2026 Canadian GP FP1: Antonelli puts Mercedes on top

Mercedes laid down an early statement at the Canadian Grand Prix as Kimi Antonelli headed George Russell in a disrupted sole practice session ahead of Sprint Qualifying, with the Silver Arrows appearing to unlock immediate performance from their latest upgrade package.

The opening hour of running in Montreal — the only full practice opportunity of the weekend under the Sprint format — saw Antonelli continue the momentum that had already made him the standout story of the 2026 F1 World Championship. The Italian teenager, who arrived in Canada leading team-mate Russell by 20 points in the Drivers’ standings, topped the timesheets with a 1m13.402s around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, finishing 0.142s clear of Russell as Lewis Hamilton completed the top three for Ferrari, more than seven-tenths adrift of the benchmark pace.

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With just a single 60-minute session available before Sprint Qualifying later on Friday, teams wasted no time sending their cars onto the circuit when the pit lane opened at 12:30 local time. All 22 cars immediately took to the track as drivers rushed to gather crucial data on a dusty, low-grip surface that evolved rapidly throughout the session.

2026 Canadian Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Canadian Grand Prix FP1, 22 May 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:13.402	33
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.142s	35
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.774s	36
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.953s	36
5	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.964s	31
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.397s	32
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.561s	32
8	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+2.050s	33
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+2.296s	28
10	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.461s	31
11	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+2.812s	33
12	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+2.851s	29
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+3.095s	32
14	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+3.240s	15
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+3.258s	36
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+3.407s	29
17	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.576s	30
18	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+4.029s	5
19	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+4.368s	26
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+4.466s	28
21	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+4.524s	28
22	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine		1

Early trouble arrived almost instantly for Franco Colapinto, whose Alpine developed a throttle issue within the opening five minutes. The Argentine reported over team radio that “my throttle is not working” after limping back to the pit lane, where Alpine mechanics began investigating what appeared to be an electrical problem linked to the power unit.

The notoriously unforgiving Montreal layout quickly caught out several drivers as they explored the limits of the 2.71-mile circuit. Lando Norris overshot the final chicane and ran through the escape road, while Max Verstappen dropped wheels onto the grass at the exit of Turn 7. Despite the difficult conditions, Verstappen initially set the pace on the hard compound tyre with a 1m15.895s before the session’s first interruption arrived just under 10 minutes into running.

Liam Lawson’s practice came to an abrupt end when the Racing Bulls driver stopped on track at Turn 5 with a mechanical issue, triggering a Virtual Safety Car before a short red flag was deployed to recover the car. Officials later added four extra minutes to the session to compensate for the lost running time.

When the green flag returned, mistakes continued as drivers struggled for grip on the dirty circuit surface. Oscar Piastri skipped across the final chicane, while Hamilton cut through the grass at the Turn 8/9 sequence after briefly losing control of the Ferrari. Grip levels remained inconsistent across the lap, particularly offline, with several drivers visibly fighting rear instability through the low-speed sections.

After 20 minutes, Russell moved to the top of the order with a 1m15.760s before immediately being displaced by Antonelli, who lowered the benchmark to a 1m15.414s. Piastri then became the first driver to break into the 1m14s with a 1m14.963s for McLaren, but the session was interrupted again shortly afterwards by a second red flag.

Alex Albon’s running ended dramatically after the Williams driver struck a groundhog on the exit of Turn 7, causing extensive front-end damage to the FW48. The unusual incident forced another stoppage while marshals cleared debris from the circuit, and race control subsequently extended the session by an additional 15 minutes.

Once running resumed, Mercedes began to assert control over the session. Antonelli and Russell exchanged fastest laps repeatedly as both drivers continued evaluating the team’s extensive new upgrade package. Antonelli lowered the benchmark to a 1m14.392s on the hard tyre while several front-runners continued to flirt with the walls and run-off areas. Norris cut across the grass at the Turn 3/4 chicane, Verstappen ran wide at Turn 8, and Antonelli himself locked up heavily into Turn 1.

The decisive soft-tyre runs arrived in the final 15 minutes. Russell was the first among the leading teams to switch to the C5 compound and immediately jumped to the top with a 1m13.850s, only for Antonelli to respond moments later with a 1m13.402s that ultimately remained unbeaten.

Russell’s session then took another dramatic turn when he ran deep into Turn 1 before spinning later in the lap and clipping the barrier at Turn 2. The Mercedes driver avoided major damage and managed to continue, although the moment underlined how difficult the low-grip conditions remained even on the faster soft compound.

The final red flag of the session came after Esteban Ocon suffered a sizeable accident exiting Turn 4. The Haas driver lost control on corner exit before sliding head-on into the barriers, destroying the front end of his car and scattering debris across the track. Ocon was later noted for passing a red light at the end of the pit lane as the session briefly resumed for less than a minute before the chequered flag.

Behind the dominant Mercedes pair, Hamilton led Ferrari’s charge in third ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Verstappen completed the top five for Red Bull. Norris and Piastri followed for McLaren in sixth and seventh respectively, as Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed in eighth ahead of Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin.

Gabriel Bortoleto placed the second Audi ahead of Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull, while Ocon, Albon and Carlos Sainz rounded out the midfield order after all three experienced disrupted sessions. Pierre Gasly finished 16th for Alpine ahead of Lance Stroll, Lawson, Ollie Bearman and the Cadillac duo of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. Colapinto ended the session last without setting a representative lap time following his early technical issue.