Formula 1 Canadian GP 2026: Antonelli lights up Montréal, Mercedes flies in free practice and sends a message to the World Championship

FP1 Canada 2026: Mercedes one-two with Antonelli ahead of Russell

Formula 1 is back in Canada and Friday in Montréal immediately gives the paddock a clear indication: Mercedes is there, and how. At the circuit named after Gilles Villeneuve, Kimi Antonelli sets the fastest time of the only free practice session of the Sprint weekend, beating team-mate George Russell and completing a one-two that instantly changes the balance of the weekend.

The 1:13.402 set by the Italian driver is not only an important time reference, but also confirms the step forward shown by the German team in recent races. The W17 immediately looked effective over the kerbs, stable under the heaviest braking and particularly competitive in the traction phase, a decisive aspect on a stop-and-go circuit like Montréal.

Antonelli built his ideal lap especially in the final sector, making the most of an extremely precise car through the direction changes. A performance that further consolidates the 19-year-old Italian’s golden period, with the young driver increasingly the face of the 2026 season.

Kimi Antonelli increasingly the leader: the World Championship also passes through Montréal

The Italian talent also impresses in managing the Sprint weekend

The Canadian weekend is a delicate test for all the teams. With the Sprint format, in fact, the drivers had just sixty minutes of free practice before Sprint Qualifying, drastically reducing the margin for error in the car preparation.

In this context Antonelli impressed above all with his clarity and consistency. From the first minutes of the session, the Mercedes driver immediately found confidence with the car, working on both the single lap and race pace without showing any particular difficulty.

In the paddock, the feeling is now growing that the young Italian has reached a surprising level of maturity for his age and experience. Even in his pre-weekend comments, Antonelli had kept an extremely balanced approach, explaining that he wanted to stay focused on the job without being carried away by the excitement generated by his recent consecutive wins.

The aim now is to turn Friday’s dominance into a heavy result in Sprint Qualifying as well, a key step in shaping the rest of the Canadian weekend.

Ferrari remains close: Hamilton and Leclerc see important room for improvement

The SF-26 improves on the single lap and targets Sprint Qualifying

Behind Mercedes, Ferrari has nevertheless sent encouraging signals. Lewis Hamilton ended the session in third, confirming his positive feeling with the Canadian circuit, where in the past he has often built some of his strongest performances.

The SF-26 looked competitive especially in the slow corners, with Hamilton able to keep times very close to the Mercedes in the middle part of the track. Charles Leclerc also showed steady progress over the session, significantly improving the car’s balance lap after lap.

A cautious optimism prevails in Maranello. The gap to Mercedes does not seem prohibitive and the characteristics of the Canadian circuit could allow Ferrari to fight for the front row already in Sprint Qualifying.

Much will also depend on the weather conditions. The forecast remains uncertain and the risk of rain could completely change the values seen in FP1.

Red Bull still chasing: Verstappen searches for the right set-up

The RB22 struggles in the direction changes

More difficult, however, was Red Bull’s Friday. Max Verstappen could only finish fifth in a session in which the RB22 seemed less precise than its direct rivals.

The Dutchman was especially affected by stability problems under the hardest braking and a certain nervousness from the car over the kerbs, limits that were particularly evident on a semi-permanent street circuit like Montréal.

The Milton Keynes team remains convinced it has room for improvement. In the coming hours the engineers will work mainly on the mechanical set-up in an attempt to increase the driver’s confidence in the final sector, the area where Verstappen lost most of the gap he had built up to Antonelli.

FP1 Canada: incidents, red flags and chaos on track

Albon hits a marmot, Ocon into the wall at the end

The opening session of the Canadian Grand Prix was also marked by several twists. The red flags interrupted the teams’ work several times, further complicating the preparation of the cars in an already extremely compressed weekend.

One of the most unusual episodes involved Alex Albon. The Williams driver hit a marmot near the track, badly damaging his car and ending the session early.

Problems also for Liam Lawson, forced to stop with a hydraulic issue, while in the closing stages Esteban Ocon hit the barriers after losing control of the car on corner exit.

George Russell was also guilty of a mistake in the final minutes, a sign of how hard the drivers were pushing for the limit on a track surface that was still very dirty and constantly evolving.

Sprint Qualifying Canadian GP 2026: Mercedes favoured, Ferrari ready to attack

After what was seen in free practice, Mercedes arrives at Sprint Qualifying as the team to beat. Antonelli seems to have something extra on the single lap, while Russell is banking on experience to put himself in the fight for Sprint pole.

Ferrari, however, remains fully in contention. Hamilton and Leclerc showed convincing pace and could use any weather changes to put the Silver Arrows under pressure.

The feeling is that Montréal could be a decisive stop in the 2026 World Championship. Mercedes has rediscovered technical competitiveness and consistency, but Ferrari finally seems close enough to reopen the battle both strategically and on pure performance.