Canadian GP: Antonelli leads Mercedes 1-2 in red-flagged practice

F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli emerged fastest in a disrupted sole practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint weekend, leading a Mercedes one-two ahead of team-mate George Russell. The session featured three red flags for technical issues and crashes, limiting running on the tricky Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Why it matters:

With only a single hour of practice before sprint qualifying, every lap counted. Mercedes' strong pace on both medium and soft compounds offers a promising sign for the weekend, but the disrupted running means setup decisions carry extra risk for all teams.

The details:

• Incidents: Liam Lawson stopped at Turn 4 with a technical failure (red flag 1, after 11 minutes). Alex Albon struck a groundhog at Turn 7 and slid into the wall, causing heavy damage to his Williams (red flag 2, after 23 minutes). Esteban Ocon lost control over the Turn 7 exit kerb and hit the wall, damaging his Haas front wing (red flag 3, late in the session).
• Times: Antonelli set a 1m13.402s on soft tyres, with Russell 0.142s behind. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed the top four for Ferrari. Max Verstappen ended fifth, complaining of heavy steering and instability in his Red Bull.
• McLaren subdued: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished over a second off the pace, though Piastri’s benchmark was set on hard tyres. Rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed in eighth for Racing Bulls, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso.
• FIA trial: A revised rear-light system for MGU-K power states was tested, using different colours to indicate power derating and recovery states.

What's next:

Sprint qualifying later today will reveal the true order. Mercedes appear strong, but Ferrari and Red Bull are likely close behind. The limited practice time could lead to surprises, and teams will have little margin for error in the short qualifying session.