Max Verstappen picked up were he left off in Baku to set the fastest lap of the first practice session at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
On the soft tyres, Verstappen set a time of 1m 15.158s to lead second-placed Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari by 0.246s. Alpine's Fernando Alonso was able to get in amongst the Ferrari and Red Bull battle as he lapped 0.373s behind Verstappen in third on the medium tyre. Sergio Perez finished in P4.
Charles Leclerc set the fifth fastest time of the session, ahead of George Russell in sixth, with the other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton further back in P8. It was a good session for Aston Martin, with Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel in P7 and P9, as McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top 10.
FP1: Verstappen beats Sainz and Alonso to top opening practice for the Canadian Grand Prix
There were no red flags in the session, but Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda did get extremely close to the wall as they made their way around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Click on the video above to watch the action from the first practice session in Montreal.
Next Up
Related Articles
VOTE: Choose your favourite race of the 2025 season
Formula 1 to return to Portugal in 2027 and 2028
Tsunoda's best moments in F1 as he departs the grid
Beyond The GridThe best of 2025, from Norris’ evolution to Brad Pitt’s ‘need for speed’
EXPLAINED: The key terms for F1’s new-for-2026 rules
UnlockedQUIZ: 10 questions on the new World Champion Lando Norris