14.469
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:14.738
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:15.156
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:15.168
6. Valtteri Bottas, Williams 1:15.213
7. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:15.213
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:15.234
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:15.321
10. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:15.410
11. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:15.450
12. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:15.493
13. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:15.513
14. Daniil KVyat, Toro Rosso, 1:15.559
15. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:16.093
16. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:16.255
17. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:16.582
18. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:16.591
19, Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:16.902
20. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:17.001
21. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:17/023
22. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 1:17.423
