Lando Norris conceded his McLaren side suffered their "worst Friday" of 2025 as he tipped Mercedes to take pole at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes’ George Russell set the pace in the second practice, edging Norris by 0.028s.

Norris still greatly improved from the earlier session, in which he was only seventh-fastest, but has doubts heading into Saturday.

"We need to get the car in a better place. It's difficult. It's been our worst Friday of the year so far, maybe not worst in terms of pace but the most difficult to put together and most tricky," said Norris.

"We are not miles away, but we need to make it a bit easier to drive. We are still in a good position. It's close and other teams are up there.

"Mercedes now seems very quick, just as they were last year here. They were quite easily the best here last year.

"We expected them to be fast; they proved that on Friday. But I'm complaining, I'm not fast. We are still there or thereabouts. At the minute, we are not the quickest, but you never know."

Good work out there, Lando #McLaren | #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/XI7aPaBKhm

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 13, 2025

Rookie Kimi Antonelli finished third, while current leader Oscar Piastri was back in sixth, behind Alex Albon and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

Russell will now be aiming to take pole at the Canadian Grand Prix for the second consecutive year, something he has never managed before in his Formula One career.

McLaren had previously dominated the opening nine rounds of the season, and often topped the timesheets in practice, but mostly struggled for pace across the sessions.

"It's hard to say just from one track, you have to go to many more and here is unique with the kerbs and low grip," Norris added, saying the McLaren car felt unchanged.

"A bit too early to tell but all of the things are aiming to move the car in the right direction and give me more feeling, which is a good thing."

Russell again succeeded in cooler conditions, as has been the case for much of the season with Mercedes.

"We know our weakness, which is when it's hot we struggle. When it's cold, the tyres run cold and we are competitive," Russell said.

"My lap was strong. It was optimised. There was nothing left more in the tank. We had it all on the table, full beans, power and all the rest."