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!
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
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.
17:31
The drivers flood out onto the track with a mix of all three dry tyre compounds - the soft, medium, and hards.
17:30
Green light!
The green light shows at the end of the pitlane, and we are go for the sole practice session of the weekend.
17:28
Here we go. The temperature is a warm enough 15.7C, with the track baked to 37.7C. Rain is not expected to be a consideration today, with the sun shining.
17:23
Seven minutes remain before we get underway with FP1. Time enough to get a drink, hope that dinner isn't going to take too much longer to cook, and then assume the position, ready for the action to begin.
17:22
There is a common feature of the Canadian weekend, with the wildlife often playing a part in the action. Here is a brief history of incidents involving Groundhogs.
Groundhog Day: Why Montreal’s resident rodents are a hazard at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix
Groundhogs make regular appearances at the Canadian Grand Prix
17:17
It's pretty difficult to have missed that Max Verstappen was in action last weekend at the Nurburgring, and the drivers all had their own thoughts and opinions on the outing.
F1 drivers react to Max Verstappen's Nurburgring 24 Hours near-miss
Verstappen at the Nurburgring
© Red Bull Content Pool
17:13
Hello!
Good afternoon and welcome to Practice 1 for the Canadian Grand Prix. With just the one session taking place before Sprint Qualifying later on this evening, there is no time for crashes, errors, or mechanical failures...we'll see how that plan goes.