Kimi Antonelli went quickest in the sole practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix, as three red flags disrupted running in Montréal and Mercedes team-mate George Russell spun late on after briefly holding second place.

With the event marking the third Sprint weekend in four rounds, the 60-minute session carried added weight as teams prepared for Sprint Qualifying. The FIA also used the outing to trial an updated rear-light system for MGU-K power derating. The trial debuted a colour code system to differentiate between MGUK states: MGUK no longer at full power, MGUK fully cut, and superclip. Previously these were all indicated by a flashing red pattern.

Teams will revert to the standard rear lights system for the rest of the weekend and the FIA will assess the next steps based on feedback from teams and drivers.

The session was interrupted early in the hour. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto reported a throttle issue as he returned slowly to the pits after two laps, before Liam Lawson stopped his Racing Bulls at Turn 4 with a technical problem, bringing out the first red flag after 11 minutes. At that point, Max Verstappen led on Hard tyres with a 1:15.895, ahead of Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar.

When the action resumed, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri became the first driver below 1m15s, posting a 1:14.963. A second stoppage then followed when Alex Albon struck a groundhog at Turn 7 and hit the wall, delaying the session by more than 15 minutes.

Mercedes then moved to the fore. Antonelli set a 1:14.670 before Russell lowered the benchmark to 1:14.444, only for Antonelli to respond with a 1:14.392. On Soft tyres, Russell improved to 1:13.850, but Antonelli delivered the decisive lap with a 1:13.402. Russell later closed to 1:13.544 before spinning through the opening sequence and lightly touching the barrier.

A final red flag came when Esteban Ocon lost control over the Turn 7 exit kerb and hit the wall, losing the nose of Haas VF-26. Ferrari finished third and fourth with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, ahead of Verstappen. Lando Norris and Piastri were outside the top five, while Arvid Lindblad impressed in eighth for Racing Bulls.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Free Practice
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:13.402 33 213.885
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:13.544 0.142 35 213.472
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:14.176 0.774 36 211.653
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:14.355 0.953 36 211.143
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:14.366 0.964 31 211.112
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:14.799 1.397 32 209.890
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:14.963 1.561 32 209.431
8 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:15.452 2.050 33 208.074
9 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:15.698 2.296 27 207.397
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:15.863 2.461 31 206.946
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:16.214 2.812 32 205.993
12 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:16.253 2.851 29 205.888
13 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:16.497 3.095 31 205.231
14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:16.642 3.240 15 204.843
15 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:16.660 3.258 36 204.795
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:16.809 3.407 29 204.397
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:16.978 3.576 29 203.949
18 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:17.431 4.029 5 202.756
19 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:17.770 4.368 26 201.872
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:17.868 4.466 28 201.618
21 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:17.926 4.524 28 201.468
22 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes - 1