Hamilton: Montreal F1’s bumpiest track in a long time

Following Friday practice at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Lewis Hamilton says the track is the “bumpiest circuit” he’s driven in a long time.

Mercedes enjoyed a strong second practice session, after the opening outing was all but abandoned following CCTV issues.

Hamilton ended FP2 on top of the timesheets, leading team-mate George Russell by 0.027s.

It marked a positive session for Mercedes, with championship leader Max Verstappen finishing sixth in the order – four tenths down on Hamilton.

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Reflecting on the day, Hamilton said: “It was OK. Probably the bumpiest circuit that we’ve been on in a long time. 

“A bit of a strange day because obviously we got to miss the first session, I felt really bad for all the fans that are out there – we’ve had a great crowd already from yesterday, the city is pumping.

“I don’t know what happened, CCTV cameras or something like that, but I’m glad we got to go out. 

“It was nice to have an hour and a half session, but we haven’t had an hour and a half for a long time so then I felt like the time was not used optimally.

“We’ll get back and have a look at how we can (do better), but I was just itching to go, I was like ‘Get me out, let’s maximize the time out there’.

“But I love driving this track, it’s mega. I loved it, from the moment you leave the pit line it’s like ‘Yeah this is wicked’. The car didn’t feel bad but I think we’ve definitely got some work to do.”

Mercedes’ positive practice outing follows on from its strong display last time out in Spain, where it scored its first double podium of the year.

The Brackley-based squad recently introduced upgrades in a bid to push itself back towards the front of the field.

However, Hamilton says it is too early to properly assess if the upgrades are behind its strong Friday form in Canada.

“I can only base it off compared to last year and it’s massively better than last year,” he said.

“The rear end is not necessarily, but overall the car is just a step forwards and I’m definitely feeling the improvements that we felt in Monaco and [in Spain] here.”