F1 Canadian Grand Prix 2026: FP1 Results and Report as Mercedes Dominates With Upgrade Package

Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli set a blistering benchmark for the rest of the field as he topped the sole practice session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Italian teenager made the most of an upgraded Mercedes to lead teammate George Russell after a best lap of 1:13.402s, with Lewis Hamilton a distant third for Ferrari.

Like Miami last time out, teams and drivers had just the one session to tune their cars ready for competition this weekend, with sprint qualifying to follow later on Friday.

Drama-filled session

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Canadian GP 2026, Practice — Mercedes-Benz Media

There was a flurry of activity as drivers set out onto the track for the only hour of practice, but it took just three minutes for an issue to hit one of the 22 competitors.

Franco Colapinto lost power on the run to the last chicane and was forced to crawl back to the pits to be assisted by his mechanics.

Max Verstappen was pushing the limits early on and almost found the wall on the exit of Turn 7, his Red Bull escaping with just two wheels on the grass. Oscar Piastri also pushed too hard as a lock-up saw the McLaren skip across the run-off at the final chicane - not for the first time.

The opening 10 minutes continued to bite. This time, it was Liam Lawson in trouble as his Racing Bull ground to a halt on the exit of Turn 4. The Kiwi reported a loss of power steering and was forced to abandon his car as a virtual safety car was triggered.

🟡 VSC ➡️ RED FLAG 🔴

We are now under Red Flag conditions in order to retrieve Lawson's car, which has caught Hamilton and Ferrari out in the pit lane! #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/RsBb28mBXo
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026

That was ultimately upgraded to a red flag as marshals went to work on removing the stricken car from the circuit.

It was a crucial loss of time for the majority of the field with upgrades being added up and down the grid, not least eight new parts fitted to the Mercedes, having not taken a major package to Miami last time out.

Running got back underway after a four-minute delay, though this time there was no great rush to hit the track as teams re-evaluated their run plans. The FIA duly announced that those four minutes lost would be added to the clock.

Lewis Hamilton has won this event on seven occasions - the joint most with Michael Schumacher - but the Ferrari driver isn't immune to a mistake. He ran over the grass at Turn 9 but escaped without damage.

The session was halted again with 36 minutes on the clock when Alex Albon hit the wall at the exit of Turn 7, leaving his Williams with extensive damage on the left-hand side of the car.

No replays were available as the accident was caused by a marmot in an unfortunate situation, one that left the Williams mechanics with a race against time to get the car ready for sprint qualifying.

🔴 RED FLAG 🔴

Alex Albon has had a crash in his Williams 😱

He is out of the car and ok#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/jca4LWx6ot
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026

Albon was picked up by the medical car after g-force sensors exceeded the trigger limit, though the Thai-Briton was able to exit the car under his own power and was back at his pit garage within 10 minutes.

The delay was extensive, however, given the amount of debris strewn over the circuit, with 15 minutes lost. Again, the FIA added that back onto the clock to ensure that no running time was lost for teams.

When the session did get back underway, there was a queue waiting at the end of the pitlane to return to the track.

Verstappen again found grass, this time at Turn 8, just after Pierre Gasly had done the same. Antonelli also ran wide at Turn 1, and Norris went across Turn 4 for the second time as limits continued to be pushed.

After much of the running on hard and medium tires had been completed, attention turned to soft-tire qualifying simulations and Antonelli imposed himself on team-mate Russell straight away, going 0.448s faster on his first attempt.

Russell improved on his third lap, having run through the Turn 1 run-off following a lock-up on lap two to cut the arrears, but remained adrift, while Hamilton was some seven-tenths off the fastest time.

Meanwhile, Russell had set off on another lap but rotated at Turn 1, sliding into the barriers. Damade was negligible and he was able to continue.

Pushing in FP1! 😮‍💨

This is how the first practice session ALMOST came to an abrupt end for George Russell 👀#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/00UQ2Rvqyp
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026

A third red flag was triggered with five minutes remaining as Esteban Ocon lost the back end of his Haas on the exit of Turn 4, hitting the wall heavily and leaving the front end of his car all across the track. The Frenchman was able to return to the pits for his team to work on the damage.

Cars did return to the track with just over a minute left so that they could at least perform practice starts, though no further improvement was possible.

It meant the upgraded Mercedes held a 1-2 with Antonelli ahead of Russell, with Hamilton leading Ferrari's charge ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc next up.

Verstappen was fifth ahead of lead McLaren Norris, with Piastri seventh and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad eighth.

Nico Hulkenberg was ninth for Audi, with Fernando Alonso giving Aston Martin its best session to date this season with the 10th fastest time.

Gabriel Bortoleto and Osack Hadjar came next for Audi and Red Bull, with Ocon 13th and Albon 14th after their crashes.

Carlos Sainz was 15th in the second Williams ahead of Gasly, home driver Lance Stroll, Lawson, Oliver Bearman, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Colapinto - the Argentine forced into an engine change.

F1 Canadian Grand Prix 2026: FP1 results

Position / Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	1:13.402
2. George Russell / Mercedes	+0.142
3. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari	+0.774
4. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.953
5. Max Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.964
6. Lando Norris / McLaren	+1.397
7. Oscar Piastri / McLaren	+1.561
8. Arvid Lindblad / Racing Bulls	+2.050
9. Nico Hulkenberg / Audi	+2.296
10. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+2.461
11. Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi	+2.812
12. Isack Hadjar / Red Bull	+2.851
13. Esteban Ocon / Haas	+3.095
14. Alex Albon / Williams	+3.240
15. Carlos Sainz / Williams	+3.258
16. Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+3.407
17. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	+3.576
18. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls	+4.029
19. Oliver Bearman / Haas	+4.368
20. Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac	+4.466
21. Sergio Perez / Cadillac	+4.524
22. Franco Colapinto / Alpine	No Time

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