Canadian GP Practice Two: Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two, Lewis Hamilton crashes
Game on in Montreal! Ferrari finish a tenth ahead of Mercedes after Hamilton crashes out; Verstappen hits Wall of Champions; Sainz fourth for McLaren; Watch Saturday qualifying live on Sky F1
Saturday 8 June 2019 07:27, UK
Ferrari turned the tables on Mercedes in second practice for the Canadian GP as Charles Leclerc topped an impressive one-two, while Lewis Hamilton crashed out of an eventful session.
Hamilton, who finished one second ahead of Ferrari earlier in the day with Mercedes dominating, was leading Practice Two but lost control of his W10 at the chicane and smashed into the wall, suffering a puncture and heavy damage to his car to end his afternoon.
That error meant Hamilton could only watch on as Ferrari enjoyed a huge upturn in form, with Leclerc setting the pace with a 1:12.177, finishing seven hundredths of a second ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Valtteri Bottas was a tenth back in the sole Mercedes left on track.
Ferrari's pace - blisteringly quick through the final two high-speed sectors - hinted that they were holding back in first practice when they didn't post a time on the soft tyres, and that they will be a real force in Saturday's qualifying.
Hamilton, however, will also expect to bounce back, having not completed a true qualifying simulation on the quickest tyre, ending Friday in sixth and 0.7s off the pace on the mediums.
"We expected Ferrari to be more competitive this weekend as they were in Baku," said Sky F1's Karun Chandhok. "Mercedes are still going to be right up there - I think it's going to be a great battle for pole.
"Lewis is on the back foot, but has P3 to get right back up there."
Carlos Sainz enjoyed a superb session for McLaren in fourth, just 0.376s slower than Leclerc and almost half a second ahead of his closest midfield rival, Kevin Magnussen in the Haas.
Red Bull were out of position, down in 12th and 13th, but Max Verstappen could be another Canada contender.
The Dutchman was almost matching Ferrari's pace on his crucial flying lap before being held up by team-mate Pierre Gasly at the final chicane, then smashing his RB15 into the famous Wall of Champions.
Unlike Hamilton, he was able to return to complete his long runs in P2, but that crash was just another highlight from an intriguing session which sets up a fascinating Montreal weekend on Sky F1.
Sainz stars for McLaren
Lap times of around 70 seconds at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve mean small margins can mean everything in terms of position, as highlighted by the fact just half a second split Magnussen in fifth and Alex Albon in 14th.
But that also made Sainz's performance all the more impressive, and all the more encouraging for McLaren.
The Woking team, currently fourth in the constructors' standings and hoping to stay there for the rest of the season, will hope to hang on to that superiority on Saturday, and look a strong bet to make it into Q3 in qualifying - even though Lando Norris was seven tenths off his team-mate in 11th.
Norris finished behind both Racing Points and both Renaults, with Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll completing the top-10 behind Magnussen and Hamilton.
Toro Rosso and Alfa Romeo certainly have ground to make up if they challenge their midfield rivals this weekend.
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