Liam Lawson edged Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar in early practice sessions. Photo: photosport
Kiwi Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson has had encouraging placings in the first two practice sessions for the Canadian GP in Montreal.
Lawson was eighth fastest in the first practice and 10th in the second, one day out from qualifying, with the Grand Prix scheduled for 6am Monday NZT.
He was actually faster in the second session, beating his first mark by 0.79s.
Mercedes driver George Russell finished fastest over the two sessions, after Max Verstappen took the honours in the first one at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Verstappen recorded 1m 13.193s in that session, with Lawson 0.544s behind. He was 0.628 seconds behind Russell, who had a fastest lap of 1m 12.123s.
Liam Lawson in action at Canadian GP practice. Photo: AFP
Lawson finished one place ahead of Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar in the second session, after the young Frenchman finished sixth in the first.
Lawson was pleased with his efforts.
"Personally it's been a fun day," he said. "It's a cool track.
"It's been a place I've wanted to come to for a long time. I enjoyed it.
"It's just very, very close, so we need to keep pushing the limits and finding every bit of speed we can."
Lawson said navigating a path on the tight circuit was tough, "but we're all in the same boat - we have to deal with it".
Leclerc crashes in first session
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc sat out the later session, after crashing in the first, leaving mechanics plenty of work to repair the car, Reuters reported.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll - who missed the previous race in Spain, due to hand and wrist pain - crashed at turn seven in second practice for his home grand prix and smashed the front-left suspension.
Russell's time of 1m12.123s compared to Verstappen's earlier afternoon effort of 1m 13.193s.
The pair qualified on the front row last year with identical times, with Russell on pole, but Verstappen went on to win the race for a third year in a row.
They also clashed in Spain two weekends ago, with Verstappen left on the brink of a ban, after driving into the Mercedes.
The Dutch driver was only ninth in Saturday's second practice, behind Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, with McLaren's Lando Norris the closest to Russell and only 0.028s slower.
"The car is jumping like crazy in the rear, like the ride is terrible," reported Verstappen over the radio.
Mercedes' strong form was emphasised by Russell's rookie teammate, Kimi Antonelli, setting the third best time, 0.288s off the pace.
Runaway championship leaders McLaren had made a comparatively slow start to the weekend, until Norris' lap, with Australian Oscar Piastri seventh and sixth, and testing upgrades including a new front wing.
Piastri leads Norris by 10 points after nine of the season's 24 rounds.
Williams' Alex Albon was second and fourth in the sessions, but strangely missed his garage when pitting in the second and had to go around again, with teammate Carlos Sainz third and seventh.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso ended the day fifth.
Leclerc brought out the red flags, when he hit the wall at the second chicane with 45 minutes remaining, causing extensive damage to his Ferrari. Ferrari said the survival cell needed to be replaced.
- RNZ Sport/Reuters
