Max Verstappen made an immediate impression in the first free practice of the Canadian Grand Prix: he was the boss of everyone in Montréal. McLaren, for the time being, is not in the picture. The situation is quite different for Williams: Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz surprisingly complete the top three.
As soon as the light turns green, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve becomes busy. Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson, and Isack Hadjar have fitted the yellow tyres onto their respective Kick Sauber C45 and VCARB 02. The rest of the field is on the red tyre. Again, the C6-compound, the extra soft rubber that Pirelli introduced during the race weekend in Imola and also used a week later in Monaco. Franco Colapinto, who is under pressure, proves that there is little grip on the asphalt in the first test minutes. The Argentine spins in turn two and comes to a stop backwards. Kimi Antonelli also makes a mistake, while Lando Norris has a moment in the hairpin.
Raising the Red Flag
In the early stages, one driver after another records the fastest lap. When Charles Leclerc tops the timesheet, the session is interrupted by a red flag. The Monegasque, of all people, brakes too late approaching turn three, locks his right front wheel, hits the tyre stack, and comes to a stop backwards in turn four. This means work for the Ferrari mechanics.
Halfway through the first free practice, Max Verstappen is the fastest man on the track. Lewis Hamilton spins in turn 10 – the same spot where Lando Norris had a moment earlier. Shortly after, Nico Hülkenberg overbrakes in the same turn – now driving on the red tire – and is the first driver this weekend to hit the infamous ‘Wall of Champions’. The session proceeds calmly without red flags or other incidents.
In the final stages, Verstappen improves his time on a new set of softs, thereby displacing George Russell from the top spot on the timesheet. The Williams FW47 performs excellently on the Montreal circuit, where – unlike the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – there are no long sweepers. Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz follow the Dutchman with the second and third fastest times respectively. It’s also noticeable that Oscar Piastri has to abort several laps due to heavy traffic. Lando Norris ends up in seventh place, while Piastri eventually finishes fourteenth. The second free practice begins on Friday evening at 21:00 UTC.
