Antonelli Tops Russell in 1m 13.402s Canadian GP Practice — F1 Standings
Kimi Antonelli led George Russell in the only Canadian Grand Prix practice session on Friday, and the margin was just over one-tenth of a second. The Mercedes driver’s 1m 13.402s lap came in a session disrupted by three red flags, a run of stoppages that left the field with little time to learn before Sprint Qualifying and kept the f1 standings picture tied to a narrow title fight between the teammates.
Antonelli Sets 1m 13.402s
Antonelli had entered the weekend with a 20-point lead over Russell in the title race, then backed it up when he improved to the top of the times on soft tyres with about 15 minutes remaining. Russell had gone quickest first with a 1m 13.850s lap, but Antonelli’s later effort was enough to take the session lead and leave his team-mate second on the timesheet.
Lewis Hamilton was also in the mix early, but the Ferrari driver finished more than seven-tenths of a second behind Antonelli. That gap stood out because all 22 cars were sent out as soon as the pit lane lights turned green at 1230 local time, giving every driver the same opening shot before the interruptions began.
Three Red Flags At Montreal
The first problem came in the opening five minutes when Franco Colapinto reported over the radio that his throttle was not working after he returned to the pit lane. Roughly 10 minutes into the session, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, and Liam Lawson then stopped his Racing Bulls car through Turn 5 with a mechanical issue that brought out a short red flag and added four minutes to the session.
A second red flag followed after Alex Albon hit a groundhog on the exit of Turn 7, damaging his Williams significantly. The session was then extended by a further 15 minutes, but the interruptions still cut into the only hour of practice available before Sprint Qualifying later on Friday.
Williams Damage, Mercedes Learning
For Mercedes, the timing mattered because the team brought a substantial upgrade package to Montreal and had only one practice hour to sort it out. Antonelli and Russell used the final minutes to make the most of the track time they had, while Hamilton’s pace showed how tight the top end of the order remained despite the stop-start session.
Albon’s damage left Williams with little time for repairs before Sprint Qualifying, turning a single incident into a much bigger problem for the rest of the day. The red flags shaped the whole session, but Antonelli still finished fastest and Russell still held second, which keeps the Mercedes pairing at the front of the weekend going into the next competitive session.
