Kimi Antonelli led Mercedes team mate George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in a chaotic sole practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday, with three red flags interrupting the hour before F1 Sprint Qualifying later in the day. Antonelli’s best lap of 1m 13.402s put him on top after Russell had briefly gone quickest on the soft tyre with a 1m 13.850s.
The session began at 1230 local time with all 22 cars on track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but it quickly turned messy. Franco Colapinto reported within the opening five minutes that his throttle was not working, with Alpine then working on an electrical issue on the power unit. Around the 10-minute mark, Max Verstappen had moved to the top with a 1m 15.895s before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, while Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls stopped through Turn 5 with a mechanical issue and triggered a short red flag that added four minutes to the session.
Once running resumed, the low-grip surface made life difficult for the field. Oscar Piastri and Hamilton both ran off track as the circuit remained dirty, and the times began to fall only slowly. Russell first set the pace with a 1m 15.760s, only for Antonelli to edge ahead with a 1m 15.414s. Piastri then became the first driver under 1m 15s with a 1m 14.963s, bringing a second red flag.
The biggest interruption came later when Alex Albon hit a groundhog on the exit of Turn 7 and suffered significant damage to his Williams. That incident led to the session being extended by 15 minutes, giving drivers a little longer to work on their only meaningful preparation before Sprint Qualifying. Russell later returned to the top with his 1m 13.850s on soft tyres, but Antonelli responded with a lap 0.448 seconds faster to finish fastest.
Mercedes arrived in Montreal with a substantial upgrade package, and the early signs were encouraging even if the session barely settled long enough to draw firm conclusions. Antonelli came into the weekend 20 points ahead of Russell in the title race, and his pace in the lone practice offered a pointed reminder of how close the fight inside the team has become. The question now is not whether Mercedes has speed over one lap, but whether it can carry that pace into Sprint Qualifying after a session that gave everyone more interruptions than answers.
