F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli emerged fastest in a disrupted and incident-filled sole practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint weekend, leading a Mercedes one-two ahead of team-mate George Russell.
As usual, teams only had just a single hour of practice to prepare for sprint qualifying later in the day – making every lap crucial around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The session also featured an FIA trial of a revised rear-light system designed to better indicate MGU-K power states, with different colours used to distinguish between power derating, full cut and super clipping situations.
Times to follow...
Action was interrupted almost immediately by technical trouble for multiple drivers. Franco Colapinto complained that his throttle was “not working” before crawling back to the pits with a suspected electrical issue.
Soon after, Liam Lawson stopped his Racing Bulls machine at the exit of Turn 4 with a technical failure, triggering the first red flag after only 11 minutes.
Before the stoppage, Max Verstappen led the way on hard tyres with a 1m15.895s, ahead of Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar.
Groundhog collision halts running again
Once the session resumed, drivers quickly switched focus to performance running. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri became the first driver below the 75-second barrier with a 1m14.963s on medium tyres.
However, a second red flag arrived 23 minutes into the session after Alex Albon struck a groundhog at Turn 7 before sliding into the wall. The incident caused significant damage to the Williams and paused running for more than 15 minutes.
Mercedes then took control. Antonelli posted a 1m14.670s before Russell edged ahead with a 1m14.444s. The Italian teenager immediately responded with a 1m14.392s to reclaim top spot, while Lewis Hamilton briefly climbed to third for Ferrari.
Antonelli stamps authority
As the extended session entered its closing stages, Mercedes bolted on soft tyres and found another level of pace. Russell improved to a 1m13.850s, only for Antonelli to deliver an impressive 1m13.402s — nearly half a second faster.
Russell later narrowed the gap to 0.142s before spinning through the opening sequence and lightly brushing the barriers.
A third and final red flag followed shortly after when Esteban Ocon lost control over the Turn 7 exit kerb and hit the wall, damaging the front wing of his Haas.
Ferrari solid, McLaren subdued
Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed the top four for Ferrari, while Verstappen ended fifth despite complaining of heavy steering and instability under downshifts in his Red Bull.
McLaren endured a quieter session, with Lando Norris and Piastri finishing more than a second adrift of Antonelli, although Piastri’s benchmark lap had been set on hard tyres.
Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed in eighth, finishing ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso, with the Aston Martin veteran making an unexpected appearance inside the top 10.
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