Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the opening practice for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, the Dutch ace heading the Williams cars of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
The session kicked off under sunny skies at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve but a significant lack of grip made for a slippery track surface that caught out multiple drivers in an action-packed FP1, which saw everything from spins and grass excursions to a session-stopping crash.
The tone was set early when Alpine rookie Franco Colapinto spun harmlessly at Turn 2 on his very first flying lap. Moments later, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc brought out the red flag with a more damaging off. Just 15 minutes into the session, the Monegasque locked up his front-right and understeered into the barriers at Turn 3, heavily damaging the front and rear left corners of his SF-24.
Leclerc quickly owned up to the mistake, calling it “a driver error” over team radio and offering apologies to the Scuderia — though he wasn’t the only one struggling.
Several top drivers had their hands full with the tricky conditions. George Russell and Lando Norris both had off-track moments, skipping through the grass after rear-end twitches, while Lewis Hamilton executed a full 360-degree spin at the hairpin. Thankfully, all three avoided damage and continued running.
After the red flag, Russell led the charge with a 1m13.535s lap on Pirelli’s softest C6 compound, briefly sitting atop the timesheets. But that time was soon bettered by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who set a 1m13.193s despite a close call with the notorious Wall of Champions in the closing minutes.
The standout of the session was undoubtedly Williams. Carlos Sainz, in a one-off appearance with the Grove outfit, momentarily held the fastest lap before settling for third. Alex Albon also impressed, splitting Verstappen and Sainz to take second — just 0.039s shy of the reigning world champion.
Team principal James Vowles was quick to temper expectations, noting on Sky Sports that the team was running a different programme that flattered their true performance. Still, it marked a strong opening for a team that has struggled for consistency in 2025.
Behind the top three, Russell’s early effort remained good enough for fourth, ahead of Hamilton in fifth. Isack Hadjar delivered another solid showing for Racing Bulls in sixth, with Norris in seventh after logging the session’s quickest second sector late on. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was well outsode the top ten in P14.
Liam Lawson clocked in a creditable eighth, just ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in ninth ahead of Leclerc, whose early effort – despite the crash – was still fast enough for P10.
With plenty of drama already in the books, all eyes now turn to FP2 at 5:00 p.m. local time as teams look to dial in setups for what could be an unpredictable weekend ahead in Montreal.
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