Max second in third free practice in Canada

Published on 08 June 2024 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen finished the third and final practice for the Canadian Grand Prix in second place. Many laps were driven in the first dry session of the weekend, despite the early red flag after a crash of Zhou Guanyu. Lewis Hamilton was fastest during the third training session, almost four-tenths ahead of Max. George Russell completed the top three.

The third free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix starts, unlike Friday, with a dry track. Many drivers head to the track in the first minutes of the session to somewhat compensate for the time lost yesterday. So does Max. After the problems yesterday in FP2, the Dutchman now has the time to practice and gather data. However, after a busy first five minutes, the session is red flagged and the field heads back to the pits. Zhou Guanyu crashes for the second time this weekend and race control waves the red flag. The car quickly gets removed from the track, and after five minutes the session is resumed.

Almost everyone starts their program on medium tyres. Only the Aston Martins opt for the hard compound. Max opens with a 1:15.495, the fastest time so far. The track gets better and better in the following minutes, and that can be seen in the lap times. When the first drivers switch to the soft compound, the lap times get even faster. George Russell sets the fastest lap with a 1:14.2, less than a tenth ahead of surprising number two Logan Sargeant. With a gap of only one and a half tenths, Alonso, still on the hard tyre, is close behind Russell. Halfway through the training, Max again sets the fastest time, a 1:14.9, on the medium tyre.

In the second half of the training, more and more drivers switch to the soft compound, and the track gets faster and faster. After Alexander Albon and Charles Leclerc improved Russell’s time, it is Lewis Hamilton who takes over P1. A little later, Russell strikes back and reclaims the top spot. Max is on a different program and continues on the medium tyres. In the last fifteen minutes of the session, Verstappen also switches to softs and clocks a 1:13.2 in his first flying lap. That time is good for second place. With a 1:12.5, Hamilton sets the fastest time of the session so far. 

In the last minutes nobody is able to improve Hamilton’s time. On his last lap, Max kisses the wall at the so-called ‘Wall of Champions’, but he does improve to P2. Russell completes the top three, more than four-tenths behind his teammate.

Contest GP Canada: win a by Max Verstappen signed Verstappen.com Racing cap!

Results third free practice Canada: