Max Verstappen set the pace in FP1 at the Canadian Grand Prix, a session which saw the sets of soft C6 tyres run en masse.

The final standings also made very happy reading for Williams as Alex Albon ended his eventful session in P2, 0.039s down on Verstappen, while Carlos Sainz ensured both Williams made the top three. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, lasted mere minutes before binning the Ferrari at Turn 4.

Canadian GP: Verstappen stars in FP1 as Leclerc crashed out

Franco Colapinto brought out the yellow flags minutes into the session, spinning through Turn 2 as he got his first taste of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Fortunately it was a case of no harm done for Colapinto, as Verstappen set an early 1:16.067 on the C6 soft tyres for the pack to chase, that despite a “heavy” steering wheel.

Lance Stroll was putting in the laps on home soil upon his return to the Aston Martin cockpit, Stroll having missed the race in Spain and undergone a procedure to address hand and wrist pain.

He had completed laps of the Circuit Paul Ricard in previous Aston Martin F1 machinery, but this marked Stroll’s resumption of competitive F1 action.

Meanwhile for Kimi Antonelli, rear-axle locking had him heading off-road, with Norris encountering similar rear locking issues down at the hairpin, where a hot and bothered Gabriel Bortoleto could be found after encountering a slow-moving Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon on the approach.

With a quarter of the session gone, Ferrari’s Leclerc was now out front on a 1:13.885, a tenth-and-a-half up on Russell in the Mercedes.

But, it was soon session over for Leclerc in empathic fashion as he binned the Ferrari in the wall at Turn 4, bringing out the red flags to neutralise the session.

Completely overshooting the entry into the chicane, Leclerc “thought I will just make it”, but clattered the inside barrier and wrecked the left side of the SF-25.

F1 2025 driver head-to-heads

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

The session resumed with just under 38 minutes on the clock, as the 19 remaining drivers returned to action.

With Leclerc not out there to defend his P1 time, Verstappen swiftly hit the front, clearing Leclerc by two-hundredths, as the soft tyre remained in demand.

Verstappen would find another tenth, and also Hamilton, lamenting that his former title rival was “not giving a lot of space” on the way down to the hairpin.

It was Albon irking Alonso out of Turn 2, Albon moving off the racing line forcing some quick reactions from Alonso in the Aston Martin.

“Some clear track” was also on the Oscar Piastri wishlist as he sat down in P16 with a little over 10 minutes to go, while the hairpin once more had Norris at full lock to avoid the wall.

And as the chequered flag emerged, Verstappen’s P1 was confirmed, while Williams could afford a collective pat on the back with both Albon and Sainz in the top three.

Full Canadian Grand Prix FP1 timesheet:

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:13.193
2 Alexander Albon Williams +0.039
3 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.082
4 George Russell Mercedes +0.342
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.427
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.438
7 Lando Norris McLaren +0.458
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.544
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.624
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.692
11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +0.734
12 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.779
13 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.809
14 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.005
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.010
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +1.131
17 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.327
18 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +1.412
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.452
20 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +1.628

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