2025 F1 Canadian Grand Prix - Friday Practice as it happened

Alex Albon now goes second-quickest, just ahead of teammate Sainz and only 0.039s shy of Verstappen's headline time. Promising start for Williams here in Montreal!

Verstappen clearly didn't like the fact he'd been usurped by Russell, and pumps in a 1m13.193s to go back to the top of the FP1 order with just over 20 minutes remaining. 

Carlos Sainz pops his Williams into second with an eye-catching lap that is just 0.082s slower than Verstappen's best effort so far. 

Verstappen didn't stay top for long, as Russell found improvement in his Mercedes to go three-tenths clear of the driver he controversially clashed with last time out in Spain. 

Meanwhile, following his spin, Hamilton has come back out and gone sixth-quickest. He's still nearly seven tenths adrift and slower than teammate Leclerc. 

Verstappen has just gone for another run on soft tyres and reclaims P1. 

It's a 1m13.863s lap from the Red Bull driver, who moves ahead of Leclerc by 0.022s. 

Several drivers are getting caught out as the track rubbers in. 

George Russell has gone across the gravel, Lando Norris ran wide at the chicane, and Lewis Hamilton had a spin at the hairpin. 

Leclerc's Ferrari has been removed and we are good to get back underway with 37 minutes left on the clock in FP1. 

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has taken over at the top of the timesheets as he lowers the pace down to a 1m13.885s.

Max Verstappen has set the early benchmark pace, clocking a 1m14.478s in his Red Bull. It's early stages and times are constantly improving as the drivers continue to circulate. 

Colapinto brings out brief double waved yellow flags as he spins his Alpine down at Turn 1 on his first push lap.

The Argentine - who is under pressure to retain his Alpine seat despite only recently being drafted in to replace Jack Doohan - has never been to this circuit before. 

Lewis Hamilton has thrown his full backing behind Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur amid rumours surrounding the Frenchman's future. 

Recent reports in Italian media have claimed Ferrari are considering whether to replace Vasseur as team boss but seven-time world champion Hamilton has made his thoughts very clear on the matter, and described the speculation as "nonsense". 

"I love working with Fred. Fred's the main reason I'm in this team and got the opportunity to be here, which I'm forever grateful for," Hamilton said. "We're in this together. We're working hard in the background. Things aren't perfect but I am here to work with the team but also with Fred.

"I want Fred here. I believe he is the person to take us to the top."

Hamilton added: "I don't think that's on the cards as far as I'm aware and it's certainly not something I would be supportive of.

"Embedding new people, whether it's a driver or engineers or people who run an organisation, it takes time to adjust and the impact can be significant. That is not part of the discussion. I am here to win with Fred and he has my full support.

"I have just started with Ferrari and I am here for several years. There is no question where my head is at and what I am working towards achieving with this team. There are zero doubts."

Max Verstappen's controversial move on Mercedes' George Russell - and subsequent penalty - has been the dominant talking point since the Spanish Grand Prix. 

The Red Bull driver was given three penalty points for his collision with Russell, which takes Verstappen up to 11 penalty points on his superlicence for the current 12-month period. 

As a result, Verstappen is just one penalty point away from triggering a race ban, meaning the Dutchman must be squeaky clean at the next two races in Canada and Austria to avoid a suspension before his next penalty points expire at the end of June. 

Despite the threat of a ban, Verstappen remained defiant when he spoke to media on Thursday in Montreal, insisting he won't change the way he races his rivals. 

"Why should I [change]? "I cannot just back out of everything. I’m just going to race like I always do. I trust myself."

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Friday practice at the Canadian Grand Prix!

We have two hour-long practice sessions coming up for you. First up, it's FP1 at 18:30 UK time, before FP2 starts later this evening at 22:00.