Max Verstappen navigated his way to the top of the timesheet in Saturday's final practice in Montreal, the Red Bull charger edging Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by almost three tenths of a second in the wet session.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, Haas' Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz rounded off the top-five, but the Scuderia driver was caught out by the treacherous conditions, his car hitting the wall at the first corner and damaging its front end.
Yesterday's weather forecast for Saturday proved remarkably accurate, with drivers heading out for final practice on a damp track and amid relatively cool conditions with 14°C ambient temperatures and just 18°C on he tarmac.
Unsurprisingly, the wet tyre was the compound of choice when the track went green despite the rain appearing to be letting up, but weather radars indicated another wet front moving in.
Still, with a wet qualifying on the cards, everyone pressed on.
©RedBull
The rotation at the top of the timing screens was fast and furious, while AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda indulged in a lucky spin at Turn 4, sliding clear of the wall. The mishap didn't deter the Japanese driver however as he went fastest just minutes later, only to spin again!
Ferrari opted to send both Sainz and Leclerc out on inters, a choice eventually followed by more three quarters of the field as conditions remained thoroughly wet but stable.
Twenty minutes in, with everyone now running on Inters, Leclerc settled at the top followed by Sainz and Hulkenberg while over at Red Bull, Verstappen was heard complaining once again – like yesterday – about the downshifts on his RB19.
The Dutchman nevertheless moved up to P1, ahead of the Ferraris while Norris slotted in to P4.
Meanwhile, Alex Albon pounded his Williams steering wheel furiously after he was impeded for a second time by Ferrari's Sainz, an incident noted by the stewards.
If the Anglo-Thai racer wished any ill-will on the Spaniard, his request was fulfilled when Sainz – who had just set his personal best – lost it moments later on the entry into Turn 1, the Ferrari hitting the wall and heavily damaging its front end and ensuring a big repair job for the Scuderia's mechanics ahead of qualifying.
The track action resumed after a brief red flag and with 20 minutes left on the clock. Verstappen lost no time improving on his previous best, setting a 1m23.106s that cleared the field by 1.611s.
Leclerc also improved to close within 0.291s of the championship leader, while Alonso stood third, 1.377s adrift.
Positions remained unchanged among the top three as the session wound down.
Haas' Kevin Magnussen, Sainz and Pierre Gasly rounded off the top six, with Stroll, Tsunoda, Bottas and Hamilton, who failed to switch on his tyres, completing the top ten.
The prospect of a wet qualifying will have the brave Canadian fans bracing for a thrilling and entertaining shootout. And based on final practice, Ferrari looks set to take the challenge to Red Bull, although Sainz's enthusiasm will have likely been dampened by his costly off.
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