Canadian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Williams impresses, McLaren lags behind, Leclerc hits the wall

The tenth round of the championship is officially underway at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit. Oscar Piastri currently leads the standings with a 10-point advantage over his teammate Lando Norris. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll is making his return after withdrawing from the Spanish Grand Prix held two weeks ago.

As expected, the sky is partly cloudy, but the sun is generously shining through. The wind blows lightly from the east at about 10 km/h. The air temperature is 16°C, while the track, warmed by the sun, reaches 40°C.

Four drivers are discovering the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit layout for the first time: Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Isack Hadjar (RB), and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes).

Progress of the first free practice session

As anticipated, the track was quickly taken by storm from 1:30 PM onwards. Oscar Piastri began the session equipped with aero rakes to assess the performance of the new wing. His teammate Lando Norris did not have this appendage. In his first flying lap, Argentine Franco Colapinto spun out in the Senna S. His lap was aborted.

In the first ten minutes, Max Verstappen reports a problem with his steering, but the engineers ask him to stay on track: the sensors do not indicate any anomaly.

While the majority of drivers are running on medium (C5) or soft (C6) tires, the first lap times are in the 1:14 range.

After the first quarter-hour, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Lando Norris are at the top of the timesheets, stringing together laps on soft tires. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri is back in the pits.

This is when Leclerc makes a mistake: he locks his brakes in turn 4 and hits the wall. The left side of his Ferrari is seriously damaged. The red flag is immediately deployed. End of session for the Monegasque.

The session resumes at 1:53 PM local time, and all drivers (except Charles Leclerc) return to the track. Shortly before the mid-session, George Russell and Lando Norris take a brief detour onto the Canadian grass. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton spins at the hairpin, without damage, before returning to the pits.

At mid-session, the lap times begin to drop. Max Verstappen, then George Russell, improve the benchmark time initially set by Leclerc, soon followed by Norris, Sainz, and Lawson. Alonso, Hadjar, Albon, and Gasly temporarily complete the top 10. It is worth noting that both Racing Bulls drivers are still running on medium tires.

Faced with the growing number of drivers using soft compounds, it seems clear that teams are looking to preserve medium and hard tires for the race.

Nico Hülkenberg is the first to brush against the famous Wall of Champions, fortunately without consequence.

15 minutes before the end, the activity is still intense at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit. The cars are clearly carrying a good amount of fuel. The two McLarens are temporarily behind, with Norris in P13 and Piastri in P16. Norris returns to the track with visible fluorine on the front suspension, indicating that McLaren is continuing its aerodynamic tests and seeking to collect as much data as possible.

In the very last minutes, all the drivers are still on soft tires, except for Liam Lawson. Max Verstappen finishes this first free practice session in the lead, ahead of Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz who complete the top 3.

The McLarens finish further back, with Lando Norris in 7th position and Oscar Piastri 14th. Note the very good performance of Isack Hadjar who places P6 just behind Lewis Hamilton P5.

Carlos Sainz and Isack Hadjar completed the most laps during this session, with a total of 31 laps.

Free Practice 1 Standings of the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix