Grand Prix du Canada 2024: Alonso Weathers the Storm, Verstappen Breaks Down
In a dramatic turn of events at the Grand Prix du Canada 2024 F1, a sudden rain shower caught the drivers off guard as they gathered at the pit lane with slick tires to start the second free practice session. Most drivers immediately returned to the pits after their out lap, except for the Mercedes drivers. This allowed Lewis Hamilton to set a time of 1’34″810, under the watchful eyes of the marmots on the sidelines of the back straight.
At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc was sent out on intermediate tires before quickly being called back to the pits: evidently, the Scuderia had made a wrong tire choice. Once Hamilton returned to the pits, Pierre Gasly was left alone on track still on slicks. The Alpine driver kept lowering the benchmark several times until he hit 1’20″789.
After ten minutes into the session, the rest of the drivers finally joined Gasly on track as the conditions improved. However, just as everyone got back on track, the rain started to fall again. Despite the rain, drivers like Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso pushed to set their fastest times. Alonso briefly relinquished the top spot to his teammate Lance Stroll before clocking a time of 1’18″662 and then improving to 1’17″835.
As the track conditions improved, Leclerc, one of the few drivers on medium tires, managed to go fastest with a time of 1’16″556. Meanwhile, an issue arose with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, emitting white smoke possibly related to the power unit, prompting a safety car intervention to clear the area before addressing the car, suggesting an electrical issue. Alonso, unfazed by the developments, dipped below 1’16, setting a time of 1’15″810.
Midway through the session, track activity significantly decreased as the rain intensified. Simultaneously, in the Red Bull garage, operations continued to diagnose the issues with Verstappen’s RB20, culminating in dismantling the floor and sidepods to address a confirmed ERS problem.
With about twenty minutes left in the session, nearly all drivers returned to the track on intermediate tires, except for the reigning triple World Champion. The session concluded without further improvements or notable incidents on a drying track.
Remember to stay tuned for more updates and insights from the Grand Prix du Canada 2024 F1 weekend.