F1 Canadian GP: Kimi Antonelli dominates practice…

Kimi Antonelli topped the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix practice session, which was red-flagged on three occasions and saw Mercedes team-mate and title rival George Russell spin.

Montreal is the third sprint weekend in four rounds, meaning this was the sole practice session, carrying all the more significance as teams and drivers strove to set up their cars for sprint qualifying later today.

Taking on driver feedback from the earlier rounds, the FIA used the session to temporarily trial a new rear lights system for MGU-K power derating, with different colours depending on the MGU-K no longer being at full power, the MGU-K being fully cut, and super clipping – all of which normally are represented by a red light.

“My throttle is not working,” Franco Colapinto lamented when trundling back to the pitlane at the end of his second lap, struck by a suspected electrical problem.

Moments later, Liam Lawson stopped his Racing Bulls at the exit of Turn 4 due to a technical issue, which ended his session and caused a red flag after just 11 minutes.

At that stage, Max Verstappen was fastest with a 1m15.895s on hard rubber, leading Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar in 1m16.253s.

The frontrunners returned to the track on the white-walled tyres, with Oscar Piastri setting the first sub-75s lap time, a 1m14.963s.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren (Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images)

Another red flag was waved 23 minutes into the session when Alex Albon hit a groundhog at Turn 7 and consequently clattered into the wall. The session was interrupted for more than 15 minutes.

The hard compound was still prioritised as practice resumed, with Antonelli setting a new benchmark in 1m14.670s, then surpassed by Russell in 1m14.560s. The latter subsequently improved to a 1m14.444s, but Antonelli fought back with a 1m14.392s, putting Piastri’s earlier reference 0.571s adrift. Lewis Hamilton took third position away from the McLaren, in 1m14.752s.

The Mercedes switched to soft rubber with fewer than 20 minutes remaining – the session was lengthened by 19 minutes in light of the two red flags and the fact this is a sprint weekend – and Russell improved to a 1m13.850s, but Antonelli went no less than 0.448s faster, setting a 1m13.402s. The Briton did get closer later on, with a 1m13.544s, before he spun in the opening corner sequence and lightly tapped the barrier.

Moments later, the red flag was waved for a third and final time as Esteban Ocon lost control of his Haas car on the exit kerb of Turn 7, hitting the wall and losing his front wing but escaping serious damage to his car.

Ferrari took third and fourth, with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc 0.774s and 0.953s adrift respectively, followed by Verstappen, who complained of heavy steering and snaps when downshifting.

Norris and Piastri ended up out of the top five, some 1.4s and 1.6s adrift, but the Australian’s personal benchmark was obtained with hard rubber.

Arvid Lindblad, in eighth, was ‘best of the rest’ for Racing Bulls, outpacing Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg by two tenths and Fernando Alonso by four as the Aston Martin driver unexpectedly reached the top 10.