Lewis Hamilton second best in second practice

Second practice: Top three

1 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1min 12.935secs
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:13.150
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:13.200

Scroll down for full practice times

Second practice report

Lewis Hamilton had to settle for second best in practice for the Canadian Grand Prix after Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen beat him to the top of the timesheets.

Hamilton, who arrived in Montreal 25 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel following a weekend to forget at the last round in Monaco, had gone fastest in the opening session at a blustery Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Friday morning.

But Ferrari, whose charge was spearheaded by Finnish veteran Raikkonen, responded in the day's second running as Formula One's top two teams traded blows once more. Raikkonen's best effort of one minute and 12.935 seconds saw him end the 90-minute session 0.215 sec clear of Hamilton with Vettel just behind in third.

For championship leader Vettel, a winner of three grands prix this season, he endured somewhat of a scrappy afternoon. First, the German had a hairy moment when he brushed the so-called Wall of Champions - named after Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve all came a cropper there at this race in 1999 - before he later spun while on a hot lap.

"The Ferraris are looking fast here and as the times show," Hamilton said. "It's super close at the top right now.

"I feel like we are still just a little bit behind the red cars at this early stage of the weekend, but we'll be pushing as hard as we can to close the gap ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

"After a tough weekend in Monaco, the main thing is that our car is already feeling a lot better around Montreal. It should be game on for the rest of the weekend."

Vettel was not the only driver to struggle, with Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who finished fourth in the order, losing control of his car under braking and spinning across the grass at turn one.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean also span in his Haas on at least three occasions. The third such error provoked a rather angry radio message. "What the hell is going on? I'm starting to get a bit fed up," Grosjean fumed.

He was not the only driver fed up. Fernando Alonso is back in the Formula One paddock this week following his impressive debut at the Indianapolis 500, but his return was hit by further Honda reliability issues which have plagued both his and McLaren's campaign.

The 35-year-old Spaniard, who is out of contract with the British team at the end of the season, was told to park his car at the hairpin following a loss of hydraulic pressure in the opening session.

Alonso waved to the crowd and shared a joke with the track marshals once he was out of the car, but this will be no laughing matter for McLaren, who are the only team yet to register a single point this year.

Alonso returned to the track with a little more than 30 minutes remaining of the second practice session, and managed to haul his McLaren up to seventh in the order, just 1.3 sec off Raikkonen's best time.

There have been some rumblings in the paddock that Britain's Jolyon Palmer could be replaced before the season is over. The 26-year-old was 16th in the order on Friday and half-a-second adrift of his Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

Max Verstappen finished fifth for Red Bull, but it was far from a straightforward day for the Milton Keynes team after the Dutchman parked his car following a gearbox failure, while engine problems restricted Daniel Riccciardo's running in the sister car.

Canadian rookie Lance Stroll, 18, is looking to impress in front of his home crowd, but he finished a lowly 17th. His Williams team-mate Felipe Massa was sixth.

Second practice times

1 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1min 12.935secs 

2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:13.150 

3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:13.200

4 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:13.310

 5 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:13.388 

6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:14.063 

7 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:14.245 

8 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:14.299 

9 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:14.461

10 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:14.501 

11 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:14.566 

12 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:14.604 

13 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:14.621 

14 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:14.676 

15 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:15.072 

16 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:15.127 

17 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:15.240 

18 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.611 

19 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:15.624 

20 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.308

First practice report

Lewis Hamilton edged out championship rival Sebastian Vettel in opening practice for the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday. 

Hamilton arrived in Montreal for the seventh round of the title race trailing Vettel by 25 points after he finished only seventh last time out in Monaco.

The triple world champion has struggled for pace in two of his last three outings, and he admitted on Thursday that he was unsure whether he will be back on top at a track where he has won on five occasions.

But he will take some encouragement from his form in the opening session here at a blustery Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in which he finished ahead of Vettel.

Hamilton's best effort of one minute and 13.809 seconds saw him end the 90-minute running the best part of two tenths clear of Vettel, with his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas third in the order. Kimi Raikkonen was fourth, nearly half-a-second slower than Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso is back in the Formula One paddock this week following his participation at the Indianapolis 500, but his return was hit by further reliability issues which have plagued both his and McLaren's campaign.

The 35-year-old Spaniard, who is out of contract with the British team at the end of the season, was told to park his car at the hairpin.

McLaren revealed the stoppage was because of a loss of hydraulic pressure, but said the cause was unknown.

Alonso waved to the crowd and shared a joke with the track marshals once he was out of the car, but this will be no laughing matter for McLaren, who are the only team yet to register a single point this year.

Another driver yet to notch up a top-10 finish this term is Britain's Jolyon Palmer, and there have been some rumblings in the paddock that he could be replaced before the season is over.

The 26-year-old was 18th in the order on Friday morning, 3.1 sec down on Hamilton and half-a-second adrift of his Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

Elsewhere, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon finished fifth and sixth for Force India with Max Verstappen, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat completing the top 10. Canadian rookie Lance Stroll finished 13th, an eye-watering 1.2 sec slower than his Williams team-mate Massa.

First practice times

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 13.809secs 

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:14.007 

3 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:14.046 

4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:14.230 

5 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:14.578 

6 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:14.785 

7 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:14.861 

8 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:15.106 

9 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:15.441 

10 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:15.658 

11 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:15.943 

12 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:16.233 

13 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:16.313 

14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:16.345 

15 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:16.473 

16 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:16.521 

17 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.805 

18 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:17.004 

19 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:17.606

 20 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso No Time