22:16
It's only good enough for P9 for Verstappen. He will need to go again, and just about has time.
Leclerc in Canada, with Geese
© XPB Images
F1 2026 Canadian Grand Prix Friday practice and sprint qualifying as it happened
Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Antonelli leads Mercedes 1-2 in FP1
- Albon misses Sprint Qualifying after groundhog clash in FP1
- Alonso crashes to cause red flag, but makes SQ2
The fifth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Canadian Grand Prix.
While the vast majority of teams brought significant upgrade packages to the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes kept its powder dry, and has brought its first major upgrade to Montreal. With the team having been victorious in all four rounds so far, there is intrigue as to the margin the team will be able to pull with its new parts, especially as the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is usually a strong venue for Mercedes.
McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull will hope to have closed the gap with additional upgrades, although notably smaller, to their own cars.
Max Verstappen has stolen plenty of the limelight, with his exploits at the Nurburgring 24 Hours a key talking point among drivers in the paddock.
Esteban Ocon and Haas have been forced to dismiss suggestions that they could part company imminently, with reports described as b******* by both the driver and team principal Ayao Komatsu having circled during the week, suggesting an argument had taken place between the pair in Miami.
As this is a sprint weekend, there will be just one practice session taking place before sprint qualifying on Friday evening.
Unlike in Miami, where there had been a significant break in the lead-up, the practice session will last just one hour.
2026 Canadian Grand Prix Friday schedule
Sprint qualifying: 9:30pm BST - 10:14pm BST
22 May 2026
22:15
With three minutes remaining, Verstappen has his first time deleted for track limits. Fortunately, it appears that was a preparation lap only, so it has no real effect. He's now flying, however.
22:12
Mercedes now fire back though, with Russell leading Antonelli. The new best is a 1m13.466s.
22:12
Medium tyres again in SQ2, and Norris is instantly into the 1m13 bracket, with a 1m13.957s. But there's Hamilton with a storming 1m13.637s! The seven-time champion is on a mission today!
22:08
SQ2 begins
10 minutes of SQ2 begins!
22:06
Ferrari on top
22:05
Sainz safe
22:04
Gasly out
22:03
SQ1 ends
That could have been exciting, but beyond the out lap, it didn't really deliver, with no timed efforts landing. Perez, Stroll, Gasly, and Bottas are out.
22:01
Stroll is the only driver in the bottom order who can improve and escape the drop, but he's not improving at all.
22:01
Ocon, Gasly, and Bearman fail to make it!
22:00
Gasly is racing and overtaking out of the pits. He knows he has to nail this out lap for even a hope of getting a qualifying effort. This looks more like a race right now.
21:59
Green flag
The chaos begins once more!
21:57
Sainz and Stroll head the queue, which should give the pair a good chance of getting through. Hamilton is next, with the Haas pair soon after. If all those can get across the line to start a timed effort, it'll be lucky. Anyone further back will certainly struggle.
21:56
There it is! The session will resume at 16:59 local, 21:59BST.
21:55
The cars may not leave the garages now. For that, there must be an ACTUAL resumption time given. Teams have fallen foul of this previously, so don't expect a repeat of that today.
21:55
We have an estimated time of resumption - 16:59 local time, 21:59 BST.
21:54
The tractor is still on the scene with a couple of vans as the barriers are being shuffled around. This isn't particularly handy for anyone.
All that said, we would all rather be safe than sorry with this sort of thing.
21:50
This looks like it could take a short while. The barrier is currently being repaired, but teams have personnel in the pit lane, ready to send their drivers out to the track the instant a resumption time is announced.
21:45
The drivers currently in the dropzone are Perez, Stroll, Gasly, and Bottas. Albon and Lawson are also out, but took no part in the session.
21:43
That was a fairly heavy shunt for Alonso. Fortunately, the car went into the barrier fairly straight, so the damage should be minimal. Frustratingly for Aston Martin, Alonso currently is through to SQ2, but Stroll is in the drop zone, and may not get a chance to improve.
21:41
Red flag
Alonso is into the barriers at Turn 3. There will be 1m46s remaining when the session resumes, so only a couple of cars will make it back out onto the track in time.
21:40
Three minutes remain, and the times at the top are remaining relatively stable, although Hamilton lowers the benchmark further to 1m13.889s.
21:38
Into the 1m13s we go! Hamilton is the first in that bracket, with a 1m13.922s, just moments before Russell locks up at the final chicane and cuts across the runoff.
21:37
Colapinto, Stroll, Bottas and Bortoleto are the drivers in danger right now. Bottas improves his time, but remains in the drop zone.