Russell leads the field during FP2 in Canada

George Russell led the second practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix, putting Mercedes at the top of the time sheets in an hour filled with incidents. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was notably absent from FP2 due to chassis damage from an FP1 crash, leaving Lewis Hamilton to collect crucial data solo for the Maranello team. The session began dramatically with Lance Stroll hitting the barrier and damaging his suspension just five minutes in, forcing him to retire. Drivers, including McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, struggled with a lack of rear grip, frequently overshooting the final chicane. Russell, however, found his rhythm on medium tires, outpacing Hamilton by over half a second at the halfway mark. Despite traffic issues, Norris managed to get within 0.028s of Russell’s 1m 12.123s benchmark, with Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli breaking into the top three, hinting at Mercedes' potential resurgence after a challenging triple-header. Williams' Alex Albon also showed strong pace in fourth on medium tires. The session concluded with teams focusing on long runs, leaving the top three unchanged and setting the stage for a competitive Saturday.