21:37
Antonelli knocks four tenths off Verstappen's marker. These times are falling rapidly. A 1m14.010s is the target.
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
21:36
Verstappen now takes to the front with a 1.14.476s, as the track continues to ramp up.
21:35
A 1m14.772s is more like it from Russell. Norris and Leclerc also topple Hamilton, as does Lindblad, who has enjoyed a strong day so far.
21:33
Hamilton sets the first time of 1m15.459s. Is it a strong one? We'll find out soon enough.
21:33
We'll lose only four drivers from the session now, and the first times are about to land.
21:31
Green flag. SQ1 begins!
Here we go. Medium tyres, and 12 minutes of action.
21:30
Before the session begins, we're down to 20 runners, with Lawson also out after Racing Bulkls were unable to repair his car in time.
21:26
Five minutes until Sprint Qualifying gets underway. With Albon taking no part, just five drivers will miss out on an SQ2 place.
21:22
In case this is anyone's first Sprint weekend, welcome. Here's a quick refresher of what will happen in the coming Sprint Qualifying session.
The session is divided into three parts. SQ1 will last for 12 minutes, SQ2 is 10 minutes, and SQ3 is just 8 minutes, with each of the first two phases seeing fix drivers drop out of the action.
Complicating things further, tyres are mandated in SQ, with one set of mediums to be used in SQ1, another in SQ2, and then a single set of softs can be unleashed in SQ3.
21:13
Albon out of Sprint Qualifying
It appears that Williams has lost its battle against time, with the team confirming: "Following the incident in FP1 involving wildlife on track, Alex will not run in this afternoon’s Sprint qualifying session.
"Despite the best efforts of the team to repair the car, the damage sustained was far more extensive than originally thought, requiring the gearbox and PU to be replaced. It’s unlucky for Alex, but we’ll look to take all the learnings from Carlos’ side of the garage to be as prepared as possible for tomorrow’s sessions."
21:05
Mercedes led the way in FP1, but Alpine, Williams and Racing Bulls all face battles to be ready in time for the coming session, after various misdemeanours in the earlier running.
21:00
We're back!
Good evening, and welcome back to Canada for Sprint Qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix.
20:04
Groundhog Day for Albon and Williams
James Vowles has revealed the extent of the damage suffered by Alex Albon after the Williams driver hit a groundhog during Practice 1 for the Canadian Grand Prix. Full story ⬇️
Albon in Canada
© XPB Images
19:12
Full Canadian GP FP1 results
2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Full Friday practice results
The 2026 Canadian Grand Prix weekend began with a heavily disrupted practice session, headed by Kimi Antonelli. Full results here⬇️
19:08
Antonelli tops Canada practice after Albon strikes groundhog
Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli continued his fine form by setting the pace in the sole practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix in his upgraded Mercedes.
Read our full report below ⬇️
ANTONELLI TOPS CANADA F1 PRACTICE AFTER ALBON STRIKES GROUNDHOG
Antonelli has won the last three F1 races
18:50
Top 10
The top 10 after a dramatic FP1 is:
- Antonelli
- Russell
- Hamilton
- Leclerc
- Verstappen
- Norris
- Piastri
- Lindblad
- Hulkenberg
- Alonso
18:49
Chequered flag.
No more timed efforts, there we have it. The session is over.
18:49
Green flag
With less than a minute on the clock, the green flags fly.
18:47
The session will resume at 18:48BST, 13:48 local time.
18:45
Replays show he spun on the exit of the corner, appearing to lose control after running the kerb on power, and being fired into the inside wall. There were concerns about bottoming out earlier on, and that could have been the case again here.
18:44
Red flag
Ocon has made contact with something, and his front wing has been smsashed to bits. It looks like he may have hit the wall on the way out of Turn 4.
18:43
Russell spins into the barriers on the run to Turn 1. Soft contact with the wall, but those tyres are dead, and his session is over.
18:42
Lawson looks to have a penalty coming his way. The clutch disengagement button wasn't working on his car, which caused the red flag to be thrown. Either a team or grid penalty could come his way.
18:40
Russell closes the gap to 0.142s with a second effort, but it remains advantage Antonelli.
18:38
Another lockup for Piastri into the final chicane. He locked both front tyres and scrubbed next to no speed into the corner. It looked like he hit a bump and that may have caused the lockup. It certainly caught his attention.