Antonelli leads Canadian GP practice as Russell spins and three red flags disrupt session

Kimi Antonelli topped a chaotic sole practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday, posting a 1m13.402s on soft tyres to finish 0.142 seconds clear of Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who spun at the opening corner sequence late in the session and lightly made contact with the barrier.

Montreal marks the third sprint weekend in four rounds, making this the only opportunity for teams to gather setup data before sprint qualifying. The session ran 19 minutes longer than scheduled after two early red flags, but a third interruption still cut the running short.

The disruptions began after just 11 minutes when Liam Lawson stopped his Racing Bulls at the exit of Turn 4 with a technical issue, ending his session entirely. Franco Colapinto had already returned to the pits complaining his throttle was not working. A second red flag arrived 23 minutes in when Alexander Albon struck a groundhog at Turn 7 and subsequently hit the wall, halting proceedings for more than 15 minutes.

When running resumed in earnest, Antonelli and Russell traded fastest laps on hard tyres — Russell briefly held the advantage with a 1m14.444s before Antonelli responded with a 1m14.392s. The pair then switched to softs with under 20 minutes remaining. Russell improved to a 1m13.850s, but Antonelli went 0.448s faster to claim top spot. Russell closed the gap to 0.142s before his spin ended his session on a sour note.

The FIA also used the session to trial a new rear lights system for MGU-K power derating, testing different colours to distinguish between partial power reduction, a full MGU-K cut, and super clipping — functions currently represented by a single red light. The trial was part of an ongoing effort to improve driver awareness following feedback from earlier rounds.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc took third and fourth, finishing 0.774s and 0.953s behind Antonelli respectively. Max Verstappen was fifth, though the Red Bull driver reported heavy steering and snapping under downshifts. The session ended under a third red flag when Esteban Ocon lost control of his Haas on the exit kerb of Turn 7, hitting the wall and losing his front wing, though the car itself avoided serious damage.