The Englishman Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), seven times Formula One world champion, set the best time, ahead of his compatriot and teammate George Russell, in the second free practice – in the first one it was hardly filmed – for the Grand Prix of Canada, the eighth in the World Cup, which is held at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal.
In his best lap, Hamilton covered the 4,361 meters of the Montreal track in one minute, 13 seconds and 718 thousandths, only 27 less than Russell; in a session that the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) finished with the third and fourth times, respectively.
The man from Madrid finished 126 thousandths behind Hamilton; from which the Asturian double world champion, third in the World Cup, stayed 326. In a session that -after a failure in the security cameras prevented more than just five minutes from being filmed in the first one- lasted half an hour longer than expected; and it started, for that reason, 30 minutes before the stipulated time.
The Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) finished with the eighth time, half a second behind Hamilton and two places behind his teammate, the Dutchman Max Verstappen – who leads the World Cup with 170 points, 53 more than him; and with 71 over Alonso-, who was 424 thousandths off the time of the seven-time British world champion.
