#F1 #CanadianGP FP1: @Max33Verstappen quickest ahead of @WilliamsRacing duo.
Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB21, Free Practice 1, Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix Du Canada 2025, Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. Verstappen Canadian GP FP1, Canadian GP FP1 Results, F1 Canadian GP FP1, Formula 1 Canada FP1.
Verstappen Canadian GP FP1 – Reigning world champion Max Verstappen ended opening practice on top of the time-sheets in-front of Atlassian Williams Racing duo Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz who completed the top three.
Verstappen posted the session-topping effort on the C6 red-marked softer tyres and was a slim 0.039 seconds clear of Albon whilst Sainz was a further 0.082 seconds off in third.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon was the first driver to lead out the pack with the C6 red side-walled softer compounds.
Ocon pitted as Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton registered the opening benchmark of a 1:17.018 as Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’ Alexander Albon and RB’s Isack Hadjar slotted in P2, P3 and P4 respectively .
Red Bull’s Verstappen shot to the top posting a 1:16.067 as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly jumped to P2 and was 0.701 adrift as Ferrari’s Leclerc moved into P1 with a 1:15.848, which was then trounced by Hadjar’s 1:15.419 – who was on the C5 medium rubber.
Mercedes’ George Russell moved into P3 with his 1:15.856 effort as Williams’ Albon jumped into P1 with a 1:15.148 as Tsunoda took P2.
Verstappen then followed up to reclaim P1 with a 1:14.478 as Leclerc slotted into P2 to be 0.166 seconds off the Dutchman.
Russell split Leclerc and Hadjar to move up into fourth as McLaren’s Norris initial flyer put the Briton fifth and 0.603 seconds off Verstappen’s benchmark.
Verstappen then improved to a 1:14.305 as Leclerc went even faster with a 1:13.885 to take P1 and Albon pushed his Williams into P3 to be 0.491 seconds off the Ferrari driver.
Russell then moved up into P2 on a 1:14.031 to be 0.146 seconds in the 13th-minute mark of the hour-long session. Norris slotted into P3.
At the session’s 14th minute mark of proceedings, the red flags were brought out after Ferrari’s Leclerc suffered a shunt.
The Monegasque driver suffered a lock-up, skated onto the grass and into the corner on the left at turn four. That broke his suspension and front wing, sending him straight on into the opposite wall.
When the session resumed with 36 minutes remaining after Leclerc’s SF-25 entry was cleared along with the debris, Russell lead the field back out.
Replays showed Hamilton suffered a spin on his flyer at the hairpin.
Sainz moved into P4 to be 0.399 seconds adrift of Leclerc’s benchmark as Verstappen then pipped Leclerc’s effort with a 1:13.863 to be fastest as the session closed into the half-an-hour point of proceedings.
Russell was next as the Mercedes driver shot to the top with a 1:13.535 to be 0.328 seconds clear of Verstappen as Sainz slotted into P5 to be 0.749 seconds off the former’s benchmark.
Albon moved up into fourth to be 0.352 seconds adrift splitting Leclerc and Norris as Hamilton jumped to sixth in the order.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli slotted into P8 on his hot-lap with 25 minutes left in the session and was 0.754 off his leading team-mate’s benchmark.
Sainz then took top spot but that was short-lived as Verstappen pipped the Spaniard by 0.082 seconds with his 1:13.193 whilst Hamilton moved into P3.
Russell then split Sainz and Hamilton on his flying lap to be 0.342 seconds off Verstappen’s best effort.
Replays showed Verstappen whilst on a hot lap, Hamilton crawling more slowly. Again there was a miscommunication with Hamilton slowly sliding wide – the same way Verstappen was headed. The result is the Dutchman sticking a wheel on the grass to get past the Ferrari and kicking up some dirt in his wake.
Albon then went to second on the time-sheets to go 0.039 seconds off Verstappen with his 1:13.232 effort.
Lawson with 12 minutes left on the clock moved into P7 to be behind his team-mate Hadjar in the order and was 0.544 seconds off Verstappen’s benchmark.
Replays showed Norris suffer a wiggle through the hairpin with seven minutes remaining as he and team-mate Piastri were not chasing lap-times as of yet with both drivers testing their new upgrades brought to Canada this weekend.
Norris then jumped to P7 with a 1:13.651 effort as replays showed Hamilton have a moment through the final chicane before the main straight.
The drivers with five minutes remaining then focused on long race data gathering meaning the time-sheets remained stable.
Verstappen ended the session fastest with the Williams duo of Albon and Sainz second and third respectively
Mercedes’ Russell followed in fourth as Hamilton placed fifth whilst Hadjar took sixth.
McLaren’s Norris was seventh and in-front of Lawson who ended opening practice eighth as Alpine’s Gasly and the aforementioned Leclerc rounded out the top ten runners.
You can see the full Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix Du Canada 2025 Free Practice 1 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2025/races/1263/canada/practice/1
