Canada FP1 session report: Mercedes dominates as Ferrari trails in sole Montreal practice

Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), George Russell (Mercedes W17), 2026 F1

The 2026 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix got underway with the only free practice session of the weekend, as Montreal hosted the fifth round of the season and the third Sprint-format event of the year. With just one practice session available, teams had limited time to evaluate the many upgrades brought to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Before diving into the session recap, the operating conditions were as follows: air temperature of 16°C, track temperature of 37°C, humidity at 29%, and wind at 2.5 m/s coming from the south. Pirelli brought the softest tyre range in the 2026 selection for the weekend, consisting of the C3 Hard, C4 Medium and C5 Soft compounds.

2026 Canadian GP FP1 session recap

Track action began immediately, with most teams eager to maximise the limited preparation time, particularly as many had introduced update packages for the weekend. Ferrari and Aston Martin were among the few exceptions not bringing major visible upgrades. Early drama arrived almost instantly for Alpine, as Franco Colapinto was forced back into the garage with an apparent electrical issue.

Both Ferrari drivers began their programmes on the hard compound, a fairly common strategy across the field. Only Liam Lawson, running on mediums, and Sergio Perez, using soft tyres, opted for a different opening approach.

After just nine minutes, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Liam Lawson stopped on track with a technical issue. The interruption was quickly escalated into a red flag to allow marshals to recover the Racing Bulls car.

With 45 minutes remaining, the session resumed. Race control confirmed that four additional minutes would initially be added to compensate for the earlier stoppage. Drivers returned to the circuit using the same tyre sets they had been running before the interruption.

It is worth noting that during FP1, Formula 1 also tested a new rear light system linked to MGU-K power reduction. The trial followed feedback received from drivers during previous events and introduced a colour-coded system designed to distinguish different MGU-K operating states:

Reduced power mode;
Fully deactivated;
Superclipping.

The standard rear light system will return for the remainder of the weekend, with further decisions to be made following feedback from teams and drivers.

At the halfway point, Oscar Piastri was leading the timesheets ahead of George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. However, the session was interrupted once again when Alex Albon crashed heavily into the barriers in sector two.

The session resumed at 13:13 local time, 19:13 in Italy. The explanation for Alex Albon’s crash quickly emerged: the Williams driver reportedly attempted to avoid a marmot crossing the track, without success. A very Canadian moment. Thanks to the updated regulations allowing lost session time to be recovered, 35 minutes remained once running resumed.

Kimi Antonelli immediately moved to the top of the standings on hard tyres with a 1:14.670 lap. George Russell then edged ahead on the same compound, improving by 0.110 seconds. Meanwhile, with 25 minutes remaining, Max Verstappen began a race simulation run using the C3 hard compound.

George Russell improved further with a 1:14.444, but Kimi Antonelli responded by finding another 0.052 seconds. Lewis Hamilton also climbed the order, taking third place on the hard tyre and giving Ferrari encouraging early signs.

The first leading drivers to switch to the soft C5 compound were the Mercedes pair, with 15 minutes left in the session. George Russell initially posted a 1:13.850, but Kimi Antonelli delivered an even stronger 1:13.402. Oscar Piastri showed promising pace in sectors one and two on soft tyres but made an error in the final sector, preventing a stronger lap.

On his second push attempt, George Russell improved again, closing to just 0.142 seconds behind his teammate. The gap to the rest of the field, however, was substantial. Lewis Hamilton, in third place, remained 0.774 seconds adrift.

One notable moment involved George Russell brushing the wall while pushing to get closer to Kimi Antonelli’s benchmark. Another red flag was then triggered, though not because of Mercedes. Esteban Ocon struck the barriers exiting Turn 7 in his Haas, scattering debris across the circuit, although he was able to return to the pits.

Track activity resumed with only two minutes remaining, leaving no time for meaningful flying laps. Teams used the brief final window exclusively for practice starts, before attention turned to Sprint Qualifying scheduled for 22:30 local time.