Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari 1-2 during final practice for Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday morning.
Ferrari pair Vettel and Charles Leclerc traded quick times during the qualifying simulations through the final stages of the one-hour session, with the Soft tyres remaining strong for several laps.
Leclerc initially seized the initiative before Vettel joined his team-mate in the 1:10s, finishing the session with a best effort of 1:10.843, set on his third push lap on the same set of tyres.
Leclerc’s best time of 1:10.982 came on his second push lap, with his third effort coming to a premature end when he heavily locked both front tyres under braking for Turn 1.
Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton was third-fastest, 0.393s behind Vettel, while title rival Valtteri Bottas was a distant fourth, 0.688s behind the four-time champion.
Red Bull was a solid fifth and sixth, with Max Verstappen less than a tenth clear of team-mate Pierre Gasly, albeit the Dutchman almost a second adrift of Vettel.
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo was seventh, within two-tenths of his Red Bull replacement, with Lando Norris eighth for McLaren, Sergio Perez ninth for Racing Point, and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat rounding out the top 10.
Nico Hulkenberg took 11th, in front of lead Haas runner Kevin Magnussen, as team-mate Romain Grosjean finished only 17th, with the team spending time working on the VF-19 in the wake of the Frenchman brushing the wall at the exit of the final chicane.
Williams was again comfortable slowest, with George Russell 3.1s off the pace, eight-tenths down on Grosjean, while Robert Kubica finished further adrift.
Local driver Lance Stroll was unable to set a time after a suspected hydraulic leak led to a fire in his Racing Point RP19, with the Canadian making it back to the pit lane, from where he was unable to re-join the action.
Qualifying is scheduled for 14:00 local time
Discussion about this post