Alsonso tops 2nd practice in Canadian GP

[1]

Montreal: Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in Friday's chilly and damp practice sessions at the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, boosting Ferrari's hopes of ending Mercedes' recent monopolization of pole positions.
The Spanish driver posted a lap of 1 minute, 14.818, just over a hundredth of a second faster than Lewis Hamilton, who is trying to deliver Mercedes' fifth consecutive pole.
Romain Grosjean of Lotus was third fastest, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, who won the previous race at Monaco and has claimed the previous three poles for Mercedes.
Alonso cautioned against reading too much into the practice times due to the damp conditions. The day started on a wet track from overnight rain, but the afternoon saw the track stay dry until a few spots fell with 15 minutes left on the clock.
That allowed Alonso's time to hold up just when drivers usually post their quickest times.
"It depends on which moment you do your lap and the conditions on the circuit whether you are quickest or not," Alonso said. "The most important thing was to evaluate some new parts we brought here, and the new tires that Pirelli brought as well. Some of it we managed to do."
The rain led to some slipping and sliding, including a near-crash between Webber and Grosjean. Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus also went for a slide.
Williams' Pastor Maldonado hit a wall late in the morning session and damaged his front wing, while Jules Bianchi's Marussia stopped on a slip road after 41 minutes, ending his session. Several others, including Button and Hamilton, had minor slides but kept going.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who was seventh fastest on Friday behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa, was not discounting the Italian team's threat this weekend.
"On one lap, if you look at the time sheet, the Mercedes again looked very quick," Vettel said. "The Ferrari looked competitive in both long and short runs. So those will be the main rivals. But never forget the Lotus. They could be a surprise in the race."
Force India's Adrian Sutil set the eighth-fastest time, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button, Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus.