18:14
The session will now be extended by a further 15 minutes as a result of the latest delay. If you're struggling to keep up, we're back up to 35 minutes on the clock.
Perez in Canada
© XPB Images
LIVE
F1 Canada LIVE: Antonelli leads Mercedes 1-2 in disrupted practice
Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Antonelli leads Mercedes 1-2 in FP1
- Albon crash causes heavy damage; Ocon also in strife
- Colapinto and Lawson suffer early reliability woes
- Only one practice session will take place ahead of sprint qualifying
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
FP1: 5:30pm BST - 6:30pm BST
Sprint qualifying: 9:30pm BST - 10:14pm BST
22 May 2026
18:13
Green flag...again
Third time lucky, anyone?
18:12
Pit scramble
The session will resume in two minutes, at 13:13 local time, 18:13BST. The field scrambles out of the garages to queue at the end of the pit lane.
18:11
Still no word on when the session will resume, although the track has been declared "clear" in the sector.
18:04
As we did in the previous red flag, let's run down the top 10.
- Piastri
- Hamilton
- Russell
- Antonelli
- Verstappen
- Hadjar
- Leclerc
- Norris
- Albon
- Sainz
18:02
As we said before, this is a sad but not uncommon occurrence in Montreal.
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18:01
Confirmation of the latest edition of Groundhog Day in Montreal. Albon and Williams have paid a heavy price for that one.
18:00
Early rumours are that Albon's crash came as he attempted to avoid some local wildlife. We said the Groundhogs get involved fairly often here!
17:58
Red flag
A huge smash for Albon on the exit of Turn Seven. The left-hand side of his Williams has been destroyed in that one.
17:56
Ocon is less than pleased with his Haas, reporting that it feels like his car is smashing the ground constantly. As per his words, the feel is "awful".
17:56
But now it's a Mercedes 1-2. Using hard tyres, Russell leads the way by 0.337s with a 1m15.414s effort.
17:53
Here we go, Russell moves to the top...but wait, Piastri instantly displaces him with a 1m15.806s.
17:53
But here come the Mercedes drivers up the time sheets, with Russell and Antonelli now third and fourth. Alonso, astonishingly for Aston Martin, is fifth!
17:52
Another moment for Piastri at the final chicane. Given that's happened a few times now, that suggests a brake balance issue.
17:49
Green flag
As the session resumes, the track remains fairly quiet. Among those on the track are Piastri and the Mercedes drivers.
17:48
To make up for lost time due to the red flag, the session will be extended by four minutes.
17:46
Obviously, these early times are hardly representative - for the most part - something that Norris will take solace from down in P17.
17:44
With no action on the track, now seems a good moment to run down the early positions.
- Verstappen
- Hadjar
- Piastri
- Lawson
- Antonelli
- Sainz
- Russell
- Albon
- Leclerc
- Hamilton
17:41
Red flag
There it is. The red flag is shown so Lawson's car can be recovered.
17:41
Onboard replays show that Lawson remained in the same gear as his car sounded less than healthy. Hydraulics problem likely.
17:39
Virtual Safety Car
A moment for Lawson at Turn 4. He reports that he's lost power steering, and his car is stranded. That will almost certainly need a red flag to be recovered. He is currently fourth fastest.
17:38
A big one there for Verstappen, as he runs onto the narrow grass bank separating the track from the concrete wall at Turn 7. Grass and dirt fly up as the four-time champion gets away with one.
17:37
A huge lockup from Norris at the final chicane, as he slides into the runoff. In the race, he would need to return to the track around a bollard. Piastri follows his team-mate a few moments later.
17:35
Disaster for Alpine and Colapinto, as he loses throttle in the back straight on his first lap. He rolls into the pit, with just enough momentum to carry him to the waiting mechanics. With upgrades to evaluate, this is beyond bad news.
17:34
Sergio Perez puts in the first time of the weekend, but he's quickly bettered by drivers, including Oscar Piastri, with a 1:19.489s.