The Mercedes driver’s lap of 1m12.123s was just a tenth off his 2024 pole time, as conditions cooled and times dropped under cloudy Montreal skies.
After most drivers opted to run soft compounds in FP1, the trend flipped in FP2, with the majority starting the session on either medium or hard tyres.
Russell’s fastest time came on the mediums, with every other driver — except Alexander Albon and Max Verstappen — setting their best laps on the soft compound.
Norris was just 0.028s behind Russell as he got to grips with his McLaren after a scrappy FP1.
McLaren confirmed to Sky Sports F1 that Norris was running an upgraded suspension on Friday, while teammate Oscar Piastri stuck with the Barcelona-spec version.
The team also reverted to its previous front wing after testing an updated version earlier in the day.
Piastri ended the session sixth, behind the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, the Williams of Albon, and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
The Melbourne driver said the competition looked close and was hopeful of finding more time on Saturday.
“Today ended better than it started, but we need to find a bit more time,” Piastri told Sky Sports F1 after the session. “I’m sure we’ll see where we can find more tomorrow.”
Carlos Sainz delivered another strong session for Williams with the seventh-fastest time, followed by Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen, and Liam Lawson rounding out the top ten.
Lawson had a fiery moment over team radio, fuming after being blocked by the Alpine of Franco Colapinto.
The Kiwi sarcastically quipped he would “start blocking people for fun” after nearly colliding with the Argentinian, who endured another tough outing that included his second spin of the day after an earlier incident in FP1.
Earlier in the session, Lance Stroll became the second driver on Friday to lose a front wheel after contact with the wall, clipping the concrete exiting Turn 7.
It was a frustrating return for the Canadian, who missed the Spanish Grand Prix due to a wrist injury, with the damage significant enough to rule him out for the remainder of the session.
That left just 18 cars running in FP2, with Charles Leclerc sidelined after Ferrari deemed the damage from his FP1 crash too extensive to repair in time
Cars return to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for FP3 on Saturday at 12:30pm local time (2:30am AEST Sunday).
Results: Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, Free Practice 2
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:12.123 | 32 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:12.151 | +0.028s | 31 |
| 3 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:12.411 | +0.288s | 32 |
| 4 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:12.445 | +0.322s | 36 |
| 5 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:12.458 | +0.335s | 30 |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:12.562 | +0.439s | 31 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 1:12.631 | +0.508s | 36 |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:12.653 | +0.530s | 33 |
| 9 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:12.666 | +0.543s | 30 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:12.751 | +0.628s | 29 |
| 11 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:12.799 | +0.676s | 30 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:12.874 | +0.751s | 33 |
| 13 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:12.896 | +0.773s | 31 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:12.914 | +0.791s | 32 |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:12.939 | +0.816s | 34 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.080 | +0.957s | 35 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.175 | +1.052s | 32 |
| 18 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine Renault | 1:13.898 | +1.775s | 32 |
| 19 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | No time | 2 |
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