F1 Canadian GP FP1 Results: Antonelli Leads Mercedes 1-2

Kimi Antonelli continued his imperious run of form by topping a fragmented and chaotic Free Practice 1 at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. With Canada hosting a Sprint weekend, the teams had just one hour to perfect their setups before heading straight into Sprint Qualifying but three separate red flag periods severely hampered running up and down the pit lane.

Antonelli set the benchmark with a 1m 13.402s on the soft tyres to pip his Mercedes team mate George Russell by 0.142s. The teenager arrives in Montreal riding a wave of momentum following three consecutive victories and currently holds a 20-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship.

Upgraded Mercedes shows its pace

All eyes were on the Silver Arrows as they rolled out a comprehensive upgrade package featuring new parts on the front wing, diffuser, floor and brake ducts. The updates immediately looked potent around the dusty 4.361km circuit.

Russell initially set the pace on the hard compound tyres before the field transitioned to softs. While Russell’s banker lap on the soft rubber was strong, a sluggish final hairpin cost him time. Antonelli capitalised with a tidier effort to vault to the top of the timing sheets. Russell later spun at Turn 1 during a flying lap but was fortunate to only lightly tap the barriers before recovering to the pits.

Pushing in FP1! 😮‍💨

This is how the first practice session ALMOST came to an abrupt end for George Russell 👀#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/00UQ2Rvqyp

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026

Lewis Hamilton survived a heavy lock-up and a significant front-right flat spot early in the session to put his Ferrari third. However, the seven-time Canadian Grand Prix winner was a hefty 0.774s adrift of Antonelli’s benchmark.

Chaos and carnage for the midfield

The desperate need for track time was completely undone for several drivers during a punishing hour of practice.

The first red flag was triggered by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson. The Kiwi driver suffered a complete loss of power steering and was forced to park his upgraded car on track. Almost simultaneously Franco Colapinto crawled to a halt outside the Cadillac garage with a throttle issue that Alpine later diagnosed as an electrical problem with his power unit.

The session had barely resumed when Alexander Albon brushed the wall out of Turns 6 and 7. The impact broke his Williams’ front suspension and brought out a second lengthy red flag. While Albon walked away unharmed, his car required the Medical Car for extraction due to the severity of the damage.

A final stoppage occurred in the dying minutes when Haas driver Esteban Ocon took too much kerb, spun into the opposite wall and completely detached his front wing.

The chasing pack

Charles Leclerc slotted his Ferrari into fourth ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Verstappen noted on the team radio that he felt far more comfortable in the cockpit following the upgrades Red Bull introduced in Miami.

McLaren arrived eager to close the gap after Lando Norris tasted Sprint victory in Florida but their session was untidy. Both Norris and Oscar Piastri suffered lock-ups and track excursions on the dusty surface to finish sixth and seventh respectively.

Elsewhere Arvid Lindblad continued to impress. The Racing Bulls rookie kept his nose clean to finish a superb eighth while carrying the entire data-gathering load for his team following Lawson’s early exit.

Free Practice 1 classification

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